Business vs Personal Account for Rental Income

The name on the account doesn't decide whose rent it is. The owner of the property does.

Should your rent go into a personal account or a business account? The answer depends on who owns the property, not on which account looks more professional.

If you own the property in your own name, the rent is your income. A personal account, kept only for the property, does the job. If a company owns the property, the rent is the company's income, and it belongs in the company's account.

Choose the account that matches the owner.

If you haven't separated rent from your own money yet, start with our guide to a dedicated account for your rental properties. This post is about whose name that account should be in.

Key takeaways

If you own the property in your own name, a separate personal account works. You don't need to register a business to let it in your own name.
If a company owns the property, the rent is the company's. Collect it in the company's account.
Paying rent into another name doesn't change whose income it is. It puts the money in the wrong account and leaves records you'll have to explain.
A company pays 0% tax on its profits only if its turnover is ₦50 million or less, its fixed assets are ₦250 million or less, and it doesn't provide professional services.

Personal vs business account at a glance

	You own the property	A company owns the property
Account to collect rent in	A separate personal account	The company's account
Whose money it is	Yours	The company's
Who pays tax on the rent	You, at personal income tax rates	The company
What you need to open it	Your BVN and NIN	The company's CAC documents and Tax ID, plus the BVN and NIN of its directors and main shareholders
Filings each year	Your personal tax return	A CAC annual return and a company tax return. You still file your own return.

What changes between them

Whose income the rent is

The rent belongs to the landlord: the person or company that owns the property. The tenancy agreement should name that owner. Open the account in that name. If the agreement names someone else, or the property has more than one owner, ask your lawyer and accountant before you choose.

Shortlets work the same way. Booking income belongs to whoever lets the listing, even if you lease the flat from someone else.

If rent lands in the wrong name, the records stop matching the owner. Ask your accountant how to put it right.

Tax

If you own the property, you pay personal income tax on the rent. Our guide to tax deductions for landlords covers what you can claim against rent.

A company is taxed on its own profits. Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, a small company pays 0% and any other company pays 30%, plus a 4% development levy. A small company has a turnover of ₦50 million or less, fixed assets of no more than ₦250 million, and doesn't provide professional services. If the company owns the building, ask your accountant whether its value counts toward that limit.

The rent is then the company's money, not yours. You take it out as salary or dividends, and each is taxed in its own way.

Fees and interest

A current account, personal or business, can carry a maintenance fee on money you send out. The CBN's Guide to Charges caps it at ₦0.50 for every ₦1,000 in 2026, and it falls to zero in 2027.

Savings accounts must pay interest of at least 30% of the CBN's policy rate, but only if you make four withdrawals a month or fewer. Interest on a current account is for you and your provider to agree.

When a personal account is enough

If you own the property and let it in your own name, a second personal account does the job. Use it only for the property. Rent comes in, property costs go out, and nothing else touches it.

You don't need to register a business to let property you own in your own name.

When you need a business account

If a company owns the property, the company is the landlord. Name it in the tenancy agreement and collect the rent in its account. Don't collect it in a director's personal account, even for convenience. It's the company's money, and its records should show it arriving there.

If you own the property and are thinking of moving it into a company, that's a transfer of the property. Speak to an accountant and a lawyer first. Opening a company account doesn't do it for you.

If you manage property for owners, the rent you collect isn't your company's. It belongs to the owners. Hold it in your company's name, apart from the company's own money. Separate accounts for each owner make each owner's share easy to show. Our guide to business banking accounts for property management compares the options.

Open accounts in your own name or your company's →

What you need to open each

Personal account. Your BVN and NIN. Higher limits need proof of address.

Business account. Each provider sets its own list. Expect the company's CAC documents, its Tax ID, proof of the business address, and the BVN and NIN of its directors and main shareholders.

Hold personal and company accounts in one place

Roofteller lets you open accounts in your own name and in your company's name, under one login. Under each, open property-specific accounts for rent, security deposits and service charge, so each property's money stays apart, whoever owns it.

Every transaction in a property's account lands in that property's books. Money you're holding, like a security deposit, can sit in an interest account and earn interest on idle funds.

Final thoughts

Match the account to the owner. If the property is yours, a separate personal account is enough. If a company owns it, the rent goes into the company's account.

Whichever you choose, keep each property's money apart from everything else.

FAQ

Do I need a business account for rental income?

Not if you own the property and let it in your own name. A separate personal account works. If a company owns the property, the rent belongs in the company's account.

Can I collect my company's rent in my personal account?

You shouldn't. If the company owns the property, the rent is the company's income. Collecting it in your name mixes two owners' money and makes both sets of records harder to explain.

Does a company pay less tax on rent?

Only a small company pays 0%: turnover of ₦50 million or less, fixed assets of no more than ₦250 million, and no professional services. Any other company pays 30%, plus a 4% development levy. Taking money out of the company is taxed too. Ask your accountant whether a company would save you tax, and whether the building counts toward the asset limit.

Do business accounts cost more?

A current account can carry a maintenance fee on money you send out. The CBN caps it at ₦0.50 per ₦1,000 in 2026, and it ends in 2027. Other fees vary by provider, so compare them before you open one.

What about a registered business name?

A business name is you, trading under another name. The rent is still your income, and you pay personal income tax on it.

Can I hold personal and company accounts in one place?

Yes. On Roofteller, you can open accounts in your own name and in your company's name under one login, with property-specific accounts under each.

Roofteller is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Operating and Interest accounts are provided by PocketApp Global Limited (Piggyvest Business), licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).