How to accept card payments as an individual (no LLC needed)

Can you accept card payments without a business?

Yes. If you work for yourself and haven't formed a company, you're a sole proprietor, and several of the services below let you get paid under your own name.

You're far from alone. MBO Partners counted a record 74.9 million Americans doing independent work in 2026. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put unincorporated self-employed workers at about 9.52 million in September 2026, against about 6.90 million whose businesses are incorporated.

Watch the account type. Apps built for paying friends split personal from business use. Venmo's user agreement says personal accounts may not be used for business transactions with other personal accounts, except in cases like business profiles or goods-and-services payments. PayPal's user agreement says it may close a personal account whose activity is mainly business.

Cash App draws the line by legal form. Its terms, updated September 2026, include Earn in P2P, which lets verified sole proprietors with a full Social Security number take goods-and-services payments in a personal account. Registered entities, single-member LLCs included, must use a Business Account instead.

At Cash App, then, an LLC changes which account you use. Not your right to get paid.

Licenses are another matter. Some trades and some cities require one, however you get paid. Check the rules for your work where you live.

What are your options, and what do they cost?

There are four routes: a card reader app, a payment app's business option, your own processor account, or a payment page service. Every fee below comes from the company's own pricing page, read on October 7, 2026. Rates change. Check before you sign up.

A few notes on the table. Square's paid Plus and Premium plans charge less per payment. Free is the plan with no monthly subscription, so it's the fair one to compare when you're starting out.

Cash App has no number here because we couldn't confirm its business rate from a published page. Check the app.

Zelle is missing on purpose. No cards. Its FAQ says business use works only if your bank offers Zelle for that account type, and payments can't be cancelled once the recipient is enrolled.

How much of a $50 payment do you keep?

Between about $47.70 and $48.95, if you cover the fee. Percentages blur together, so here is one $50 payment run through each published rate.

When you cover the fee, tipme is the most expensive line in this table. We'd rather say so. On paper, the cheapest route is a Venmo business profile, as long as your customers already have Venmo.

Now the last row. On tipme, each page can be set so the customer covers the fee: they see a total of about $52.36 before paying, and you get the full $50. Some customers won't mind. Some will. More on choosing who pays the fee.

Payouts add a second fee if you want money fast. Venmo lists instant transfers at 1.75% (minimum $0.25, maximum $25). On tipme, an instant payout to a debit card costs 1% with a $0.50 minimum, and a standard bank transfer is free.

What does your customer have to do?

Fees are half of it. The other half is how many of your customers can pay you at all, in the place and at the moment you're asking.

• Payment apps (Venmo, Cash App, PayPal goods and services): the customer pays from their own account in the same app. Someone who doesn't have it has to sign up first or pay another way.
• Tap on your device (Square, Venmo Tap to Pay, tipme Tap to Pay): the customer taps a card or phone wallet. They need nothing else. You need to be there. Apple says Tap to Pay on iPhone was live in 50 markets with more than 15 million merchants by January 2026.
• Links and pages (Square online, Stripe online, tipme): the customer opens a web page and pays by card or wallet. A QR code covers in person, and a text covers everyone else.

Cards and wallets now handle most in-store payments. The Federal Reserve's 2026 payments diary found cash made up 14% of US consumer payments in 2025. In 2016 it was about a third. A summary of Worldpay's 2026 report puts US in-store use at 40% credit, 28% debit, 17% digital wallets and 10% cash.

Taking taps on your own phone, with no reader? Our guide to Tap to Pay on iPhone as an individual walks through it.

Where does tipme fit?

tipme fits solo workers who want a tip or service page that anyone can pay. You sign up as an individual with an SSN or an ITIN, with no LLC or EIN. Stripe verifies your identity and processes every payment, and tipme never sees card numbers.

What the higher rate buys:

• No app for the customer. They pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover. Cards from other countries work too.
• Pages that stay put. Up to 10 pages, each with its own link and QR code that never change. Tip pages take preset or custom amounts. Service pages have a set price.
• One-time links for a single job, with up to 1,000 open at once.
• Tap to Pay in the iPhone and Android app, with no card reader.
• Records. Invoices and receipts on service payments, full history with CSV export, and a 1099-K once you pass the IRS threshold.

There's no signup or monthly fee. Standard payouts to a bank account are free and take a few business days, while instant payouts to a debit card arrive in minutes for 1% ($0.50 minimum). Current rates live on the fees page.

Where it fits less well: if every customer already pays you on Venmo and you're happy to cover the fee, a business profile costs less. If you run a counter all day, a card reader plan built for volume may suit you better.

Which one should you pick?

Pick by your customers first and the fee second.

1. Regulars who all use one app. Use that app's business option.
2. Face to face, mostly cards, steady volume. A card reader app keeps the in-person rate low.
3. New customers, tourists, people paying later by text. A payment page works for anyone with a phone browser. See what a personal payment link is.
4. Tips and service payments mixed together. Pick something that labels them separately. It saves sorting at tax time.

If tips are a big part of your income, the full checklist is in how to choose a tipping app.

Do you get a 1099-K without a business?

Yes, if you pass the federal threshold, LLC or not. As of October 2026 that's more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions in a year, a limit the IRS confirmed in October 2025 after the law restored it. Platforms may send one for lower amounts too, and some states set lower thresholds.

Not every service reports. Zelle's FAQ says it doesn't report its network's transactions to the IRS, including goods-and-services payments. That changes nothing about what you owe. The IRS says tips are subject to federal income tax, and generally to Social Security and Medicare taxes as well.

Keep records anyway. Our guide to digital tips and taxes in 2026 goes further. For the app rules, see personal Venmo or Cash App for client payments. This isn't tax advice. Talk to a tax professional about your situation.

Frequently asked questions