Record Retention Guide
We have compiled a list of the most common tax and financial records that a business or an individual may need to keep and guidelines for how long the records should be retained.
The information contained in this site is of a general nature and may not be applicable to you. Please call our office for specific guidance regarding your situation.
Businesses
Keep 1 Year
- Correspondence with customers or vendors
- Duplicate deposit slips
- Purchase orders (except purchasing department copies)
- Receiving sheets
- Requisitions
- Stenographer's notebooks
- Stockroom withdrawal forms
Keep 3 Years
- Employee personnel records (after termination)
- Employment applications
- Expired insurance policies
- General correspondence
- Internal audit reports
- Internal reports
- Petty cash vouchers
- Physical inventory tags
- Savings bond registration records of employees
- Time cards for hourly employees
Keep 7 Years
- Accident reports and claims
- Accounts payable ledgers and schedules
- Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules
- Bank statements and reconciliations
- Cancelled checks
- Cancelled stock and bond certificates
- Employment tax records
- Expense analysis and expense distribution schedules
- Expired contracts and leases
- Expired option records
- Inventories of products, materials and supplies
- Invoices to customers
- Notes receivable ledgers and schedules
- Payroll records and summaries, including payments to pensioners
- Plant cost ledgers
- Purchasing department copies of purchase orders
- Records related to net operating losses (NOLs)
- Sales records
- Subsidiary ledgers
- Time books
- Travel and entertainment records
- Voucher for payments to vendors, employees, etc.
- Voucher register and schedules
Keep Permanently
- Audit reports of accountants
- Cancelled checks for important payments
- Cash books, charts of accounts
- Contracts and leases still in effect
- Corporate documents (incorporation, charter, by-laws, etc.)
- Documents substantiating fixed asset additions
- Depreciation schedules
- Financial statements (end-of-year)entertainment records
- General and private ledgers (and end-of-year trial balances)
- Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies
- Investment trade confirmations
- IRS revenue agent reports
- Journals
- Legal records, correspondence and other important matters
- Minute books of directors and stockholders
- Mortgage and bills of sale
- Property appraisals by outside appraisers
- Property records
- Retirement and pension records
- Tax returns and worksheets
- Trademark and patent registrations
Individuals
Keep 1 Year
- While it's important to keep year-end mutual fund and IRA contribution statements forever, you don't have to save monthly and quarterly statements once the year-end statement has arrived.
Keep 3 Years
- Credit card statements
- Medical bills (in case of insurance disputes)
- Utility records
- Expired insurance policies
Keep 7 Years
- Supporting documents for tax returns
- Accident reports and claims
- Medical bills (if tax-related)
- Sales receipts
- Wage garnishments
- Other tax-related bills
Keep Permanently
- CPA audit reports
- Legal records
- Important correspondence
- Income tax returns
- Income tax payment checks
- Property records / improvement receipts (or six years after property sold)
- Investment trade confirmations
- Retirement and pension records (Forms 5448, 1099-R and 8606 until all distributions are made from your IRA or other qualified plan)
Special Circumstances
- Car Records (keep until the car is sold)
- Credit Card Receipts (keep until verified on your statement)
- Insurance Policies (keep for the life of the policy)
- Mortgages / Deeds / Leases (keep 6 years beyond the agreement)
- Pay Stubs (keep until reconciled with your W-2)
- Sales Receipts (keep for life of the warranty)
- Stock and Bond Records (keep for 6 years beyond selling)
- Warranties and Instructions (keep for the life of the product)
- Other Bills (keep until payment is verified on the next bill)
- Depreciation Schedules and Other Capital Asset Records (keep for 3 years after the tax life of the asset)