How long to keep business records

How long to keep business records depends on what each record supports. For records behind a tax return, the IRS default is 3 years from the date you file. Some cases need 6 years, 7 years or no end date, and employment tax records need at least 4 years. The longest period that applies wins.

This page covers records a business keeps. If you are looking for your own tax return, the IRS explains how long to keep it in Topic no. 305, Recordkeeping.

How long to keep business records by type

Different agencies set different clocks. The ranges below were checked on 2026-11-03. Each linked page lists the rule behind every number.

Every period is a minimum. Federal rules set the floor, and state law can set a higher one. The row IDs used below, such as TX-01, are the row numbers in our record retention schedule.

What the IRS requires you to keep

The IRS does not prescribe a form for business records. Its recordkeeping page says you may choose any system suited to your business that clearly shows your income and expenses, and that except in a few cases the law does not require any special kind of records.

Your books, such as accounting journals and ledgers, must show your gross income, deductions and credits. Supporting documents back up the entries in the books and on the return. The IRS names sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips and canceled checks. The responsibility to substantiate the entries and deductions on a return is yours, and the IRS calls it the burden of proof.

The IRS default and its exceptions

The IRS tells businesses to keep records that support an item of income, a deduction or a credit until the period of limitations for that return runs out. That period is the time in which you can amend the return to claim a credit or refund, or the IRS can assess more tax. A return filed before the due date counts as filed on the due date. Keep a copy of every return you file, because it helps with later returns and with any amended return.

The IRS lists these periods for income tax returns:

• 3 years from the date you filed. This is the default (TX-01).
• 3 years from filing or 2 years from paying the tax, whichever is later, if you claim a credit or refund after you file (TX-02).
• 6 years if you left out income you should have reported and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return (TX-03).
• 7 years if you claim a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction (TX-04).
• No end date if you did not file a return (TX-05) or filed a fraudulent one (TX-06).
• Property records until the period of limitations ends for the year you dispose of the property (TX-07).

Employment tax records are separate. The IRS says to keep them at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later (PR-01).

The regulation behind these pages asks for books and records to be kept “so long as the contents thereof may become material” in administering any internal revenue law (26 CFR 1.6001-1). The IRS says that generally means until the period of limitations for the return expires. It adds that your insurance company or creditors may require you to keep records longer than it does.

What starts the clock

A period only helps if you know when it starts. The sources use different starting points, so write the start event next to each record type.

Eight rows give a period and do not say when it starts. Our schedule marks them “start not stated in the source” and does not guess. Ask the agency or your adviser. Until you have an answer, our recommendation is to count from the latest date that is reasonable for the record, which keeps it longer.

Which period applies when more than one does

One record can fall under several rules. Keep it for the longest period that applies.

Example: an invoice is a sales record you keep for 2 years under the FLSA recordkeeping rules (PR-08). It also supports an item on your tax return, so the 3-year IRS default applies too (TX-01). Keep it for 3 years.

A hold overrides every period. Do not destroy a record that a pending or contemplated federal matter may need (DS-03). A federal statute, 18 U.S.C. 1519, covers knowing destruction of a record with intent to impede a federal matter, including one that is only contemplated. Personnel records relevant to a discrimination charge are held until the charge is finally resolved (HR-03).

Electronic copies can replace paper. IRS Publication 583 says the original hard copies of books and records may be destroyed once the electronic storage system has been tested and procedures keep it compliant. The electronic copy carries the same retention periods. You still have to keep any other records the rules require, and the Form I-9 and benefit plan rules have their own conditions for electronic storage.

Set a destroy date for each record type

Use the same five steps for every record type your company keeps.

1. List the record type, such as “vendor invoices” or “offer letters”.
2. Find every row in the schedule that applies to it.
3. Write down the starting event for each row and pick the longest period.
4. Add a destroy-after date, then check for a hold before anything is destroyed.
5. Note who may approve destruction, and keep the log.

Example: a company files its 2026 return on 2027-04-15. The vendor invoices that support that return are kept at least until 2030-04-15 (TX-01). If the same invoices are also FLSA sales records, their 2-year period is shorter, so the 3-year date stands.

A written schedule helps the same people apply the same rules every time. The document retention policy guide shows how to write one.

Operational records have no general federal period

The records that run the business sit outside the federal tables. As of November 2026, no general federal retention period turned up in the sources we checked for customer support tickets and chats, SOPs and runbooks, an internal wiki, CRM and sales history, project files and deliverables, or internal chat and email (OP-01 to OP-06). The company sets the period.

Four things still limit that choice:

• A hold (DS-03, HR-03).
• Tax or employment records inside the files, such as an invoice attached to a ticket or a message that forms part of a personnel record.
• The FTC rule on disposing of consumer information (DS-01).
• Your customer contracts.

Some of these records may be worth more kept than destroyed, so read what to check before you destroy company records before you decide.

If the company is closing

Closing a company does not end these periods, because they count from events such as a filing date or a termination date. The records still need a custodian and a place to live until each clock ends. Decide what to keep before you cancel the systems that hold it.

State law can be longer

This page covers US federal rules only. State law can set longer periods for tax, payroll and personnel records, and some industries have their own rules. Check your state agency or ask your lawyer or accountant before you adopt a schedule.

Next steps

Open the group you keep most of in the table near the top and note each starting event. If you hold operational records you plan to delete, use the records check before you do.