How long to keep payroll records

How long to keep payroll records depends on the rule. Employment tax records and copies of Forms W-2 and W-3 are kept at least 4 years. Under the FLSA, payroll records are kept at least 3 years and time cards and wage tables at least 2 years. Keep each record for the longest period that applies.

Some of these rules give a period and no start date. Four rows below do that: PR-02, PR-05, PR-09 and PR-10. The table says “Not stated in the source” for each, and we do not fill the gap.

How long to keep payroll records by type

As of November 2026, these are the federal periods. Each row was checked on 2026-11-03.

Employment tax records (PR-01)

The IRS says to keep all records of employment taxes for at least 4 years. It gives the start two ways. Its employment tax recordkeeping page counts from the filing of the 4th quarter return for the year. Its page on how long to keep records, and the regulation, count from the date the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.

Those dates can differ by months. Our recommendation, which is ours and not an IRS rule, is to count from the latest of the three. That keeps the records longest and avoids a dispute over which source applies.

The IRS employment tax page says the records should include, among other things:

• Your employer identification number.
• Amounts and dates of all wage, annuity and pension payments, and the amount of tips reported to you.
• The fair market value of in-kind wages.
• Employees’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers and occupations, and their dates of employment.
• Copies of employees’ income tax withholding certificates, such as Form W-4.
• Dates and amounts of tax deposits, and copies of returns filed with their confirmation numbers.
• Records of fringe benefits and expense reimbursements, with substantiation.
• Documentation for any credits claimed.

Records related to qualified sick leave and family leave wages for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and to qualified wages for the employee retention credit paid after June 30, 2021, should be kept for at least 6 years.

Forms W-2 and W-3 (PR-02)

The IRS instructions say to keep a copy of Copy A of each Form W-2, and a copy of Form W-3, for at least 4 years. They say to keep undeliverable employee copies for 4 years. If the undelivered form can be produced electronically through April 15 of the fourth year after the year at issue, you do not need to keep the undeliverable employee copies.

The instructions do not say when these 4 years start. Count them together with PR-01, from the latest date.

FLSA records: 3 years and 2 years

The Fair Labor Standards Act recordkeeping rules (29 CFR Part 516) apply to employers covered by the Act. They sort records into two groups.

Three years covers payroll records, agreements and sales and purchase records (PR-03 to PR-05). The payroll data DOL lists for each employee includes the following:

• Name, Social Security number and address, with birth date if the employee is under 19.
• Sex and occupation.
• The day and time the workweek starts, and the hours worked each day and each workweek.
• How wages are paid, the regular hourly rate, straight-time earnings and overtime earnings.
• Additions to and deductions from pay, total wages for each pay period, and the payment date.

Two years covers the records used to work out wages: time cards and earnings sheets, wage rate tables, order, shipping and billing records, and additions to or deductions from wages (PR-06 to PR-09). The DOL fact sheet does not say when these periods start. The regulation does for some rows and not for others, which is why the table shows “Not stated in the source” for PR-05 and PR-09.

Equal Pay Act records (PR-10)

Keep records that explain a pay difference between employees of the opposite sex in the same establishment for at least 2 years. The EEOC lists wage rates, job evaluations, seniority and merit systems and collective bargaining agreements as examples. The regulation does not say when the period starts.

Pick the longest period for each record

A payroll file holds records under several rules. Example: a payroll register is a payroll record under the FLSA (3 years, PR-03) and also supports your employment tax filings (4 years, PR-01). Keep it for the longer period, counted from the latest start date.

A hold overrides these periods. Do not destroy payroll records that a pending audit, claim or charge may need (DS-03). Copies of the Forms 1099 you file follow a different clock, covered in our guide to receipts, invoices and tax records.

State law can be longer

This page covers US federal rules only. State wage and hour laws and state employment tax rules can set longer periods, and this page gives no state periods. Find your state labor office through the US Department of Labor’s state resources page.

Next steps

Personnel files have their own clocks, covered in our guide to employee records. Form I-9 has a calculator of its own, the I-9 retention calculator. The business records guide shows how the groups fit together, and the record retention schedule lists every federal period with its source.