How long to keep receipts, invoices and bank statements for a business

Keep business receipts, invoices and bank records for 3 years from the date you file the return they support. That is the IRS default. Keep them longer for a refund claim after filing, a large omission of income, a bad debt or worthless securities claim, or a return that was never filed or was fraudulent.

Receipts, invoices and bank statements are supporting documents. They back up the entries in your books and the items on your return. This page covers income tax records. Employment tax records have their own clocks, covered in our guide to payroll records.

How long to keep receipts for business tax purposes

The short answer to how long to keep receipts for business tax purposes is the period of limitations for the return they support. The table lists every period the IRS gives, as of November 2026. Each row was checked on 2026-11-03.

Example: a return is due on 2027-04-15 and you file it on 2027-02-20. The IRS treats it as filed on the due date, so the 3-year period for the receipts that support it runs to 2030-04-15.

The IRS page on how long to keep records lists one 6-year case. IRS Topic no. 305 adds another to TX-03: income left out that is attributable to foreign financial assets and is more than $5,000.

For property, keep the records you need to work out depreciation, amortization or depletion and the gain or loss on a sale. After a nontaxable exchange, also keep the records on the old property until the period ends for the year you dispose of the new property.

What counts as a supporting record

The IRS names sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips and canceled checks as supporting documents. For purchases and expenses it also names cash register tape receipts, account statements, and credit card receipts and statements. Instead of a canceled check, the IRS accepts other documents that reflect proof of payment, including electronic funds transfers.

The IRS does not list bank statements by name. A statement that proves a payment or deposit on your return is a supporting record, so it follows the same period as the item it supports. Keep the record that shows the payee, the amount, proof of payment, the date and what the payment was for.

Your books, such as journals and ledgers, are covered by the same rule. The regulation asks you to keep them as long as their contents may become material in administering any internal revenue law (26 CFR 1.6001-1).

Invoices and the second clock

An invoice can fall under two rules. The FLSA recordkeeping rules require 2 years for customer orders and invoices received, shipping and delivery records, bills of lading and billings to customers (PR-08). They do not cover individual sales slips or cash register tapes.

If the invoice also supports an item on your tax return, the 3-year tax period is longer and applies. Keep an invoice for the longest period that covers it. Our business records guide explains how to pick that period.

Forms 1099 and other information returns

Copies of the information returns you file, such as the Forms 1099 series, are kept at least 3 years from the due date of the returns. The IRS sets 4 years for Form 1099-C and 4 years if backup withholding was imposed. The IRS general instructions for these returns were last reviewed on 30-Apr-2026.

Scanned copies

The IRS allows electronic storage in place of paper for tax records. Publication 583 says the original hard copies may be destroyed once the electronic storage system has been tested to show it reproduces them in line with IRS requirements, and procedures keep it compliant. You must keep the electronic system for as long as the records stay material to tax administration, and the same retention periods apply to the electronic copy.

Other retention duties still apply. A scanned receipt is kept as long as the original would have been.

State law and other reasons to keep records

This page covers US federal rules only. State law can set longer periods. The IRS also says your insurance company or creditors may require you to keep records longer than it does. Check for those before you discard anything.

Next steps

Pick the longest period that covers each record, then add it to your schedule. The record retention schedule lists every federal period with its source and the date we checked it. Our guide to a document retention policy shows how to write the schedule down. When a period has ended and no hold applies, secure document destruction covers how to destroy the records.