How long to keep business records in the UK

A UK limited company normally needs to keep its accounting records for six years. Count from the end of the last company financial year the records relate to, and keep them longer where an exception applies. GOV.UK explains the company retention rule.

That is the short answer to how long to keep business records in the UK as a limited company, and a starting point for sorting the receipts in your inbox or archive box. Below are the records to keep, worked dates for companies and sole traders, the conditions for replacing paper with scans, and a practical filing routine.

What counts as an accounting record

Company accounting records cover the underlying transactions and the evidence behind them. The GOV.UK accounting records checklist includes:

• Money coming into the company and money it spends.
• Assets the company owns.
• Amounts the company owes and amounts owed to it.
• Stock held at the financial year end.
• The stocktaking records used to calculate that stock figure.
• Goods bought and sold, including who supplied or bought them, unless the business is a retailer.

The same guidance includes supporting paperwork and calculations needed for the accounts and Company Tax Return: receipts, petty cash books, orders, delivery notes, invoices, contracts, sales books, till rolls, bank statements and relevant correspondence. See the full accounting records guidance.

For filing purposes, think about whether someone else could follow a transaction from the account entry to the document explaining it. A folder of receipts is more useful when each receipt can be connected to the corresponding payment. Keep any explanation of a confusing transaction beside the documents, rather than relying on your memory when your accountant asks about it.

How long to keep business records: the six-year rule and longer periods

The usual company rule is six years from the end of the last financial year to which a record relates. That means the receipt’s purchase date is not the starting point for the calculation. Check the company retention guidance.

A worked date example

Here is an example for a company with a financial year ending 31 March 2026, applying the GOV.UK retention rule and longer-lasting asset exception.

For the van, this is a practical application of the rule about the last financial year the records relate to. Its paperwork belongs in an asset file that stays accessible while the van remains in use. The ordinary purchase-year folder should point to that file, so an archive clear-out does not remove it by mistake.

When six years is not enough

GOV.UK lists circumstances requiring longer retention: transactions covering multiple accounting periods, purchases expected to last more than six years, a late Company Tax Return, and an HMRC compliance check into the return.

For Corporation Tax, the more precise test is to keep records until whichever of these happens last:

• The sixth anniversary of the accounting period’s end.
• Completion of an enquiry concerning the records.
• Closure of the enquiry window for the return.

These are the retention tests in HMRC’s Compliance Handbook CH14600. A normal archive date therefore needs reviewing if the return was late or an enquiry is still open.

A useful filing habit is to mark affected folders as awaiting review and record the reason. Ask the accountant handling the return to help establish the relevant deadline before deleting the documents. Avoid setting automatic deletion solely from the date a file was uploaded.

Sole traders work to a different clock

Sole traders generally keep their business records for at least five years after the relevant tax year’s 31 January submission deadline. The starting point is the deadline, rather than the day the return was actually submitted. GOV.UK sets out the self-employed retention rule.

The first row applies the same calculation as the published GOV.UK example. If you are moving from sole trading to a limited company, label the archives separately so the different starting points remain clear. Keeping both businesses’ paperwork in an undifferentiated receipts folder makes later review harder.

VAT has its own retention requirement: keep VAT records for at least six years, or ten years if using the VAT One Stop Shop scheme or if you used the Mini One Stop Shop scheme. Check that period separately from the sole-trader calculation above. See GOV.UK’s VAT retention guidance.

Keeping a scan or photo instead of paper

The condition for scanned invoices in VAT Notice 700/21 is: “If the image is retained and contains all the detail required for VAT purposes”. In the notice’s example, software scans the invoice and transfers information into the ledger; the business does not need to keep the original invoice unless it is required for another purpose. Read the scanned-invoice example in VAT Notice 700/21.

The important distinction is between saving an invoice image and saving selected figures from it. A typed amount, supplier name and payment date do not preserve the whole document. The notice expressly distinguishes those approaches. See VAT Notice 700/21 on digital and original records.

For other taxes, a practical approach is to keep copies legible, complete and retrievable, while checking whether an original is required for another purpose. Before disposing of paper, open the saved image and inspect it. Capture every page and any relevant reverse side, check that nothing is cropped, and make sure small print can be read when enlarged.

Treat the scan as part of the archive. A photograph left among personal pictures can be awkward to find later. Save it with the transaction’s paperwork and check that the copy opens from the place where you intend to keep it.

A simple system that survives an HMRC check

A useful archive lets you find the document, connect it to a transaction and explain any uncertainty. The following routine is an organisational suggestion, rather than a prescribed folder structure or a guarantee about the outcome of a check.

Make a folder for each month within the financial year. Group purchase documents, sales documents and bank records consistently. Keep a separate asset folder for paperwork that remains relevant beyond the purchase year, with a reference back to it from the monthly folder.

Use predictable file names. A pattern such as date_supplier_invoice-reference makes searching easier. Keep the supplier’s original invoice reference and use the same pattern across the archive. If a file has been replaced with a clearer scan, make the usable version obvious.

Collect email receipts in the same place. Save the attachment when the invoice arrives as a file. Where the receipt is in the email itself, preserve the complete receipt content. A dedicated collection route can reduce the need to search several inboxes; Your forwarding address explains how to direct those emails into one place.

Photograph till receipts while they are readable. Flatten the receipt, use even lighting and check the photograph before filing it. If Telegram is part of your routine, Send receipts on Telegram explains that collection method. Put unreadable or incomplete images aside for follow-up, rather than assuming that saving a photograph has resolved the missing evidence.

Match the documents and review gaps. Work through the payment records alongside the receipts. Keep a short list of documents to request, unexplained payments and questions for your accountant. An explicitly flagged gap is easier to investigate than a transaction silently marked as complete.

Keep the archive usable when software changes. Include an export and backup step in your routine, and try opening saved documents outside the original inbox. Review who can access the archive, particularly if a colleague normally collects the receipts. The handover should make both the documents and outstanding questions easy to find; What is in the accountant package describes the package your accountant receives.

Billfetch keeps the original file of every invoice and receipt it collects — from your inbox, a photo or a marketplace — next to the payment it belongs to, so the six-year archive builds itself. See plans and pricing.

What happens if records are lost or never kept

GOV.UK warns that failure to keep accounting records can result in a £3,000 HMRC fine or disqualification as a company director. See the warning on accounting records.

If records are lost, stolen or destroyed and cannot be replaced, the company must do its best to recreate them, tell its Corporation Tax office straight away and include that information in its Company Tax Return. GOV.UK explains the required response to lost records.

Start recovery by checking saved attachments, backups and available downloads, then requesting duplicate documents from suppliers. Keep a note of what was recovered and what remains missing. Give that list to your accountant so reconstructed records are clearly identified and unresolved gaps can be discussed.

Frequently asked questions

Can I throw away receipts once I have scanned them?

For VAT, the scanned-invoice example allows this where the retained image contains all required VAT detail and the original is not needed for another purpose. Check the saved image before disposing of the paper; saving selected figures is different from retaining a copy of the invoice. Read VAT Notice 700/21.

Does the six-year period start on the receipt date?

No. For a limited company, the ordinary period starts at the end of the last company financial year the record relates to, with longer retention in specified circumstances. See the company retention rule.

Can I delete records while HMRC is checking the return?

Do not treat the ordinary archive date as clearance to delete records relevant to an open enquiry. The Corporation Tax test includes completion of the enquiry and closure of the enquiry window, alongside the sixth anniversary of the accounting period’s end; the latest applies. See HMRC’s Compliance Handbook CH14600.

Do sole traders and limited companies use the same deadline?

No. The ordinary sole-trader calculation runs for five years after the relevant 31 January submission deadline, while the company rule runs for six years from the end of the last relevant company financial year. Check the sole-trader guidance and company guidance for the applicable rules and exceptions.

General information, not advice. This is general information about UK rules at the time of writing, not advice about your circumstances. Check the linked GOV.UK guidance or speak to an accountant about your situation.