Keep business records after closing

Guide summary

Sole traders and partners: keep records for 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline
Limited companies: keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year
Keep VAT records for at least 6 years, or 10 years if you use or used a VAT One Stop Shop scheme
Keep PAYE records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to
Keep contracts for as long as a claim can be brought: 6 years for simple contracts, 12 for deeds
In Scotland, contract obligations are extinguished after 5 years without a relevant claim or acknowledgement
Keep health records for 40 years from the last entry if you did health surveillance of employees
If records are lost or destroyed, do your best to recreate them and tell HMRC if you use estimates

You must keep your business records for the required period after you stop trading. HMRC can ask to see them, and they can help you answer a later claim. The period runs from the tax year, company financial year or event the record relates to, not from the day you close.

Tax and accounting records

Sole traders and partners

Self Assessment records retention periods

Minimum retention periods for Self Assessment tax records.

Standard retention period: 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline
Example calculation: 2022-23 return submitted by 31 January 2024 - keep until end of January 2029
Late return retention: 15 months after you send the tax return (if more than 4 years late)
Authority: HMRC

The same period applies to the records you need for your final return. A partner keeps their own records, and the nominated partner also keeps the partnership's.

Limited companies

Corporation Tax records retention periods

Minimum retention periods for Corporation Tax records.

Standard retention period: 6 years from the end of the last company financial year
Asset records (if expected to last longer): Longer than 6 years if assets expected to last more than 6 years
Multi-period transactions: Longer retention if records cover more than one accounting period
Late return or compliance check: Extended beyond 6 years if return filed late or HMRC compliance check started
Authority: HMRC

Company accounting records retention periods

How long companies must keep accounting records: the Companies Act minimum and the HMRC six-year rule.

Private limited companies (Companies Act): 3 years from the date the records are made
Public limited companies (Companies Act): 6 years from the date the records are made
HMRC rule (all companies): 6 years from the end of the last company financial year the records relate to
Longer than 6 years: If a record covers more than one accounting period, relates to an asset expected to last over 6 years, the Company Tax Return was late or HMRC has started a compliance check
Which applies: Keep records for the longer of the two periods, so in practice 6 years for most companies

GOV.UK advises keeping other business documents, such as bank statements, invoices and receipts, for 7 years after a company is struck off.

VAT and PAYE

VAT records retention periods

How long VAT-registered businesses must keep VAT records.

Standard retention period: At least 6 years
One Stop Shop schemes: 10 years if you use the VAT One Stop Shop scheme or used the Mini One Stop Shop scheme
After deregistration: You must still keep VAT records for the required period
Shorter period: If the 6-year rule causes serious storage problems or undue expense, HMRC may allow some records to be kept for a shorter period
Records for other taxes: Records used for other tax purposes may need to be kept longer

Deregistering from VAT does not end this, though you no longer need to keep digital records in functional compatible software.

PAYE records retention periods

How long employers must keep PAYE and payroll records.

Standard retention period: 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to
Records covered: Pay and deductions, reports to HMRC, payments to HMRC, leave and sickness absence, tax code notices, taxable expenses and benefits, Payroll Giving Scheme documents
Statutory Maternity Pay records: 3 years after the end of the tax year in which the maternity pay period ends
Other records: Different rules apply to records proving National Minimum Wage, statutory leave and holiday pay

Employee and workplace records

Keep working time records for 2 years from the date they were made.

If you carried out health surveillance of employees exposed to hazardous substances, keep each health record for at least 40 years from the last entry in it. If you stop trading, you must tell the Health and Safety Executive in writing and make those records available to it.

Contracts

Keep your contracts with suppliers, customers, landlords and former staff for at least as long as a claim on them can be brought.

Contract records retention periods (England and Wales)

How long a claim on a contract can be brought in England and Wales, which sets how long to keep the contract records.

No statute sets a minimum period for keeping contracts. The Limitation Act 1980 sets how long after a breach a claim can be brought, and that is what decides how long contract records stay useful. The clock runs from the date the cause of action accrued, usually the breach, and a breach can fall at any point in the life of a contract. Keeping a contract for the limitation period after it ends therefore covers a breach in its final days.

Simple contracts: Claims barred 6 years after the cause of action accrued
Deeds (specialty): Claims barred 12 years after the cause of action accrued
When the clock starts: Usually the date of the breach, which can be before the contract ends
Statutory retention duty: None; the limitation period decides how long to keep the contract
Authority: Limitation Act 1980, sections 5 and 8

Contract records retention periods (Scotland)

How long an obligation arising from a contract can be enforced in Scotland, which sets how long to keep the contract records.

No statute sets a minimum period for keeping contracts in Scotland. Under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, an obligation arising from a contract, or from a breach of one, is extinguished after 5 years if no relevant claim has been made and the obligation has not been acknowledged. The 5 years run from the date the obligation became enforceable, which is usually when the breach happened, not when the contract ended. A relevant claim or acknowledgement restarts the count.

Contract obligations (Scotland): Extinguished after 5 years without a relevant claim or acknowledgement
When the 5 years start: The date the obligation became enforceable, usually the breach
Statutory retention duty: None; the prescriptive period decides how long to keep the contract
Authority: Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6 and Schedule 1

Store your records

You can keep records on paper, digitally or in software, as long as they stay accurate and you can identify each business transaction. Choose somewhere you can retrieve them from for the whole period, and make sure your accountant or a co-director knows where they are.

If records are lost, stolen or destroyed, do your best to recreate them. For Self Assessment you can use estimated or provisional figures, and you must tell HMRC when you file that you have done so.

What happens if you do not keep them

Penalties for failing to keep business records

HMRC penalties for failing to keep or preserve tax records.

Self Assessment records: Penalty of up to £3,000 for each tax year
Corporation Tax records: Penalty of up to £3,000 for each accounting period
VAT records: £500 for failing to preserve records
Company directors: Fine of £3,000 or disqualification for not keeping accounting records
Exception for tax records: No penalty where the missing records could only have been needed for claims, elections or notices outside the return

Legal basis

Primary legislation and key regulations

Companies Act 2006 Primary 2006 · UK-wide Value Added Tax Act 1994 Primary 1994 · UK-wide Limitation Act 1980 Primary 1980 · UK-wide Taxes Management Act 1970 Primary 1970 · UK-wide Pensions Act 2008 Primary 2008 · UK-wide Finance Act 1998 Primary 1998 · UK-wide National Minimum Wage Act 1998 Primary 1998 · UK-wide Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Primary 1973 · UK-wide National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 SI 2015 · UK-wide The Employers' Duties (Registration and Compliance) Regulations 2010 SI 2010 · UK-wide The Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003 SI 2003 · UK-wide COSHH 2002 SI 2002 · UK-wide WTR 1998 SI 1998 · UK-wide The Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986 SI 1986 · UK-wide

Browse UK legislation legislation.gov.uk

Official guidance

Automatic enrolment detailed guidance, keeping records (opens in a new tab)

GOV.UK

Self-employed record keeping (opens in a new tab)

HMRC

Running a limited company - accounts (opens in a new tab)

Companies House

Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21) (opens in a new tab)

HMRC

Keep business records after closing

Tax and accounting records

Sole traders and partners

Limited companies

VAT and PAYE

Employee and workplace records

Contracts

Store your records

What happens if you do not keep them

Legal basis

Official guidance

Related guides in Compliance & Legal

File your final Self Assessment return

Strike off your limited company

Close your PAYE scheme

Cancel your VAT registration

Keep the right employment records