How long to keep business records in the UK

UK record retention periods at a glance

The period depends on how the business is set up and which tax the records support. Use the longest period that applies. A sole trader who is VAT registered, for example, should keep VAT records for the VAT period even if the Self Assessment period ends sooner. Figures below were checked against GOV.UK and HMRC guidance on 21 October 2026.

Sole traders: 5 years after the 31 January deadline

The clock starts at the online filing deadline, not at the date of the receipt. Records for the 2024 to 2025 tax year (6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025) support a return due online by 31 January 2026. You should keep them until at least 31 January 2031.

If you send a return more than 4 years after the deadline, HMRC guidance says to keep the records for 15 months after you send it. If HMRC is checking your return, keep everything until the enquiry has finished, even when the normal period has ended.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has applied since 6 April 2026 to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. The threshold falls to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Qualifying income is income before expenses. Those businesses must keep digital records in compatible software, but the retention periods above still apply.

Limited companies: usually 6 years

GOV.UK says a company must usually keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. A company with a 31 March 2026 year end should therefore keep that year's records until at least 31 March 2032.

Keep records for longer when a transaction covers more than one accounting period, when the company has bought something it expects to last more than 6 years, such as equipment or machinery, when a Company Tax Return was sent late, or while HMRC has a compliance check open. Directors remain responsible for the records even when the company is dormant.

• All money received and spent by the company, including grants and support-scheme payments.
• Details of assets owned, debts owed to and by the company, and stock held at the year end.
• Goods bought and sold, and who bought and sold them, unless the business is retail.
• Sales invoices, purchase receipts, bank statements and supporting contracts.

VAT records: generally 6 years

HMRC VAT Notice 700/21 asks VAT-registered businesses to keep VAT records for 6 years in most cases. That includes VAT invoices issued and received, VAT account calculations and import or export evidence. Some documents, such as import VAT certificates, have specific rules. Making Tax Digital for VAT also requires digital records and digital links between the software you use.

Can you keep digital copies instead of paper receipts?

HMRC accepts records kept on paper or digitally. A scan, PDF or clear photo can normally replace a paper receipt if it is complete and readable, showing the supplier, date, amount and any VAT. Keep the original email or downloaded PDF when the receipt arrived digitally.

Back up digital records and make sure you can still open them years later. A faded thermal receipt or an unreadable photo does not help in an enquiry. Keep records in a consistent structure by tax year and month so you can find a specific document quickly.

• Convert receipts, photos and documents to PDF
• Collect emailed receipts and invoices automatically

What happens if you do not keep records?

HMRC can charge a penalty of up to £3,000 per tax year for failing to keep adequate records. Missing records also make it harder to support your expenses, so HMRC may estimate the figures and charge tax, interest and penalties on any under-declared profit. Good records are your evidence that the figures on your return are right.

Worked example: deciding what to delete

Rowan Design is a fictional sole trader, not VAT registered, reviewing an archive in October 2026. The earliest folder holds receipts from the 2019 to 2020 tax year. That return was due online by 31 January 2021, so the 5-year period ended on 31 January 2026 and those records can now be deleted if no HMRC enquiry is open.

The 2020 to 2021 records supported a return due by 31 January 2022, so they must be kept until at least 31 January 2027. Rowan also keeps the purchase invoice for a laptop bought in 2020 that is still in use, because it supports a current asset. Before deleting anything, Rowan checks that no return was filed late and no enquiry is open.

A simple record-keeping routine

• Save every sales invoice, purchase receipt and bank statement as you go, in folders by tax year and month.
• Check each month that receipts match the payments on your bank statement, and note anything missing.
• Export a reviewed monthly or annual report and keep it with the original files.
• Once a year, list which tax years have passed their retention period, check for open enquiries or late returns, then delete them.

• Follow the monthly bookkeeping checklist
• Turn receipts and invoices into an Excel workbook
• Convert a bank statement to Excel

Common questions