Updated: January 2017. Checked and verified by a California based CPA, Kentucky based CPA, and California based estate planner.
Need Record Retention Periods for Personal?
Small business financial statements can be convoluted, which makes managing them even more of a pain. I put this comprehensive guide together to make your life a little easier.
Table of Contents
RECOMMENDED RECORD RETENTION PERIODS FOR BUSINESS RECORDS
In Retention Period Order
Permanent Records
- Appropriate ledger and related end of year trial balances
- Cancelled checks for payment of taxes, purchase of property, and in payment of important contracts should be retained permanently with the papers in these files
- Capital stock and bond records:
- Ledgers, transfer registers, stubs showing issues and record of interest coupons Cash books (receipts and disbursement journals)
- Deeds, mortgages, and bills of sale, contracts and leases in effect
- Depreciation schedules
- Employment taxes (records and returns, including withholding statements)
- Financial statements – Year end (others optional)
- General and private ledgers, and related end of year trial balances Insurance records (existing)
- Minute books of directors and stockholders, by-laws
- Patents and related papers
- Property appraisals by outside appraisers
- Property ledgers – including costs, depreciation reserves and end of year trial balances Tax returns and worksheets, Revenue Agent’s reports and other documents relating to determination of tax liability Trade mark registrations
One Year
- Correspondence of unimportant nature with customers or vendors
- Purchase orders (except purchasing department copies)
- Receiving sheets
- Requisitions
- Stenographers’ note books Stockroom withdrawal forms
Three Years
- Employment applications
- General correspondence
- Internal audit reports, including working papers
- Miscellaneous internal reports
- Petty cash vouchers
- Physical inventory tags
Four Years
- Insurance policies which have expired
Seven Years
- Accident reports
- Accounts receivable ledgers and related trial balances
- Bank reconciliations
- Bank statements
- Canceled checks (see exception under permanent records) Contracts and leases expired
- Duplicate deposit slips
- Expense analyses and expense distribution schedules
- Garnishments
- Inventory summaries of product, materials and supplies
- Invoices to customers and from vendors
- Journal vouchers
- Notes receivable ledgers and related trial balances
- Payroll records and summaries, including payments to pensioners
- Personnel files (terminated)
- Purchase orders (purchasing department copies)
- Sales records
- Scrap salvage records
- Inventories, sales, etc.
- Subsidiary ledgers to the general ledger and related trial balances
- Time books
- Voucher register and related trial balances
RECOMMENDED RECORD RETENTION PERIODS FOR BUSINESS RECORDS
In Alphabetical Order
|
Accident reports |
Seven Years |
|
Accounts receivable ledgers and related trial balances |
Seven Years |
|
Appropriate ledger and related end of year trial balances |
Permanent |
|
Bank reconciliations |
Seven Years |
|
Bank statements |
Seven Years |
|
Canceled checks (see exception under permanent records) |
Seven Years |
|
Canceled checks for payment of taxes, purchase of property, and in payment of important contracts should be retained permanently with the papers in these files |
Permanent |
|
Capital stock and bond records: |
Permanent |
|
Cash books (receipts and disbursement journals) |
Permanent |
|
Contracts and leases expired |
Seven Years |
|
Correspondence of unimportant nature with customers or vendors |
One Year |
|
Deeds, mortgages, and bills of sale, contracts and leases in effect |
Permanent |
|
Depreciation schedules |
Permanent |
|
Duplicate deposit slips |
Seven Years |
|
Employment applications |
Three Years |
|
Employment taxes (records and returns, including withholding statements) |
Permanent |
|
Expense analyses and expense distribution schedules |
Seven Years |
|
Financial statements – Year end (others optional) |
Permanent |
|
Garnishments |
Seven Years |
|
General and private ledgers, and related end of year trial balances |
Permanent |
|
General correspondence |
Three Years |
|
Insurance policies which have expired |
Four Years |
|
Insurance records (existing) |
Permanent |
|
Internal audit reports, including working papers |
Three Years |
|
Inventory summaries of product, materials and supplies |
Seven Years |
|
Invoices to customers and from vendors |
Seven Years |
|
Journal vouchers |
Seven Years |
|
Miscellaneous internal reports |
Three Years |
|
Minute books of directors and stockholders, by-laws |
Permanent |
|
Notes receivable ledgers and related trial balances |
Seven Years |
|
Patents and related papers |
Permanent |
|
Payroll records and summaries, including payments to pensioners |
Seven Years |
|
Personnel files (terminated) |
Seven Years |
|
Petty cash vouchers |
Three Years |
|
Physical inventory tags |
Three Years |
|
Property appraisals by outside appraisers |
Permanent |
|
Property ledgers – including costs, depreciation reserves and end of year trial balances |
Permanent |
|
Purchase orders (except purchasing department copies) |
One Year |
|
Purchase orders (purchasing department copies) |
Seven Years |
|
Receiving sheets |
One Year |
|
Requisitions |
One Year |
|
Sales records |
Seven Years |
|
Scrap salvage records – Inventories, sales, etc. |
Seven Years |
|
Stenographers’ note books |
One Year |
|
Stockroom withdrawal forms |
One Year |
|
Subsidiary ledgers to the general ledger and related trial balances |
Seven Years |
|
Tax returns and worksheets, Revenue Agent’s reports and other documents relating to determination of tax liability |
Permanent |
|
Time books |
Seven Years |
|
Trademark registrations |
Permanent |
|
Voucher register and related trial balances |
Seven Years |
From recipes using locally sourced ingredients and terroir-centric cooking, craft cocktails, to the latest in tech and home DIY projects, Michael yearns to share his learned and found knowledge of the world.
This is super helpful! I sent this to husband to read too for all our business projects we have. Thank you for sharing.
This is so incredibly helpful! I’m currently going through all my personal files, purging stuff and will be starting on business files soon!
Thank you.I am going through files to see what I can shred.
Thank you so much for posting this! Now I have all of this information in one place. Pinned!
Such a helpful list! I either seem to throw away what I need to soon, or hold on to stuff I don’t need
Oh, man! I JUST “purged” my file cabinet and got rid of a ton of papers I thought I would not need. I’m just glad I kept all our tax returns!
This is a lot of good information, especially since I plan on registering my food blog as an LLC. Some of the things you listed don’t apply to my particular situation, but many do. Thanks for sharing the info! I really need to get better at record keeping.