How long to keep business records

Retention periods

Companies, for HMRC

6 years from the end of the last company financial year the records relate to (GOV.UK: company and accounting records)

Private companies, under company law

3 years from the date the records are made (Companies Act 2006 s388)

Public companies, under company law

6 years from the date the records are made (Companies Act 2006 s388)

Sole traders and partners

At least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year (GOV.UK: how long to keep your records)

VAT records

Generally at least 6 years (HMRC VAT Notice 700/21, paragraph 2.4)

Payroll records

3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to (GOV.UK: PAYE keeping records)

Companies

Every company must keep adequate accounting records, including day-to-day entries of all money received and spent and what it was for, and a record of assets and liabilities. A company dealing in goods also keeps its year-end stock statements and stocktaking records (Companies Act 2006 s386).

Company law sets 3 years for a private company and 6 years for a public company (Companies Act 2006 s388). HMRC's period is longer: 6 years from the end of the last financial year the records relate to. Records are kept for longer where a transaction covers more than one accounting period, an asset is expected to last more than 6 years, a Company Tax Return was filed late, or HMRC has a compliance check open (GOV.UK: company and accounting records).

HMRC can fine a company £3,000, and a director can be disqualified, for failing to keep accounting records (GOV.UK). Records about the company itself, such as shareholders, resolutions and share transactions, are kept as well.

Sole traders and partnerships

Records are kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline. For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, with a 31 January 2028 deadline, that means until at least 31 January 2033. If a return is sent more than 4 years after the deadline, the records are kept for 15 months after it is sent (GOV.UK: how long to keep your records).

GOV.UK lists the records as all sales and income, all business expenses, VAT records if registered, PAYE records if the business employs people, and records about personal income. A business using traditional accounting also keeps records of amounts owed to and by it, stock and work in progress, year-end bank balances, capital introduced and drawings (GOV.UK: what records to keep).

What counts as a record

• Sales invoices, purchase invoices and receipts, and credit notes issued and received (HMRC VAT Notice 700/21).
• Bank statements and paying-in records, and statements for cards, loans and payment processors.
• Cash books, ledgers, day books and the VAT account.
• Orders, delivery notes, contracts, import and export documents, and till rolls or daily takings records.
• Payroll records: payments and deductions, reports and payments to HMRC, leave and sickness absence, tax code notices and taxable expenses or benefits (GOV.UK: PAYE keeping records).
• Annual accounts, tax returns and the working papers behind them.

Digital records under Making Tax Digital

VAT-registered businesses must keep the records that form their electronic account digitally in compatible software, and move data between programs by digital links (HMRC VAT Notice 700/21, paragraph 2.1). See Making Tax Digital for VAT rules.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applied from 6 April 2026 to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025. It applies from 6 April 2027 for income over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026, and from 6 April 2028 for income over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK: check if you're eligible). Those businesses keep digital records of income and expenses and send quarterly updates. See the agents' Making Tax Digital for Income Tax guide.

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