How Long Must You Keep Accounting Records? UK Companies vs Sole Traders

“Keep everything for six years” is a useful reminder, but it is not the complete rule for every UK business. The minimum period depends on your business structure, the record’s purpose and whether returns or enquiries remain outstanding.

This October guide answers how long to keep accounting records, rather than repeating our DIY versus outsourced bookkeeping comparison.

Sole traders: the Self Assessment clock

For self-employed business records, HMRC generally requires retention for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year.

For the 2025/26 tax year, the normal online submission deadline is 31 January 2027. On that basis, retain the relevant business records until at least the end of January 2032. Keeping them for five years from the invoice date would not apply the correct clock.

Late returns can change the rules. HMRC gives a separate 15-month period after filing where a return is more than four years late. Keep records longer where an enquiry or another applicable requirement makes that necessary; do not treat that exception as permission to destroy unresolved evidence.

Limited companies: a different starting point

Companies generally keep accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to. If the financial year ends on 31 March 2026, the ordinary six-year period runs to 31 March 2032.

Longer retention may be needed for transactions spanning periods, assets expected to last more than six years, late company tax returns or an HMRC compliance check. Company-law, Corporation Tax and VAT obligations are not identical, so apply the relevant requirement rather than choosing the shortest period you find.

What counts as an accounting record?

Keep enough evidence to support the figures in your accounts and tax returns, including:

Sales invoices, credit notes and records of other income.
Purchase invoices, receipts and expense evidence.
Business bank statements and reconciliation records.
Asset purchases, disposals, debts and financing documents.
Stock records where relevant.
Calculations supporting tax-return adjustments.

Payroll, VAT, statutory company records and contracts may have separate retention requirements. An annual profit summary alone is not a substitute for the underlying evidence.

Are digital copies enough?

Digital storage can make records easier to retrieve, but the evidence must remain complete, readable and accessible. Check any requirement to retain an original document before discarding it. Photograph or scan receipts promptly and ensure the date, supplier, amount and relevant VAT information can be read.

Use restricted access, backups and clear folder names. Export records before cancelling accounting software; a subscription ending is not a record-retention exemption. Our software comparison can help assess practical record access.

Build a safe retention routine

Label records by tax year or company accounting period.
Document the applicable retention end date.
Flag enquiries, late filings and long-lived assets for extended retention.
Check backups and test retrieval periodically.
Review before deleting; do not automatically erase records while an issue is unresolved.

Keep personal information securely and avoid unnecessary access. Retention obligations and data-protection duties should be considered together, not used as reasons to ignore each other.

Need help turning a pile of receipts into usable records? Request a bookkeeping quote or explore Southampton bookkeeping and UK virtual bookkeeping.

Official guidance

October 2026 edition. Confirm the rules for your particular records before destroying evidence.