How long to keep business records in the UK.

The short answer

Most small businesses need to think about four separate time limits. Each one comes from a different set of HMRC rules.

• Sole traders and partners: at least 5 years after the 31 January Self Assessment deadline for the tax year
• Limited companies: 6 years from the end of the last company financial year the records relate to, and sometimes longer
• VAT-registered businesses: at least 6 years for VAT records, or 10 years if you use the VAT One Stop Shop scheme
• Employers: 3 years from the end of the tax year for payroll records

A business can fall under more than one rule at once. A limited company that is VAT registered and runs a payroll has to meet all three that apply to it. The safest habit is to keep everything for the longest period that covers it.

Sole traders and business partners

If you are self-employed, or a partner in a business partnership, you keep records for your Self Assessment tax return. GOV.UK says you must keep them for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year.

The clock starts from the deadline, not from the date you actually filed. So filing early does not shorten the period.

Working out the date for 2026/27

The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. The online return for that year is due by 31 January 2028. Add 5 years and you reach the end of January 2033. That is the earliest point you can safely let those records go.

If your return goes in very late

There is one exception. If you send your tax return more than 4 years after the deadline, you need to keep your records for 15 months after you send it.

What the records cover

GOV.UK lists the records a self-employed person must keep. They include:

• All sales and income
• All business expenses
• VAT records, if you are registered for VAT
• PAYE records, if you employ people
• Records about your personal income

The proof behind these is the everyday paperwork: sales invoices, receipts, till rolls, bank statements and paying-in slips.

Limited companies

A limited company must keep records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. GOV.UK says you may need to keep them for longer in four situations:

• A transaction covers more than one accounting period
• The company bought something it expects to last more than 6 years, such as equipment or machinery
• The Company Tax Return was sent late
• HMRC has started a compliance check into the return

Accounting records a company must keep

The accounting records must show:

• All money received and spent by the company
• Assets the company owns
• Debts the company owes, and debts owed to it
• Stock at the end of the financial year, and the stocktakes used to work it out
• Goods bought and sold, and who they were bought from and sold to, unless you run a retail business

You must also keep the supporting paperwork, such as receipts, invoices, bank statements and correspondence.

Records about the company itself

Separate from the accounts, a company must keep details of its shareholders, shareholder votes and resolutions, share purchases, debentures, indemnities, and any loans or mortgages secured against its assets.

The penalty for not keeping them

GOV.UK says HMRC can fine a company £3,000, or a director can be disqualified, if the company does not keep accounting records.

VAT records

If you are VAT registered, you must keep VAT records for at least 6 years. You start keeping them from the date you register. The period is 10 years if you use the VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) scheme, or if you used the old VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) scheme.

VAT records include:

• Everything you buy and sell, including zero-rated, reduced rate and exempt items
• Copies of all the invoices you issue
• All invoices you receive, as originals or electronic copies
• Debit and credit notes
• Self-billing agreements, where the customer prepares the invoice
• Goods you give away or take from stock for private use
• General records such as bank statements, cash books, cheque stubs, paying-in slips and till rolls

Unless you are exempt from Making Tax Digital for VAT, you must also keep some of these records digitally, in software. That covers the VAT on sales and purchases, the time and value of each supply, any adjustments to a return and any VAT schemes you use.

Note that the VAT rule can run longer than the sole trader rule. A sole trader who is VAT registered should check both and keep VAT records until the later date.

Payroll records

If you run a payroll, you must keep payroll records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to. For 2026/27, which ends on 5 April 2027, that means keeping them until at least 5 April 2030.

The records include:

• What you pay employees and the deductions you make
• The reports you send to HMRC and the payments you make to it
• Employee leave and sickness absences
• Tax code notices
• Taxable expenses or benefits
• Payroll Giving Scheme documents, if you use it

If you do not keep full records, HMRC may estimate what you have to pay. It can also charge a penalty of up to £3,000.

Payroll figures also feed into your business accounts. So for a company, the wage costs and payments still need to be backed up for the 6-year company period, even though the payroll rule itself is shorter.

A worked example

Records you keep as an individual

If you send a Self Assessment return but are not self-employed, for example as an employee with other income to report, a shorter personal rule applies to your pay and tax records. GOV.UK says to keep them for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the return is for, or 15 months after you sent it if the return was late.

The 2026/27 tax year ends on 5 April 2027. So for an on-time return, keep those personal records until at least 5 February 2029. Business records always follow the longer rules above.

Paper, scans and software

For people who send a Self Assessment return, GOV.UK says there are no rules on how you must keep records. HMRC can charge a penalty if they are not accurate, complete and readable. Many businesses now scan paper receipts or keep electronic copies of invoices, and VAT rules allow electronic copies of invoices you receive.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is also changing things for sole traders and landlords. It applies from 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income in 2024/25 was over £50,000. It applies from 6 April 2027 if your qualifying income in 2025/26 is over £30,000, and from 6 April 2028 if your qualifying income in 2026/27 is over £20,000. If you are in scope, check the GOV.UK eligibility guidance before the start date that applies to you.

Whatever format you use, keep backups. A laptop failure or a closed software account does not change how long you were meant to keep the records.

If records are lost, stolen or destroyed

For Self Assessment, if you cannot replace your records you must do your best to provide figures. Tell HMRC when you file if you are using estimated figures, or provisional figures while you wait for the real ones. You will need to send the actual figures once you have them.

A limited company that cannot replace lost records must do its best to recreate them, tell its Corporation Tax office straight away, and include this information in its Company Tax Return.

Keeping records easy to find

The rules only help if you can find a document when HMRC asks for it. A few habits make that much easier:

• Attach each receipt or invoice to the matching transaction in your bookkeeping software
• Store files by financial year, so a whole year can be checked or archived at once
• Write a short note on anything unusual, such as a mixed business and personal cost
• Chase missing invoices soon after the payment, while the supplier still has them
• Keep a note of when each year's records can be destroyed, using the longest rule that applies

Daily bookkeeping does most of this as you go. Each bank line is matched to its paperwork, and gaps are followed up within days rather than at year end.