Organizing, filing and retaining old records is a burden for many businesses. The following types of records and retention periods are general guidelines and should be tempered by individual business and investment concerns, as well as the advice of legal counsel.
| Accident Reports/Claims (Settled cases) | 7 Years |
| Accounts Payable Ledgers and Schedules | 7 Years |
| Accounts Receivable Ledgers and Schedules | 8 Years |
| Audit Reports | Permanently |
| Bank Statements | 3 Years |
| Capital Stock and Bond Records (ledgers, transfer registers, stubs showing issues, record of interest coupons, options, etc.) | Permanently |
| Charts of Accounts | Permanently |
| Checks (Cancelled checks for important payments, special contracts, purchase of assets, payment of taxes, etc.) | Permanently |
| Checks (Cancelled except those noted above) | 7 Years |
| Contracts and Leases (Expired) | 7 Years |
| Contracts and Leases still in effect | Permanently |
| Correspondence (General) and schedules | 2 Years |
| Correspondence (Legal) and important letters | Permanently |
| Correspondence (Routine) with customers and vendors | 2 Years |
| Deeds, Mortgages and Bills of Sale | Permanently |
| Depreciation Schedules | Permanently |
| Employee Personal Records (Following termination) | 7 Years |
| Employee Applications | 3 Years |
| Financial Statements (Year-end - other months are optional) | Permanently |
| General Ledgers and Year-end Trial Balances | Permanently |
| Insurance Records and Policies | Permanently |
| Internal Audit Reports | 3 Years |
| Inventory Records | 7 Years |
| Invoices (To customers or from vendors) | 7 Years |
| IRA and Keogh Plan Contributions, Rollovers, Transfers and Distribution | Permanently |
| Minute Books of Directors, Stockholders, Bylaws and Charter | Permanently |
| Payroll Records, Summaries and Tax Returns | 7 Years |
| Petty Cash Vouchers | 3 Years |
| Property Records (Including costs, depreciation reserves, year-end trial balances, depreciation schedules, blueprints and plans) | Permanently |
| Purchase Orders | 3 Years |
| Receiving Sheets | 1 Year |
| Safety Records | 6 Years |
| Sales Records | 7 Years |
| Stock and Bond Certificates (Cancelled) | 7 Years |
| Subsidiary Ledgers | 7 Years |
| Tax Returns, Revenue Agent Reports, other documents relating to determination of tax liability | Permanently |
| Time Cards and Daily Reports | 7 Years |
| Trademark Registrations, Patents and Copyrights | Permanently |
| Voucher Registers and Schedules | 7 Years |
| Vouchers of Payment (To vendors, employees, etc. - Includes allowances and reimbursements of employees, officers, etc. for travel and entertainment expenses) | 7 Years |
The normal statute of limitations on federal returns is three years. Under some circumstances it is six years, and if a return is not filed or if there is fraud involved, the statute of limitations does not close.
THis means that the Internal Revenue Service under nominal conditions would audit a return any time up through three years. Since the statute of limitations in some states exceeds the federal statute, the years of retention should be tailored to the longer of the two statutes.
In deciding upon a record retention schedule, consider keeping indefinitely those records which cannot be recreated by any other office, institution or governmental unit.
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