How many years accounts to keep

teacher2mum

Hi guys I used to think I had to keep 7 years accounts and have. However, I have just read it's only. 22 months so the 2013-2014 I have just submitted needs keeping until January 2016. Is this true. If so, can I shred all before 2011-2012? Thx in advance guys xx

agrinnall

Where have you read the 22 months figure? Is it an authoritative source? I keep mine for at least 6 years, they don't take up much room and I'd rather have then and not need them than the other way round. And if shortage of space is a real issue for you, scan them and keep electronic copies.

PlutoinCapricorn

I keep everything for six years, then scan before shredding. Better safe than sorry. Some people on here have reported needing information from many years ago.

teacher2mum

Just now on the hmrc website for self assessment ! Thx.

Mojisola

https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records/how-long-to-keep-your-records
You must keep your records for at least 5 years after 31 January of the relevant tax year.


https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/company-and-accounting-records
You must normally keep records for at least 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to.

quietriot

teacher2mum wrote: »

Just now on the hmrc website for self assessment ! Thx.

It's 22 months for regular people in self assessment, but as seen above, longer if you're self employed or otherwise in business.

agrinnall

quietriot wrote: »

It's 22 months for regular people in self assessment, but as seen above, longer if you're self employed or otherwise in business.

It's pretty poor advice though given that they can chase unpaid tax going back 4 years. And 22 months makes little sense at all, you'd think it would a whole number of years.

TheCyclingProgrammer

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

I keep everything for six years, then scan before shredding. Better safe than sorry. Some people on here have reported needing information from many years ago.

You could just scan them straight away and bin the paperwork. There's only a small handful of things that need to be kept in their original format (there's a list somewhere but no idea where on the gov.uk site).

TheCyclingProgrammer

agrinnall wrote: »

It's pretty poor advice though given that they can chase unpaid tax going back 4 years. And 22 months makes little sense at all, you'd think it would a whole number of years.

I think it's 22 months from the filing deadline.

agrinnall

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

I think it's 22 months from the filing deadline.

Actually I suppose that just about makes sense, keeping 22 months prior to January 2015 would take you back to March 2013, so you'd have the whole of the tax year that you'd just filed for (well, not me, because I file in April or May when I'm in SA).

jamesd

It isn't strictly 22 months for individuals, details start at Keeping your pay and tax records with a very similar but more extensive PDF version A general guide to keeping records for your tax return. Key points:

1. "There are no rules on how you must keep records. You can keep them on paper, digitally or as part of a software program (like book-keeping software)." If you scan you need to have both front and back available, not just the front.

2. "Tax returns sent on or before the deadline ... You should keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the tax return is for." "Tax returns sent after the deadline ... You should keep your records for at least 15 months after you sent the tax return."

3. For capital gains tax you'll need to prove original value so you'll need to hold the records until you sell. For many people this will mean home purchase records being kept for decades.

Note that HMRC says "at least". It would not be sensible to keep things for the minimum time, particularly if you have them on computer and can easily make backup copies that you can keep for decades.