Old Bank Statements - Keep???

cheersthanksbye

Hi,

Just clearing through old paper work tonight and I have a huge pile of old account statements (many of them now closed) and was just wondering, do I need to keep them for any reason?

They are all old savings accounts, but since I have asked, do you need to keep years and years worth of current accounts?

Cheers.
Richard

dunstonh

6 years is a sensible timescale. Although in the vast majority of cases, you will never need beyond 12 months.

cheersthanksbye

Thanks for the reply.
Yeah, the savings accounts can definately go I reckon. They date back to when I was 18 and not paying any tax.

Will keep current account statements though. Thanks.

johnllew

For tax purposes, this is what the Inland Revenue say:

How long must I retain my records?

For businesses that are not limited companies, the basic requirement is that normally records must be retained for five years from the 31 January following the tax year for which the tax return is made. For example, for the 2002 tax return sent to you on 6 April 2002, to complete and send back to us by 31 January 2003, records must be retained until at least 31 January 2008.

For companies, the records for an accounting period will normally have to be retained for six years from the end of that period, so that if the accounting period ends on 31 December 2002 the records must be kept until 31 December 2008.

Individuals not carrying on a business who are required to complete a tax return will normally have to retain their records for at least 22 months from the end of the tax year to which they relate. For example, for the 2002 tax return issued on 6 April 2002, records will have to be kept until at least 31 January 2004. However, see Evidence needed to support capital gains or claims to allowable capital losses for information about assets that are bought and sold and the records to be kept in these situations.

Source + more.

cloud_dog

CTB, the pertanent information, for IR issues, relates soley to your taxable income, i.e. interest on the accounts (or capital gains) - assuming none of the statements relate to a business account.

Your bank / building society(s) should send you a "Taxation Certificate" every year and it is this document that you should retain.  You do *not* need to keep the actual monthly / quarterly statements (unless you want to).  I tend to keep the latest three copies for proof of identity for when I apply for new CC or Mortgage, etc.

I think a previous thread suggested keeping the "Tax Certs" for 3 years (and this probably links back to johnllew post where it states "Individuals not carrying on a business who are required to complete a tax return will normally have to retain their records for at least 22 months from the end of the tax year to which they relate"

Cloud_dog

johnllew

I keep everything. I've got financial records going back over 30 years. Not only is it extremely interesting to see for instance what your payslips were that long ago, the Inland Revenue can go back up to 20 years if they suspect fraud. Whilst I'm not guilty of fraud, can you imagine how much it would cost if the Inspector of Taxes asked to see really old statements and you had to ask your bank to provide them?