Filing and Records Management

7. How Long is Long-term?

7.1 Accounting records for an ordinary limited company must be retained for three years.

• There is no legal minimum period for sole traders or partnerships.
• Plcs must keep accounting records for six years.

7.2 Sickness and sick pay records, and records relating to maternity pay, paternity pay and adoption pay, must be retained for three years.

7.3 Pay records must be kept for a minimum of three years after the end of the tax year the earnings relate to.

7.4 VAT records and documents must be kept for six years. (See Common VAT problems).

7.5 Contracts must usually be kept for six years, though contracts under seal must be kept for 12 years.

7.6 Tax records must be kept for at least six years, as HM Revenue & Customs can raise assessments up to six years after the end of the period the assessment relates to.

• There is no legal time limit (in effect, it is 20 years) in cases of tax fraud.

7.7 Where there have been any problems, such as industrial injuries, health and safety records should be kept for at least 12 years, as claims for personal liability can be lodged up to 12 years after the event.

• Records relating to some hazardous substances, for example, asbestos, may need to be kept for up to 40 years.

7.8 Your compulsory employers' liability certificates of insurance must, in theory, be kept for 40 years.

• This is a legal requirement under regulations introduced in 1999. These also authorise Health and Safety Executive inspectors to ask to see old certificates.