What are the retention periods for companies?
Verified 01 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
A company shall retain any document issued or received in the course of its business for a minimum period of time. This period varies according to the nature of the documents and the legal obligations. The company can also archive documents for a longer period of time, unless they contain personal data. During this period, the administration may carry out checks. This page shows the retention periods for key documents. You can also use a simulator.
Document Type | Shelf life |
---|---|
Contract or agreement concluded in the context of a commercial relationship, commercial correspondence (paper or electronic) | 5 years |
Bank document (check stub, bank statement, etc.) | 5 years |
Guarantee for goods or services supplied to the consumer | 2 years |
Contract concluded electronically with a consumer (from €120) | 10 years from delivery or service |
Contract for the acquisition or disposal of real estate and land | 30 years |
Customs declaration | 3 years |
Insurance policy | 2 years from termination of contract |
Intellectual property document (patent filing, trademark, design) | 5 years from the end of protection |
Lawyer's file | 5 years from the end of the mandate |
Document Type | Shelf life |
---|---|
Ledger and ledger book: journal book, ledger, inventory book, etc. | 10 years from year-end |
Voucher: PO, Shipment or Receipt, Customer and Supplier Invoice, etc. | 10 years from year-end |
The books, records, documents or documents on which the administration's rights of communication, investigation and control may be exercised must be kept for a period of 6 years.
This period shall start from one of the following moments :
- Last transaction mentioned on books or records
- Date on which the documents or documents were drawn up.
Example: 2018 income items reported in 2019 must be retained until the end of 2024.
Tax Type | Shelf life |
---|---|
Income tax (IR) and business tax (SI) | 6 years |
Industrial and commercial profits (BIC), non-commercial profits (NTB) and agricultural profits (BA) in real regime | 6 years |
Taxes on businesses for individual companies, businesses with limited liability (agricultural holdings, businesses of liberal practice) | 6 years |
Local direct taxes (property taxes, etc.) | 6 years |
Company property tax (CFE: titleContent) and CVAE: titleContent | 6 years |
Turnover taxes (VAT: titleContent and similar taxes, entertainment tax, tax on insurance agreements, etc.) | 6 years |
Warning
Time limits are increased to 10 years in the case of hidden activity (tax fraud, concealed work, lack of reporting, illegal activity, for example).
Document Type | Shelf life |
---|---|
Annual accounts (balance sheet, profit and loss account, annex...) | 10 years from year-end |
Statuses of a business, a GIE: titleContent or an association (if necessary, a status amendment) | 5 years from the loss of legal personality (or cancelation of the SCR: titleContent) |
Merger Treaty and other act relating to the functioning of the business (+ documents of the business absorbed) | 5 years |
- Register of registered shares - Register of movements of securities - Movement Order - Register of minutes of meetings and boards of directors | 5 years from end of use |
Record of attendance and powers | Last 3 fiscal years |
Report of the manager or the board of directors | Last 3 fiscal years |
Report of the auditors | Last 3 fiscal years |
Document Type | Shelf life |
---|---|
Pay stub (double paper or electronic) | 5 years |
Single register of staff | 5 years from the employee's departure |
Document concerning employment contracts, wages, bonuses, allowances, balances of any account, pension schemes. | 5 years |
Document on payroll taxes and payroll tax | 3 years |
Accounting for employees' days of work under a flat rate agreement | 3 years |
Accounting for employees' hours, stand-by time and their compensation | 1 year |
| 5 years |
Accident at work Declaration of liability to the primary sickness insurance fund | 5 years |
FYI
The employer must be able to guarantee the availability of its employees' digital pay slips for at least 50 years or up to the employee's retirement age and the following 6 years.
Retention of insurance policy
Preservation of industrial property documents, employment contract, statutes...
Retention of special time limits: lawyers
Retention of business relation document
Keeping accounting records
Retention of shareholder meeting documents
Retention of contracts concluded by electronic means
Retention of contracts concluded by electronic means
Guaranteed prescription of property
Requirements social contributions and contributions
Retention of a single register of staff
Retention Pay Advice
Retention of documents to count nb working days + nb stand-by hours
Prescription labor inspection and sickness
Obligation and time limits for keeping tax documents
Prescription payroll tax
Prescription real estate
Ministry of Economy