To Toss, Or Not To Toss
INFOGRAPHIC
When deciding whether to keep certain records and documents, asking yourself wheth-
er it “sparks joy” isn’t enough. The IRS has some rules about how long you and your
business should hold onto certain records – and it’s your job to make sure you are up-
to-date on the current record retention schedule … to make sure you don’t get rid of
something before you should. Here are some of the most common records and how
long to keep them. For a comprehensive list, check out our official record retention
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• Articles of incorporation
• Audit reports of accountants
• Brokerage statements
• Cash books
• Deeds mortgages, notes, leases, bills of sale and other property records
• Copyright registrations, trademark registrations, patents and related papers
• Financial statements
• Purchase journals
• Tax returns and worksheets
• Invoices to customers
• Invoices for vendors
• Payroll records and summaries
• Accounts payable and receivable ledgers and schedules
• Checks
• Expense analyses and expense distribution schedules
• Inventories of products, materials and supplies
• Notes receivable ledgers and schedules
• Sales records
• Employee personnel records (post-termination)
• Expired insurance policies
• Forms 5500, 8955-SSA, 5330, 1096, 1099-R and SARs
• Employee payroll records
(W-2, W-4, annual earnings, etc.)
• Credit memos
• Employee expenses reports
• Internal audit reports
• Production and sales reports
• I-9 forms
• Budgets
• Cash projections
• Bank reconciliation
• Purchase orders
• Receiving sheets
schedule at www.reacpa.com/tool/record-retention-schedule.
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