Record retention in the Netherlands: how long and what?
You keep your basic records for 7 years, records about real estate for 10 years. Here you read what that includes, when the period starts and in what form you keep them.
How long do you keep what?
| Type of records | How long |
|---|---|
| Basic records | 7 years |
| Records about real estate | 10 years |
| Records for the One Stop Shop (eenloketsysteem) | 10 years |
| Other records | 7 years, or shorter if you agree that with the Belastingdienst |
What are basic records?
You always keep these records for 7 years. You cannot agree a shorter period for them:
- the general ledger
- the accounts receivable and accounts payable records
- the inventory records
- the purchase and sales records
- the payroll records
- records that matter for the taxation of others
When does the period start?
As long as a record is still current, it is part of your administration. The period only starts when it is no longer current. A 4-year lease contract you keep for those 4 years, and then another 7 years.
Even if you close your business, you keep your records. The Belastingdienst still wants to be able to do a final audit then.
What is part of your records?
All information about your business that you record, on paper or digitally. For VAT you keep overviews per VAT period of your outgoing invoices (or your income if you use the cash accounting scheme), the invoices you receive and the private use of goods and services.
Does someone else keep your records, such as your accountant? Then the information they have about your business must also be kept.
Do you use the hours criterion, the self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek) or the deduction for a working partner (meewerkaftrek)? Then keep track of how many hours you and any tax partner spend on your business, and keep that in your records.
Paper or digital?
You keep records in the form in which you have them: digital or on paper. If you keep them digitally, the Belastingdienst must be able to use your programs and files during an audit. Keeping only a printout is not enough; that is only allowed for small records that can be audited within a reasonable time.
You may scan paper invoices and receipts and keep them digitally, if the scan is a correct and complete copy of the original, with the features that prove it is authentic. Then you do not have to keep the original.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to keep my records?
7 years. Records about real estate and records for the One Stop Shop (eenloketsysteem) you keep for 10 years.
May I scan receipts and throw them away?
Yes, if the scan is a correct and complete copy of the original, with the features that prove it is authentic. You then keep the digital version for 7 or 10 years.
When does the 7-year retention period start?
When a record is no longer current. A 4-year lease contract you keep for those 4 years and then another 7 years.
Do I have to keep my records if I close my business?
Yes. Even after closing your business you keep your records, so the Belastingdienst can do a final audit.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: Hoelang moet u gegevens bewaren?
- Belastingdienst: Hoe lang moet u uw administratie bewaren voor de btw: 7 of 10 jaar?
- Belastingdienst: Wat moet u bewaren?
- Belastingdienst: Hoe bewaart u uw administratie?
- Belastingdienst: Wat administreert u voor de btw?
- Belastingdienst: Uw facturen bewaren
Sources (in Dutch) checked on . This is an explanation, not personal advice: the page of the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) takes precedence. Is something no longer correct? Let us know.
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