Retention schedules
How long to keep it. When to let it go.
Common US retention periods for finance, HR, healthcare, banking, education and legal records, each with the rule it comes from. Filter them, download them and build your own schedule on top.
01The schedules
Pick an area. Find the record.
Finance and tax
Tax returns, the records behind them and audit files.
Tax returns and supporting records
3 years is the general rule, 6 if income was underreported by more than 25%, and 7 for a bad debt or worthless securities claim. Keeping 7 years covers all three.
Keep3 to 7 years
FromThe date you filed
SourceIRS
Employment tax records
KeepAt least 4 years
FromThe date the tax was due or paid, whichever is later
SourceIRS
Invoices, receipts and bank statements
Keeping them 7 years matches the longest IRS period above.
KeepAs long as the return they support
FromThe date you filed that return
SourceIRS (supporting records)
Records on property and equipment
KeepUntil the limitation period ends for the year you dispose of it
FromDisposal of the asset
SourceIRS
Audit workpapers
Applies to the accounting firm that audits a public company.
Keep7 years
FromThe end of the audit or review
SourceSarbanes-Oxley Section 802, SEC Rule 2-06
General guidance on common US rules, not legal advice. State law, your industry and your contracts can require longer periods, so confirm your schedule with your counsel before you destroy anything.
02Build your own
Four steps to a schedule people follow.
- 01
List your records
Walk each department and write down every kind of record it keeps, paper and digital.
- 02
Match each to a rule
Find the rule behind each record. Where several apply, keep it for the longest one.
- 03
Write it down
One schedule with the record, the period, the starting event and who owns it. Have counsel sign off.
- 04
Let the system enforce it
Set the period per document type, hold what is in dispute and keep a log of what was destroyed and when.
03Set it once
Retention that runs itself.
In Content Central you set a retention period per document type. It keeps every version, holds anything under a legal hold, and clears what has expired on the schedule you choose, with an audit trail of what went and when.
Questions
Retention, answered.
Are these retention periods legal advice?
No. They are general guidance on common US rules, with the source for each so you can check it. Your state, your industry and your contracts can change the answer, so confirm your schedule with your counsel.
Two rules give different periods. Which one wins?
Keep the record for the longest period that applies, and write down where each requirement comes from.
What is a legal hold?
When a lawsuit, audit or investigation is pending or reasonably expected, you must keep every relevant record, whatever your schedule says. The hold stays until counsel releases it.
Should we keep everything forever, just in case?
No. Keeping records past their period costs storage, makes searches and discovery harder, and runs against privacy rules such as the GDPR principle of keeping personal data no longer than needed.
How often should we review the schedule?
At least once a year, and whenever a rule changes or you start keeping a new kind of record.
Free live demo
Want help turning this into your schedule?
Book a free demo and we will show you around, answer your questions and run your real paperwork through it. No cost, no pressure.
- A live tour of the products that fit your work
- Your own documents, set up and shown working
- Your workflow and process, mapped with you
- Straight answers from people who build it
