Retention period

Administration

Every entrepreneur is legally obliged to keep the administration for 7 years. The tax authorities are committed to minimize the administrative burden and uses sometimes shorter retention periods. How long you need to save data, depends on the tax authorities. Certain parts of your Administration can be classified as so-called basic information. For example:

• General Ledger;
• The accounts receivable and accounts payable;
• The stock records;
• The purchase and sales administration;
• The payroll administration.

This basic data must be kept for 7 years. After this period the Tax authorities can no longer ask for this information. In addition, the data relating to real estate is 10 years. This is because of a review period for the deduction of property tax which applies for 10 years.

It is possible to use the tax authorities to make arrangements for a shorter data retention. Despite the fact that these agreements must be in writing, a shorter data retention is not recommended, since these agreements do not apply to other government agencies. 

The retention obligation also applies to computer programs and files. You must therefore also ensure that these programs and files can be used in a check. With only the printed file, you do not meet your data retention.

If a computer-or wage service provider takes care of (part of) your records, then the fiscal data retention applies also for data carriers of those service agencies. 

Employment

You must keep the following documents at least 5 full calendar years after the end of the employment relationship:

• Copy of the identity card, and, where appropriate, the nature and number;
• Payroll tax statement or the data of the employee on the payroll taxes;
• The request for to apply for certain payroll tax declarations or not;
• (possibly) the students and school annex.

Also if you stop your enterprise, you must continue to keep the data for 5 full calendar years.