{"id":4435,"date":"2026-04-20T08:46:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/?post_type=glossar&#038;p=4435"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:13:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:13:01","slug":"retention-periods","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/glossar\/aufbewahrungsfristen\/","title":{"rendered":"Retention periods"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"Table of Contents\">\n<h2>Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n        <li><a href=\"#einleitung\">Brief definition<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#grundlagen\">Basics<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#recht\">Legal framework<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#einordnung\">Classification<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#tools\">Requirements<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#schritte\">Procedure<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#praxis\">Practice<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fehler\">Sources of error<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fazit\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n\n<section id=\"einleitung\">\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n          <p><strong>Retention periods<\/strong> are legally defined periods during which companies must retain certain documents and records. They serve to ensure the traceability of business transactions and to allow for audits by authorities.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"grundlagen\">\n        <h2>Basics<\/h2>\n        <p>Companies are obliged to retain documents relevant for tax and commercial law purposes for a specific period. The period generally begins at the end of the calendar year in which the respective document was created.<\/p>\n        <p>The duration depends on the type of substrate.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"recht\">\n        <h2>Legal framework<\/h2>\n        <p>The retention periods are determined by commercial and tax regulations. Typical periods are:<\/p>\n        <ul>\n          <li><strong>Ten years<\/strong> Books, inventories, annual financial statements, management reports, booking documents, and documents with tax relevance.<\/li>\n          <li><strong>Six years:<\/strong> Received and sent commercial or business letters, as well as other tax-relevant documents, provided they do not fall under the ten-year retention period.<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>The deadlines apply regardless of whether documents are kept in paper or electronic form.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"einordnung\">\n        <h2>Systematic classification<\/h2>\n        <p>Retention periods are closely linked to:<\/p>\n        <ul>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/proper-bookkeeping\/\">Proper bookkeeping<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/gobd\/\">GoBD<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/digitale-archivierung\/\">Digital archiving<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/process-documentation\/\">Process documentation<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/operational-review\/\">Company audit<\/a><\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>Structured archiving is a prerequisite for keeping documents available at any time within the deadlines.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"tools\">\n        <h2>Core requirements<\/h2>\n        <ul>\n          <li>Complete archiving of all relevant documents<\/li>\n          <li>Immutability and detectability of changes in digital documents<\/li>\n          <li>Ensuring legibility throughout the entire retention period<\/li>\n          <li>Organised storage with a clear structure<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"schritte\">\n        <h2>Typical procedure<\/h2>\n        <ol>\n          <li>Capture and filing of the document (paper or digital)<\/li>\n          <li>Allocation to the business transaction<\/li>\n          <li>Archiving in accordance with internal regulations<\/li>\n          <li>Deadline monitoring<\/li>\n          <li>Proper destruction upon expiry of the deadline, provided no further legal grounds prohibit it<\/li>\n        <\/ol>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"praxis\">\n        <h2>Practical relevance<\/h2>\n        <p>In practice, a clear archive structure is crucial for retrieving documents during a <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/operational-review\/\">Company audit<\/a> to be able to submit promptly. Digital systems support deadline management and audit-proof storage.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fehler\">\n        <h2>Typical sources of error<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet warn\">\n          <ul>\n            <li>Incomplete archiving of receipts<\/li>\n            <li>Missing deadline monitoring<\/li>\n            <li>Premature destruction of documents<\/li>\n            <li>Unstructured digital storage without clear allocation<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"faq\">\n        <h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Do retention periods also apply to e-invoices?<\/h3>\n        <p>Yes. Electronic invoices are subject to the same legal retention periods as paper invoices.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>When does the deadline start?<\/h3>\n        <p>The deadline generally begins at the end of the calendar year in which the respective document was created.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Can documents be stored digitally?<\/h3>\n        <p>Yes, provided that the legal requirements for properness, immutability and availability are met.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fazit\">\n        <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n        <p>Retention periods are a central component of compliance in accounting. They ensure the traceability of business transactions and guarantee that tax-relevant documents remain available for the legally required period.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <footer class=\"author\">\n        <strong>Author<\/strong>\n        <span>the BAS editorial team<\/span>\n        <span class=\"note\">Services pursuant to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG, no tax or legal advice.<\/span>\n      <\/footer>\n\n      <p class=\"disclaimer\">\n        Brasser Accounting Solutions GmbH is a specialised accounting service provider and part of a corporate group with Quint GmbH (tax consultancy\/auditing) and Service Place \u00c5rj\u00e4ng AB (Swedish tax office). BAS exclusively performs services according to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG and does not provide tax or legal advice.\n      <\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","glossar-kategorien":[21],"class_list":["post-4435","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry","glossar-kategorien-compliance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/4435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossar"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossar-kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar-kategorien?post=4435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}