Keep the originals, license a copy

How long to keep invoices: UK VAT and US tax rules

Updated 2026-10-28

Licensing an invoice archive never ends the duty to keep it; the copy goes to the buyer and the originals stay for the tax authority.

Describe my invoice archive

Invoices under UK VAT law

Regulation 31 of the VAT Regulations 1995 makes every taxable person keep copies of all VAT invoices issued and all VAT invoices received, Schedule 11 to the VAT Act 1994 lets HMRC require records to be preserved for up to 6 years, and HMRC's Notice 700/21 says to keep VAT business records for at least 6 years.

Source: Invoice law: contents, retention, receivables

Invoices under the US tax rules

The IRS lists invoices with sales slips, paid bills and receipts as supporting documents to keep, because they support the entries in your books and on your tax return.

Source: Invoice law: contents, retention, receivables

E-invoicing is coming

The UK government's consultation outcome says mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT invoices will start in 2029, which will make structured invoice data the norm rather than PDFs.

Source: Invoice law: contents, retention, receivables

Does my firm qualify?

Each buyer's published terms, held against your firm.

What does your invoice archive hold?

Which systems, how many years, issued or received, and whether the business is trading, closing or being sold. We check it against the billing terms and invoice law here and reply in writing.

The archive in brief

How many years of invoices does the archive hold?

Is the business trading, closing or being sold?

Read against the billing system's terms
Customer names and bank details stay out
A short description, no invoice files

Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

Who takes a company's invoices and bills: 2 of 5 organisations whose own pages we read name invoices, bills, receipts or payment records among what they take, read 28 October 2026.
The law on what an invoice carries and how long it is kept: 12 UK, EU and US rules on what an invoice carries and how long it is kept, read 28 October 2026.
Invoicing software data terms: 13 of 21 invoicing software vendors whose terms we read reserve the right to use their customers' data in aggregated or anonymised form, read 28 October 2026.

Tell us what your invoice archive holds

Which systems, how many years, issued or received, and whether the business is trading, closing or being sold. We check it against the billing terms and invoice law here and reply in writing.

Describe my invoice archive