Scope: This guide covers records used to complete an individual UK Self Assessment return. Different rules can apply to companies, partnerships, trusts, employers and VAT records.
The short answer
Keep the records needed to complete the return accurately and to support the figures if HMRC asks. Records can be on paper, digital or held in software, but they must remain accurate, complete and readable.
For a sole trader, the core categories include sales and other income, business expenses, relevant VAT and PAYE records, personal-income information and supporting evidence.
How long records must be kept depends on the filing position. Self-employed business records are normally kept for at least five years after the relevant 31 January submission deadline. For a filer who is not self-employed, the ordinary period is at least 22 months after the end of the tax year when the return was sent on time, or at least 15 months after a late return was sent.
A practical record checklist
Start with the sections that will appear on the return. A useful filing folder may include:
- employment forms and payslips needed to support pay and tax deducted;
- pension, savings and investment statements relevant to declared income;
- property-income and expense records where a property section is needed;
- records supporting taxable benefits, reliefs, contributions or gains entered on the return;
- copies of submitted returns, calculations and relevant HMRC correspondence; and
- for self-employment, invoices, sales records, expense evidence and the business records described below.
The exact documents depend on the return. Keeping a receipt does not by itself make an expense allowable, and an allowable figure may require more than one record to explain how it was calculated.
Records for a sole trader
HMRC says a self-employed person needs records of all sales and income, all business expenses, VAT records if registered, PAYE records if employing people, personal-income records and specified grant information where relevant. Those records help calculate the business profit or loss and must allow business transactions to be identified.
Supporting evidence can include invoices, receipts, bank statements, till records, mileage logs and calculations allocating mixed business and personal costs. Keep the evidence connected to the final return figure rather than storing an unexplained total.
Example: linking a return figure to evidence
Jordan’s expense total comes from twelve monthly bookkeeping reports. Jordan keeps the underlying invoices and receipts, the business-bank statements and a note explaining how any personal element was excluded. The return figure can then be traced back to the transactions. This is a record-control example, not a decision that every listed cost is deductible.
Paper, digital or software records
HMRC does not impose one general format for the records covered by its Self Assessment guidance. Paper, digital records and bookkeeping software can all be used, provided the records remain accurate, complete and readable.
A photo or scan is useful only if the full document can still be read. Use consistent filenames, keep records for each tax year separate and back up important files somewhere independent of the main device. Exporting periodic copies from bookkeeping software can reduce reliance on a single account or supplier.
Digital storage does not replace the need to understand the figures. Keep notes for adjustments, apportionments and totals so another person can reproduce the route from source document to return.
How long to keep records
| Filing position | Ordinary minimum described by HMRC |
|---|---|
| Self-employed business records | At least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year. |
| Not self-employed; return sent on or before the deadline | At least 22 months after the end of the tax year covered by the return. |
| Not self-employed; return sent late | At least 15 months after the date the return was sent. |
These are ordinary Self Assessment retention points, not permission to destroy records needed for another legal, tax or commercial reason. HMRC’s self-employed guidance also gives a different period for a return sent more than four years after its deadline, so very late filing needs a direct check against the current official page.
Retention example
A sole trader sends the 2025 to 2026 online return by the 31 January 2027 submission deadline. The ordinary rule points to keeping the business records for at least five years after that deadline. A person who is not self-employed and submits the same year’s return on time follows the separate 22-month rule measured from the end of the tax year.
If records are lost or destroyed
Try to replace as much as possible: request duplicate statements, invoices or other evidence from banks, suppliers, employers and platforms. If not all records can be recreated, HMRC allows provisional or estimated figures, but the return’s “Any other information” box must identify what has been done. “Provisional” means confirming paperwork is expected later; “estimated” means the figure cannot later be confirmed.
Do not silently substitute a guess. Record the reconstruction method, assumptions, requests for copies and any later correction. HMRC warns that inaccurate figures which leave too little tax paid can lead to interest and penalties.
Common record-keeping mistakes
- Keeping bank statements but no invoices or explanation of each business item.
- Mixing several tax years in one undated folder.
- Retaining only totals exported from software, without supporting transactions.
- Assuming a digital copy is useful when it is incomplete or unreadable.
- Destroying non-business records under the sole-trader timetable, or the reverse.
- Entering an estimate without identifying it in the return.
What to do next
- List the return sections that apply and create a folder for each.
- Reconcile income records to statements and platforms.
- Link each material return figure to supporting evidence and calculations.
- Apply the retention rule that matches the filing position.
- Reconstruct missing evidence and disclose provisional or estimated figures correctly.
- Calendar the Self Assessment deadline and retain the submission receipt and final calculation.