Tax Update- The Record Retention Guide     

How much is too much? When deadlines approach and another year of your businesses tax forms and documents are left behind, what should be done with these highly sensitive, confidential documents? Businesses are held to a much stricter level of accountability than individuals. From a tax return to a specific management report, businesses must collect, review, and analyze facts and figures to support reports and conclusions. After the report is issued and/or the tax return is filed, the next important question is just how long must these business records be retained.

The Record Retention Guide, compiled by the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, provides a suggested time-frame to retain records. You can’t take everything with you, but this handbook can assist in following the standard IRS regulations, state and local government retention requirements, and the AICPA’s Filing and Record Retention Procedures

Before finalizing an entity’s record retention procedures, it is recommended that the IRS regulations, state and local government retention requirements and the AICPA’s Filing and Record Retention Procedures Guide be reviewed.  In addition, many specific industries require retention periods that are different than rated here for specific terms. In most cases, the period of retention listed in this guide provides a more conservative retention period. Follow this link for a complete version of The Record Retention Guide.

Please contact Feeley & Driscoll's Boston Accounting team by Email or call 1 (888) 875-9770 if you have any questions.

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