How Long Should You Keep Bank Statements? A Country-by-Country Guide
How long to keep bank, credit card and brokerage statements for tax, business and personal reasons in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Short answer
Keep personal bank statements for at least as long as the tax authority can review the returns they support: commonly three years in the US (longer in some cases), around five to six years in the UK, Canada and Australia for most records. Businesses should generally keep statements for six to seven years. Keep brokerage records showing what you paid for an investment until several years after you sell it.
Key takeaways
- The retention period is driven by the tax return the statement supports, not by the statement date.
- Businesses should plan on six to seven years; individuals can often keep less but rarely benefit from shredding early.
- Investment cost-basis records must be kept for as long as you own the asset, plus the review period after the sale.
- Digital copies are usually acceptable if they are complete, legible and stored securely with backups.
Bank statements are easy to hoard and easy to lose. Keep them too briefly and you may not be able to prove income or a deduction if a tax authority asks. Keep them carelessly and you create an identity theft risk. The right answer depends on what the statement supports, where you live, and whether the account is personal or business.
This guide sets out common retention periods for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, explains the special case of brokerage and investment records, and gives a practical system for storing statements safely. It is general information, not legal or tax advice; your accountant can confirm what applies to your situation.
The principle: keep records as long as they can be questioned
Retention rules are built around one idea. A statement is evidence for something: income on a tax return, an expense deduction, the cost of an investment, the balance of a loan, a business's cash records. You need to keep it for as long as someone with authority can ask you to prove that thing.
For tax purposes, that is usually the period during which the tax authority can review or amend a return. That period normally starts when the return is filed (or the filing deadline), not on the statement date. A December statement that supports a return filed the following April is "dated" from April for retention purposes.
Other reasons to keep statements longer include:
- Ongoing disputes, insurance claims or legal proceedings.
- Loans and mortgages, where you may need proof of payments.
- Investments still held, where you need the purchase cost.
- Divorce, inheritance or business sale negotiations.
- Contracts or regulations in your industry that impose their own retention periods.
United States
The Internal Revenue Service publishes guidance on how long to keep records. In summary, the period depends on the situation:
| Situation | Keep records for |
|---|---|
| Most cases | 3 years from the date you filed the return (or the due date, if later) |
| You claimed a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction | 7 years |
| You did not report income you should have, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown | 6 years |
| You did not file a return | Indefinitely |
| You filed a fraudulent return | Indefinitely |
| Employment tax records | At least 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later |
Many advisers suggest keeping bank statements that support a tax return for seven years as a simple rule, which covers almost every scenario short of fraud or non-filing. State tax authorities can have their own, sometimes longer, assessment periods.
Separately, keep records relating to property, such as a home or investment, until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property. That is because you will need to prove your cost basis when you calculate a gain or loss.
For businesses, the same IRS rules apply to tax records, but other obligations can extend retention, for example employment records, contracts and lender covenants. Seven years is a common business policy for bank statements, with permanent retention for certain corporate records.
United Kingdom
HM Revenue and Customs sets minimum periods that differ by taxpayer type:
| Taxpayer | Minimum period |
|---|---|
| Individuals filing a Self Assessment return on time (not self-employed) | At least 22 months after the end of the tax year |
| Self-employed, partners and landlords | At least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for that tax year |
| Limited companies | At least 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to (longer in some circumstances) |
| VAT-registered businesses | Generally 6 years |
If you file late, or HMRC opens an enquiry, the periods extend. Because tax years run from 6 April to 5 April, a statement from March 2026 relates to the 2025/26 tax year, whose Self Assessment deadline is 31 January 2027. For a sole trader, that statement would need to be kept until at least 31 January 2032.
Companies Act requirements also apply to company accounting records, which include bank statements. Six years is the standard working assumption for most UK businesses.
Canada
The Canada Revenue Agency generally requires you to keep records and supporting documents for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. If you file a return late, the six years run from the date you filed it. Businesses need permission from the CRA to destroy records before the six-year period ends, and some records, such as those relating to share capital and corporate minutes, must be kept for longer.
Australia
The Australian Taxation Office generally requires individuals to keep records for five years from the date they lodge their tax return, with longer periods in some situations, such as when there is a dispute or when the records relate to capital gains tax assets. Businesses generally need to keep records for five years after they are prepared, obtained or the transactions completed, whichever occurs latest.
Other countries
Most tax systems follow the same pattern: a standard review period of three to ten years, longer periods for fraud or failure to file, and indefinite retention for asset cost records until the asset is sold. If you live elsewhere, search your tax authority's website for "record keeping" or "how long to keep records" and confirm with a local adviser.
Brokerage and investment statements
Investment records follow a different logic because a purchase made decades ago can matter when you sell.
Trade confirmations and annual statements that show purchases. Keep these for as long as you own the investment, plus the tax review period after the year you sell it. They prove your cost basis. Without them, you may have to reconstruct basis from incomplete records or, in the worst case, report a larger gain than you really made.
Monthly and quarterly brokerage statements. Once you have the year-end statement and the annual tax documents (such as the US Form 1099-B or a UK annual tax summary), monthly statements are mainly useful to confirm dividends, fees and transfers. Many people keep the annual summaries and discard the monthlies after reconciling them, but if a statement shows a purchase not captured elsewhere, keep it.
Reinvested dividends. Each reinvestment is a small purchase that adds to your basis. Records of reinvestments are important for calculating gains correctly when you sell.
Retirement accounts. Records of non-deductible contributions to some retirement accounts should be kept until the account is fully withdrawn, because they affect how withdrawals are taxed.
Inherited and gifted investments. Keep documentation of the value at the date of death or the donor's basis, as these determine your basis.
Brokers are increasingly required to report cost basis to tax authorities for recently purchased securities, which helps, but basis information can be lost when accounts transfer between brokers or for older holdings. Your own records are the safety net. Our guide to reading a brokerage statement explains which sections show purchases, sales and basis.
Business retention policy: a practical template
For a small business, a simple written policy prevents both premature shredding and endless hoarding:
| Record | Suggested retention |
|---|---|
| Bank and credit card statements | 7 years after the end of the financial year |
| Bank reconciliations and supporting schedules | 7 years |
| Cancelled cheque images and deposit records | 7 years |
| Loan agreements and payoff letters | Life of the loan plus 7 years |
| Payroll records | At least the legally required period in your jurisdiction (often 4 to 7 years) |
| Asset purchase records | Life of the asset plus 7 years |
| Year-end financial statements and tax returns | Permanently |
| Corporate records (formation documents, minutes) | Permanently |
Adapt the periods to your country's rules and any industry regulations. Your month-end close checklist is a good place to include "file statements and reconciliation" as a routine step.
Personal accounts: a simpler approach
If you are an individual with a salary and no self-employment income:
- Keep monthly statements for at least one year so you can check recurring payments, dispute errors and confirm year-end figures.
- Keep any statement that supports a tax return, deduction, credit or benefit claim for the full review period plus a margin; seven years is a safe simple rule in many countries.
- Keep statements showing large purchases, home improvements, loan repayments or proof of funds for as long as those matters could be questioned.
- Keep records related to investments and property until several years after you sell.
- Shred everything else securely.
Paper or digital?
Tax authorities in most countries accept electronic records, including PDFs downloaded from online banking and scanned images of paper statements, provided they are complete, legible and reliable. Practical guidelines:
- Download PDFs regularly. Banks keep only a limited archive online, and you lose access when an account closes. Our guide on getting old statements from a closed account covers what to do if you missed some.
- Use consistent file names, for example
2026-03_Chase-Checking-1234.pdf, so you can find periods quickly. - Organise by year and account in folders that mirror your tax years.
- Back up to at least two places, such as an encrypted cloud service and an offline drive.
- Keep the original PDF even if you convert the data. A spreadsheet is useful for analysis, but the statement is the evidence. If you convert statements to Excel or CSV, store the output next to the PDF, not instead of it.
- Scan paper statements at a readable resolution (300 dpi is a common choice) and check that every page was captured.
A simple annual routine
Once a year, ideally after you file your tax return, spend half an hour on records:
- Download any statements from the past year that you have not yet saved, for every bank, card and investment account.
- Check that each account has twelve consecutive statements (or four quarterly ones) with no gaps, and that each opening balance equals the previous closing balance.
- Move the year's folder into your long-term archive and confirm the backup copy exists.
- Identify records that have passed their retention date, confirm none relate to open matters or assets you still own, and destroy them securely.
- Update a simple index listing accounts, account numbers (last four digits), years held and where the files are stored.
How to destroy old statements safely
When records pass their retention date:
- Paper: use a cross-cut or micro-cut shredder, or a professional shredding service that provides a certificate of destruction for business records.
- Digital files: delete them from every location, including backups on their normal rotation, and empty the trash. For drives you are disposing of, use secure erase tools or physical destruction.
- Document destruction for businesses: record what was destroyed and when, under the written policy. That record shows the destruction was routine rather than selective.
Never destroy records that relate to an open audit, investigation, dispute or litigation, even if the normal retention period has passed. Legal holds override routine policies.
Special situations that justify keeping statements longer
Some life and business events create reasons to keep statements well beyond the normal tax period.
Divorce and separation. Financial disclosure often requires several years of statements, and tracing the source of funds (for example, an inheritance kept separate from joint money) can require statements from many years earlier. If separation is possible, do not destroy older statements. Our divorce financial disclosure page explains how converted statements help.
Estates and inheritance. Executors typically need statements covering the date of death to establish balances and to trace payments made shortly before and after. Keep the deceased's statements until the estate is fully settled and any tax review period has passed.
Loans, mortgages and student debt. Statements that show repayments can resolve disputes about balances or missed payments. Keep the final payoff confirmation permanently.
Immigration and residency applications. Some applications require proof of funds or residence over several years. Applicants often find that statements they shredded would have been the easiest evidence.
Selling a business. Buyers commonly perform due diligence on several years of financial records, including bank statements and reconciliations. A clean, complete archive shortens the process.
Fraud or identity theft. If you have been a victim, keep the statements showing the fraudulent activity and the bank's corrections until the matter is fully resolved, including any credit report corrections.
Common record-keeping mistakes
- Relying on the bank's online archive. It is convenient until the account closes, the bank merges, or the archive window rolls forward.
- Keeping the spreadsheet but not the PDF. Converted data is great for analysis but is not original evidence.
- Saving files with meaningless names. "statement (14).pdf" is almost impossible to find five years later.
- Storing statements unencrypted in email. Email accounts are a frequent target for attackers.
- Shredding by date without checking content. A routine statement can contain the only record of a significant purchase or transfer.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I keep bank statements for tax purposes?
Keep them for at least as long as your tax authority can review the related return. In the US that is generally three years from filing, extended to six or seven years in some cases. In the UK it ranges from 22 months for many individuals to six years for companies. Canada generally uses six years and Australia five years. Seven years is a common simple rule.
Should I keep bank statements forever?
Not usually. Keeping statements forever increases the amount of sensitive data you must protect. Keep tax-related statements for the review period, investment and property records until a few years after you sell, and destroy the rest securely.
Are electronic bank statements acceptable to tax authorities?
In most countries, yes, as long as they are complete, legible and reliable. Download and back up your PDFs rather than relying on the bank's archive, which may be limited or disappear when an account closes.
How long should I keep brokerage statements?
Keep records showing what you paid for an investment for as long as you own it, plus the review period after the year you sell it. Year-end statements and tax documents should be kept for the normal review period. Monthly statements can often be discarded once reconciled to the annual statement, unless they show purchases not recorded elsewhere.
How long should a business keep bank statements?
Six to seven years after the end of the financial year is a common policy that satisfies most tax and company law requirements, but check local rules and any industry regulations. Keep reconciliations and supporting documents for the same period.
What should I do if I've already shredded statements I need?
Ask your bank for copies. Most can supply statements for several years, sometimes for a fee. For older periods or closed accounts, see our guide to getting old bank statements.
Summary
Keep each statement for as long as the thing it proves can be questioned. For most people that means several years for tax-related statements, longer for business records, and until well after a sale for investment purchase records. Store PDFs in an organised, backed-up and secure archive, keep originals alongside any converted spreadsheets, and destroy expired records properly. If you are building a digital archive and want the data in a usable form, you can convert statements free while keeping the source PDFs as evidence. Related reading: how to read a bank statement.