How long to keep receipts in Germany: 8 or 10 years?

In short: Receipt retention in Germany has been eight years for accounting vouchers (Buchungsbelege), meaning invoices, receipts and till slips, since 1 January 2025 (§ 147 AO, § 14b UStG). Books, records, inventories and annual accounts must still be kept for ten years, commercial and business letters for six years. Every period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created.

Until the end of 2024, almost everything in bookkeeping had the same number: ten years. Since 2025 there are two periods side by side, which causes confusion.

This article explains which period applies to which document, when it starts, what applies to older receipts and private individuals, and whether a scan is enough. It reflects the position in 2026.

Which retention periods apply in Germany in 2026?

There are three periods: ten, eight and six years. Which one applies depends on the type of document, not its form.

Document	Period	Legal basis
Books, records, inventories, annual accounts, management reports, process documentation	10 years	§ 147 (1) no. 1, (3) AO; § 257 HGB
Accounting vouchers: incoming and outgoing invoices, receipts, till slips, bank statements, delivery notes used for booking	8 years	§ 147 (1) no. 4, (3) AO; § 14b UStG; § 257 HGB
Commercial and business letters received and sent, other documents relevant for tax	6 years	§ 147 (1) no. 2, 3 and 5, (3) AO

Almost everything you collect as a self-employed person is an accounting voucher with an eight-year period. Ten years apply to what is built from them: the income statement (Einnahmen-Überschuss-Rechnung, EÜR), balance sheet, fixed asset register and cash book. What a voucher has to show is covered in the article on business expenses and receipts.

What changed in 2025?

The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz) cut the period for accounting vouchers from ten to eight years on 1 January 2025, amending § 147 of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO), § 14b of the VAT Act (UStG) for invoices and § 257 of the Commercial Code (HGB).

The transitional rule is generous: the shorter period applies to every accounting voucher whose old ten-year period had not expired on 31 December 2024. Receipts from 2015 and 2016 could therefore be destroyed on 1 January 2025, as their new eight-year period had already run out.

Banks, insurers and investment firms have a longer period; freelancers, tradespeople and shop owners are not affected.

When does the retention period start and when does it end?

The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the document was created (§ 147 (4) AO), never from the date on the receipt.

An example: an invoice dated 15 March 2026 belongs to 2026. Its eight-year period starts on 1 January 2027 and ends on 31 December 2034, so from 1 January 2035 you may destroy it. The annual accounts for 2026, with their ten-year period, stay until the end of 2036.

Two things extend the period. First, it does not expire while the documents matter for taxes whose assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) is still open (§ 147 (3) AO): if an audit, objection or court case is running, you keep the affected years in full. Second, some receipts matter longer for other reasons: a machine invoice for the whole depreciation period, a purchase receipt for warranty claims, property documents for as long as you own the property.

How long do private individuals and employees have to keep receipts?

As a private individual you usually have no statutory retention period, but a duty to have receipts available (Belegvorhaltepflicht). You no longer send receipts with your tax return; you present them when the tax office asks. So keep everything you claimed until the tax assessment (Steuerbescheid) is final, meaning at least until the one-month objection deadline has passed. Which proof the tax office wants from employees is explained in the article on Werbungskosten receipts.

Two exceptions have a fixed period:

Invoices for construction work and other services on your house or flat must be kept for two years (§ 14b (1) UStG); the tradesperson has to point this out on the invoice.
Anyone with more than 500,000 euros of surplus income per year, for example from renting or capital, must keep the related documents for six years (§ 147a AO).

What private individuals should keep beyond that, for warranty or insurance, is in the article on keeping receipts as a private person.

Is a scan enough to meet the retention period?

Yes, a scan meets the requirement if it complies with the GoBD, the German principles for proper electronic bookkeeping. § 147 (2) AO allows records to be kept as reproductions on an image or data carrier. The scan must be complete and readable, match the original visually, be stored so it cannot be altered, and stay retrievable for the whole period. Details are in the article on GoBD and replacement scanning.

For till slips a scan is not only allowed but necessary: thermal paper often fades after two to three years, and a blank strip of paper meets no retention period. How quickly you need to act is explained in the article on scanning paper receipts before they fade.

For daily capture your phone is enough. With Belego you photograph the receipt; the app saves it as a PDF, reads amount, date and merchant, and files it by category and year, locally on your device. For the long-term archive you export the year as a ZIP with PDFs and a CSV list and store it with your tax advisor or in your own archive. Immutability and process documentation remain your job.

How do you organise retention in practice?

The simplest approach is an archive by year, where each year gets an expiry date, so January tidying takes five minutes.

One folder or ZIP package per year for accounting vouchers, labelled "destroy from 1 January year plus 9", so for 2026 "from 1 January 2035".
A second folder per year for accounts, EÜR, fixed asset register and cash book, labelled "year plus 11".
Receipts with a longer useful life (fixed assets, property, contracts) in a permanent folder, cleared only after sale, contract end or full depreciation.
Before destroying anything, check whether an audit, objection or court case is running for that year. If so, the folder stays.
For digital files, a backup in a second location. An unreadable drive is no better than a faded till slip.

With consistent folder structure and file names you will still find every receipt in year seven. A suggested structure is in the article on filing receipts digitally.

Note: this article is general guidance, not tax advice. The law, the official tax return instructions and the information from your tax office or tax advisor are what count.

Frequently asked questions

Does the eight-year period also apply to invoices I issued myself?

Yes. Since 2025, § 14b UStG requires eight years both for the copy of your outgoing invoices and for all incoming invoices. The period starts at the end of the year of issue. Electronic invoices are kept in their original format, as XML or PDF, not just as a printout.

Do I have to keep bank statements for ten years?

No. Bank statements count as accounting vouchers and have fallen under the eight-year period since 2025, whether on paper or as PDFs from online banking. Download PDF statements regularly, because many banks only keep them available for a limited time and charge for reprints.

What happens if receipts are missing before the period has run out?

The tax office may strike out business expenses without a receipt and, where gaps are large, estimate the tax base. If individual receipts are lost, a self-made receipt (Eigenbeleg) or a copy of the invoice from the supplier helps. Securing everything digitally avoids the problem.

Can I throw away receipts from 2017 now?

Yes. Accounting vouchers from 2017 could be destroyed from 1 January 2026, because their eight-year period ended at the end of 2025, provided no audit, objection or court case is still running for 2017. The annual accounts and the EÜR for 2017 stay in the archive until the end of 2027.