As a business owner, there are many documents you need to keep track of for your company. Employee paperwork, bills, invoices, etc., are all essential documents to store in your records. Keeping records isn’t just a good business practice, either. There are specific IRS recordkeeping requirements you must follow. One of those requirements is maintaining tax records. Learn how long to keep tax returns for your business.
保留纳税申报表多长时间
You may know how long you must keep your personal tax records. But, IRS recordkeeping requirements for individuals are different than the rules for businesses. In fact, the IRS recordkeeping requirements for businesses are generally更长比单个税收记录的时间。
So, how long do you need to keep tax returns for your business? According to the IRS, there are different amounts of time for recordkeeping for tax purposes. How long to keep tax records can depend on what you need to keep them for.出版物583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, details how long you should keep different records.
Period of limitations
有一段时间的限制税收recordkeeping. What is a period of limitations? It is the period in which a business can amend its returns to claim credits or refunds or in which the IRS can assess additional tax.
According to Publication 583, your filing situation determines how long you must keep your tax records. Depending on your tax situation, you may need to keep your records for the following number of years:
- Two
- 三
- 六
- Seven
- Unlimited
出版物583explains that these are the period of limitations for keeping tax records for specific reasons. Take a look at the period of limitations for each situation.
Two years of tax recordkeeping
Keeping tax records for two years applies to businesses that file a claim for credit or a refund after filing a return. Companies must maintain tax records for two years after they pay the tax. But, the payment date must comeafterthe filing date for businesses to qualify to keep records for only two years.
三years of tax recordkeeping
您可能需要将税收记录保留至少三年的原因有两个。首先，如果您提出税收抵免索赔或退还税款后，您必须保留至少三年的记录。如果听起来很熟悉，那是因为它与两年的税收记录保存息息相关。
你必须保留tax records for three years if you file a claim for a refund or creditafter您缴税。但是，如果您先提出索赔并第二次支付，则只需要保留两年的记录。
国税局还指出，如果您欠额外税款，并且特定情况不适用于您，则必须保留至少三年的税收记录。特定情况包括：
- 如果您的企业有员工，则必须将所有就业税记录保存在税收日期后至少四年，否则您将付款，以较晚者为准。
- 拥有财产资产的企业必须保留税收记录，直到公司处置财产的一年的限制期限到期。
- If you have tax records that non-tax services may need to use, keep your tax records until they inform you they no longer need the documents. Keep the documents for longer, even if the period extends past the IRS recordkeeping requirements. For example, creditors may have a longer period of limitations than the IRS.
如果上述情况不适用于您的业务，则可以选择三年后处理记录。
六years of tax recordkeeping
对于不报告他们应该报告的收入的企业有六年的限制。但是，该业务的未报告收入必须超过25％gross income显示在返回中。
For example, a business reports $100,000 but should have reported $130,000. Because they didn’t report $30,000 ($130,000 – $100,000) worth of income and that is more than 25% ($100,000 X 25% = $25,000) of the reported income, they must keep their returns for six years.
七年税收保存
Businesses must keep their tax records if they file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or a呆帐deduction.
不良的商业债务是公司在作为纳税人的业务或贸易的一部分运营时产生的。然后，业务可以从不良的商业债务中扣除普通收入instead of treating it as a capital loss. Companies must report it as a deduction on tax returns.
毫无价值的证券适用于公司发行的股票，股票权利或债务证据。股票可能完全毫无价值，创造毫无价值的安全性。或者，企业可以永久交出并放弃所有权利来放弃其证券。处理毫无价值的证券，例如出售或交换的资本资产在纳税年度的最后一天有效。在纳税申报表中报告毫无价值的证券。
Unlimited years of tax recordkeeping
There are two situations in which businesses must keep all tax records, including tax forms and other paperwork:
- 公司提交欺诈性纳税申报表
- Business did not file a return at all
你必须保留全部如果您符合上述条件之一，则无限期的税收记录和信息。
How many years of tax returns should you keep?
So, just how long do you keep tax returns? Consider keeping tax records for at least seven years to be on the safe side. Seven years’ worth of tax returns helps in the event of an国税局审核or if lenders, creditors, or other interested parties need additional information from your business.
The IRS generally includes only three years’ worth of returns when conducting audits. But, they may go back up to six years, if necessary. Maintain substantial enough records to protect your business and provide enough evidence to interested parties.
This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please点击这里。