Tax

Which documents may you destroy after 7 years? 12 examples

21 July 2026 · 9 min read · DeSnipperaar

Most business records fall under the Dutch tax retention obligation of seven years. Once that period has passed, you may destroy a large part of your archive. But not everything. Some categories have a longer period and personal data has its own GDPR rules. These are twelve concrete examples of documents that may go after seven years, with the nuances you should know before you switch on the shredder.

The quick answer. You keep your core business administration for seven years, counted from the end of the financial year. After that the vast majority may go. The main exception concerns real estate, which you keep for at least nine years. Anything that may go disappears confidentially and with a certificate. More on the legal basis is in the 7-year tax retention obligation.

1. Purchase and sales invoices

Invoices form the core of your administration and therefore fall fully under the seven-year period. Both the invoices you sent yourself and those you received may be destroyed once that period has passed. Just watch out for invoices linked to a real estate investment, because the longer period further down this article applies to those.

2. Bank statements and proof of payment

Bank statements support your bookings and belong to the tax administration. After seven years you may destroy them, together with the related proof of payment and direct-debit records. Because statements contain account numbers and balances, they go confidentially and not loose in the paper bin. For the private side the approach is in shredding bank statements.

3. General ledger and annual accounts

The general ledger, the trial balance and the underlying journal entries are the backbone of your bookkeeping. They fall under the same seven-year period and may go afterwards. Many entrepreneurs keep the final annual accounts a little longer for historical reasons, but after seven years that is no longer required for the tax authority.

4. Salary and payslips

Payslips and the related payroll administration fall under the retention obligation, but there is a nuance here. Part of the core payroll data has a five-year period, while the payslips themselves fit within the tax seven years. Check this component separately before you destroy it. The full explanation is in payroll records retention and destruction.

5. Quotes and order confirmations

Quotes and order confirmations that led to an assignment belong to the administration of that assignment and follow the seven-year period. Quotes that never led to anything have no tax retention obligation and may be cleared out sooner. If they contain personal data of a prospect, do not keep them longer than necessary.

6. Expired contracts and agreements

An expired contract or agreement may in principle be destroyed after seven years. Do watch the limitation period here. For some obligations it runs longer than seven years, and in the case of an ongoing or looming dispute you keep the document until that is settled. When in doubt keep the agreement itself and destroy the stray copies.

7. Receipts and till slips

Receipts, till slips and other small proofs of payment belong to your administration and may go after seven years. They rarely contain sensitive personal data, but together with the rest of the administration it is best to destroy them in one go as a confidential volume, so you overlook nothing.

8. Accounts receivable and payable records

The overviews of outstanding and paid items, reminders and payment arrangements fall under the seven-year period. Afterwards you may destroy them. Because these records contain names, amounts and sometimes the payment behaviour of customers, they go confidentially. An outstanding claim that is still running you naturally keep until it is settled.

9. Stock and purchasing records

The stock administration, purchase orders and receipt notes support your annual figures and therefore fall under the tax retention obligation. After seven years these records may go. Digital stock systems count here too, so also clear out old exports and backups according to the same period.

10. Insurance policies after they end

You keep an insurance policy for as long as the cover runs and as long as a claim or dispute may still arise from it. Once the policy has ended and all claims are settled, the documentation may go after the retention period. If a claim file is still running, keep the full file until it is definitively closed.

11. Correspondence with no retention obligation

Ordinary business correspondence with no tax or legal relevance has no statutory retention obligation. Letters, printouts of emails and internal memos with no evidential value may be cleared out once you no longer need them. If they contain personal data, then in fact do not clear them out too late, because the GDPR requires storage limitation.

12. Draft versions and duplicate copies

Drafts, working versions and duplicate printouts of documents you already keep elsewhere have no independent retention value. Once the final document is recorded, the draft volume may go. It is precisely these single copies that often lie around unmanaged, so include them as standard in your confidential volume.

Note: these categories you keep longer. Data on real estate you keep for at least nine years, and for the VAT adjustment the period rises to ten years. The core payroll data partly has a five-year period. A personnel file has its own GDPR periods per component, as described in personnel file retention under the GDPR. Always check each category separately before you destroy. When in doubt, consult your accountant or the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

How to tackle it in 5 steps

1. Sort by financial year and find the boxes whose seven-year period has passed.
2. Set real estate aside and keep those documents for at least nine years.
3. Check payroll and personnel against their own periods before you destroy them.
4. Collect what may go in sealed containers, not in the paper bin.
5. Have it destroyed confidentially with a certificate and record it in your register.

If you are unsure about a specific category, see the practical overview how long should you keep documents.

Frequently asked questions

Which documents may I destroy after 7 years?

The core administration covered by the tax retention obligation, such as purchase and sales invoices, bank statements, the general ledger, annual accounts, receipts and the accounts receivable and payable records. You may destroy these once seven years have passed and no longer period or ongoing dispute applies.

Are there documents I must keep longer than 7 years?

Yes. Data on real estate must be kept for at least nine years, and for the VAT adjustment period even up to ten years. A personnel file has its own GDPR periods per component. Always check those categories separately before you destroy anything.

When does the 7-year retention period start?

You count the tax period from the end of the financial year in which a document lost its current relevance. In practice an invoice from 2018 may only be destroyed after the close of 2025. Always count from the end of the financial year, not from the date on the document.

How do I destroy documents safely after 7 years?

Confidentially and with a certificate of destruction. Collect the paper in sealed containers, have it collected sealed and destroyed at the right DIN level and record the destruction in your record of processing.

Conclusion

After seven years the vast majority of your business administration may go, from invoices and bank statements to the general ledger, receipts and the accounts receivable and payable records. Do keep the exceptions in focus. Real estate you keep for nine to ten years, the payroll administration partly has a five-year period and a personnel file has its own GDPR periods. Check each category before you destroy, clear out neither too early nor too late, and have whatever may go destroyed confidentially with a certificate as proof.

Read also: 7 mistakes when destroying business documents, 10 moments to destroy business documents and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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