I was surprised to see an unusual story this week. Whatever your thoughts on DOGE and their antics I would imagine we can all agree that anyone under their scrutiny should probably not shred and burn all of their records.
Even worse to do it en masse. Imagine if a UK company or public body had this view? There would be some implications surely? What if the instruction said to only use the “burn bags” for when the shredder needs a break?
We can all agree this would be frowned upon from all angles. It’s an opportune time to remind you all of your record keeping responsibilities.
For tax returns you need to keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year that a tax return is for. Considering returns are done for a whole year it’s probably simpler to say that you should keep anything for at least three years.
Penalties
If you don’t, you can be fined up to £3,000. HMRC will also determine your tax liabilities based on their own perception of what happened and without records to prove otherwise you will often end up paying much higher tax as well.
For more on HMRC and record keeping here is a link to their site.
For an easier way to keep records consider digital. Simply snap pictures of your receipts and hopefully never have to worry about scum pled up receipts getting lost in your glove box.