How long should you keep bank statements?
By the Banking Converter editorial team
Published
Keep bank statements for at least as long as the tax authority can query the return they support: broadly three to seven years for individuals in the US, five to six years in the UK, Canada and Australia, and up to ten years for businesses in parts of the EU. Keep statements that evidence a property purchase, a loan or an inheritance for as long as that matter can be disputed.
Typical retention periods
These are the widely published baseline periods. Rules change and depend on your circumstances, so confirm with your tax adviser or the authority's current guidance.
| Jurisdiction | Individuals | Businesses | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 years from filing; 6 years if income was under-reported by more than 25%; 7 years for bad-debt or worthless-securities claims | Same limitation periods; employment tax records 4 years | IRS period of limitations |
| United Kingdom | 22 months after the end of the tax year for employees; 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for the self-employed | 6 years from the end of the accounting period for companies | HMRC record-keeping rules |
| Canada | 6 years from the end of the tax year the records relate to | 6 years | CRA record-keeping requirements |
| Australia | 5 years from the date the return is lodged | 5 years; longer if the record relates to a depreciating asset or CGT event | ATO record-keeping requirements |
| Germany | Generally no statutory duty for private individuals; longer for high earners | 8 to 10 years depending on the document type | HGB and Abgabenordnung |
The period usually starts from when the tax return was filed or the accounting period ended, not from the statement date. A statement from January can therefore need to be kept well beyond the number of years in the table.
Statements to keep longer
- Property: statements showing the deposit, mortgage payments and improvement costs, until several years after the property is sold (they establish the cost base).
- Loans: proof of repayments until the lender confirms the loan is closed, plus the limitation period for contract disputes (six years in many common-law jurisdictions).
- Inheritance and gifts: statements evidencing large transfers, for as long as the estate or gift could be questioned.
- Divorce and legal disputes: statements for the periods in question until the matter is settled.
- Business formation and capital contributions: for the life of the business.
Paper or digital?
Tax authorities in the countries above accept digital copies provided they are complete, legible and retrievable. A PDF downloaded from the bank is the original in most cases. The practical risks are losing access (a closed account, a bank that purges online history) and losing the files (a failed drive). Download statements as they are issued, store them in at least two places, and name them consistently.
Converting statements to Excel or CSV is useful for analysis but does not replace the statement: keep the PDF. If you use a converter, check its retention policy so the copy on the service is deleted once you have your export.
A filing approach that works
- One folder per account per year; one PDF per month, named
bank-account-yyyy-mm.pdf. - At year end, convert the year's statements to a single Excel workbook for analysis and keep it alongside the PDFs. The Excel converter records the page each row came from, which makes later audits quick.
- Set a review date: when the retention period for a year has passed, delete it deliberately rather than keeping everything forever.
Frequently asked questions
Can I throw away paper statements after scanning them?
Usually yes, if the scan is complete and legible and you keep it for the required period. Some legal matters may still call for originals; when in doubt, keep the paper for those.
Does the bank keep my statements anyway?
Banks retain records for their own regulatory periods, often five to seven years, but retrieving old statements can cost money and take weeks, and closed accounts may not be accessible online. Do not rely on the bank as your archive.
Other bank statement converters
About the author
The Banking Converter editorial team is the engineering group that builds and tests the conversion engine: the parsers for regional date and number formats, the reconciliation checks and the CSV, Excel, JSON, OFX and QBO exporters. Guides describe what the software does and what the formats require; they are not financial, legal or tax advice.