Records
Records You
Actually Need To Keep.
What HMRC genuinely expects, for how long, and what to do if something's gone missing.
This is general guidance for UK sole traders. If you're on Making Tax Digital, the record-keeping requirement becomes stricter, digital records kept in compatible software, not just "somewhere safe."
01What to actually keep
- Every invoice you raise — what you charged, to who, and when.
- Every receipt for a business expense — materials, tools, fuel, insurance, anything you're claiming against your tax bill.
- Bank statements for any account business money moves through — even if it's a personal account you also use for the business.
- CIS statements — the deduction statements contractors give you, showing what was deducted and when.
- Mileage records — if you're claiming the mileage rate, a simple log of business journeys, dates, and purpose is enough.
- Records of any personal money put into or taken out of the business — HMRC can ask about this if your numbers don't otherwise add up.
02How long to keep it
The standard rule for a sole trader is five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the tax year in question. In practice, that means you're often holding six to seven years of records at any given time before the oldest year drops off.
If you're ever the subject of a compliance check, don't destroy anything relevant to the years under review, even if it's technically past the normal keep-period, until the check is fully resolved.
03Digital vs paper
A photo of a receipt is a valid record, you don't need to keep the paper once it's captured clearly, as long as it's legible and you can produce it if asked. This is exactly why the envelope-or-WhatsApp approach works, both capture the same underlying record, just at different points in the month.
Once you're in scope for Making Tax Digital, the requirement shifts, records need to be kept and maintained digitally through compatible software, not just photographed and filed away. It doesn't change what you need to keep, but it does change how.
Often missed
Bank statements alone aren't proof of a business expense, HMRC wants to see what the payment was actually for, which is why the receipt or invoice itself matters even when the bank record clearly shows the transaction happened.
If something's genuinely missing
A gap here and there isn't automatically a disaster, HMRC accepts reasonable estimates for small or occasional missing items if you can show you've genuinely tried. What causes real problems is a pattern of poor record keeping across the board, that's what turns a routine check into a longer, more expensive one.
This guide is general information about record keeping for UK sole traders, correct at the time of writing, and isn't personalised advice. Requirements can vary with your circumstances, and MTD changes the format expected, always check anything you're unsure about before relying on it.