Practical accounting insight: Record retention is not simply an administrative task. For South African businesses, the period for keeping financial and tax information can depend on the law involved, the type of record and whether an audit, investigation or dispute is still active.

Companies should therefore avoid applying a single “delete after five years” rule to every document. A documented retention schedule can reduce compliance risk, support audits and make it easier to respond to SARS or other authorised requests for information.

What the current guidance says

SARS states that a person who has submitted a tax return generally needs to retain relevant records for five years from the date of submission. Longer retention may apply where a return has not been submitted, an objection or appeal is ongoing, or the taxpayer has been notified of an audit or investigation. In those circumstances, records may need to be kept until the relevant matter is concluded. SARS record-keeping guidance

The Companies Act applies a separate seven-year requirement to company records. This includes accounting records for the current financial year and the previous seven completed financial years, as well as annual financial statements, certain meeting records and directors’ records. Companies Act 71 of 2008

These periods should not be treated as interchangeable. A document may support both a company-law obligation and a tax obligation, in which case the longer applicable period is generally the safer baseline. Records that remain relevant to a future tax year, such as information supporting capital gains calculations, may also need to be preserved beyond the ordinary period.

Who is affected?

The issue applies to companies of all sizes, including owner-managed businesses that rely on cloud accounting platforms, outsourced bookkeepers or external payroll providers. It also affects businesses that have changed accounting software, moved offices, outsourced finance functions or experienced staff turnover.

Electronic storage is acceptable where the records remain orderly, secure and accessible for inspection. Businesses should be able to retrieve information in a readable and printable form, rather than relying on a discontinued application, damaged device or former employee’s personal account.

What businesses should check

  • Whether the retention policy distinguishes between company records and tax records.
  • Whether invoices, bank statements, journals, payroll reports, VAT records and supporting schedules can be linked to the relevant accounting entries.
  • Whether records subject to an audit, objection, appeal or investigation have been placed on a legal hold and excluded from routine deletion.
  • Whether cloud backups, access controls and recovery procedures are tested.
  • Whether records can still be opened after an accounting-system migration.

Practical next steps

Start with an inventory of the records the business creates and receives. Assign each category a minimum retention period, an owner and an approved disposal process. Keep the policy under review when tax legislation, company requirements, software systems or business activities change.

SAICA’s October 2026 technical resources also highlight record retention as an area requiring practical attention across different legal requirements. SAICA Technical resources

A controlled retention process is more useful than keeping everything indefinitely or deleting documents as soon as storage becomes inconvenient. Businesses that need help reviewing their accounting records and controls can explore YFP’s accounting and advisory services.