A return is only as good as the records behind it. The IRS does not prescribe one system; it expects records that show your income and expenses and support every item on the return. The list below is ordered by how often each record is the one missing when a return is being prepared.
For a document-by-document checklist to hand your preparer, see our business tax preparation records checklist.
How we ordered them
- How often it goes missing. Records most often absent at filing time come first.
- What it supports. Each entry says which line of the return depends on it.
The nine records
1.Bank and credit card statements for every business account
Best for: Proving income and reconciling the books
The backbone of the return. Every month, every account — including ones you closed during the year.
2.Receipts and invoices for expenses
Best for: Supporting each deduction
The IRS lists sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips and canceled checks as supporting documents. A card statement proves you paid; the receipt shows what for.
Read more →3.Sales records and invoices issued
Best for: Showing gross receipts
Invoices, payment-processor reports and deposit records, reconciled to what reached the bank.
4.Forms 1099 received — and issued
Best for: Matching what the IRS already knows
Forms 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC and 1099-K you received, and copies of any you issued. For payments made after December 31, 2025, the 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC threshold is $2,000.
5.A mileage log
Best for: Vehicle deductions
Date, destination, business purpose and miles for each trip, kept as you go. A reconstructed log is weak evidence.
6.Asset purchase records
Best for: Depreciation and Section 179
Invoices for equipment, vehicles and improvements, with the date placed in service. Keep them for as long as you own the asset and for the retention period after you dispose of it.
7.Payroll and employment tax records
Best for: Businesses with employees
Payroll registers, deposits, quarterly returns and W-2s. The IRS says to keep employment tax records for at least four years.
8.Estimated tax payment confirmations
Best for: Crediting what you already paid
Federal and Massachusetts payment confirmations with dates and amounts, so the return credits every payment.
Read more →9.Prior-year returns
Best for: Carryovers, depreciation and consistency
Last year's federal and state returns carry depreciation schedules, carryovers and elections that this year's return depends on.
How long to keep records
| Situation | Keep for |
|---|---|
| Most records supporting a filed return | 3 years |
| Claim for a refund or credit filed after the return | 3 years from filing or 2 years from payment, whichever is later |
| Employment tax records | At least 4 years after the tax is due or paid |
| Unreported income over 25% of gross income shown | 6 years |
| Loss from worthless securities or a bad-debt deduction | 7 years |
| No return filed, or a fraudulent return | Indefinitely |
IRS guidance. Massachusetts DOR generally has three years from the later of filing or the due date to assess additional tax (M.G.L. c. 62C § 26), with exceptions. Records for property should be kept until the period for the year you dispose of it expires.
General information, not advice for your specific situation. Tax rules, prices and product features change, and firms change what they offer — check with the provider before relying on anything here, and talk to us or another qualified professional before acting on it.