The irresistible urge to throw away seemingly unnecessary paperwork — official letters from the authorities, receipts,
old bills — often grips the average Russian burgher living in Germany.
Statistically, every family member has 3 to 4 folders of documents, which grow year on year. Storing them threatens to turn the basement into a paper archive!
Does this look familiar?
Often, the outcome of spring cleaning has consequences.
➡️ The statutory retention periods in Germany — Aufbewahrungsfristen, for what and how long, see below.
The retention obligation serves to protect documentation. It is based on the idea of verifiability. Companies, like individuals, must report their financial transactions to government authorities, such as the Finanzamt (tax office).
➡️ Convenient storage and archiving
To avoid the notorious paper clutter, digitising documents and storing them in the cloud are becoming particularly important. It is practically impossible to lose a document in digital format. This method of archiving has proven itself and is legitimate.
A digital archive cannot burn down or be thrown away. Only you have access to it!
➡️ My recommendations:
🔹After reviewing the documents, scan and upload them to the cloud. Create folders, labelling them by year and the name of the organisation.
I use a mobile app — Adobe Scan. It’s free and very handy.
🔹 If you are used to storing documents in folders, stick to thematic and chronological order, and also sort them by organisation!
And how do you store your documentation?
In brief: what a private individual should keep and for how long
If you need a single answer without details, here it is. Details and caveats for each point are broken down below.
| Document | How long to keep | Is this an obligation or advice |
|---|---|---|
| Craftsmen’s and builders’ bills for housing | 2 years, and for construction work, 5 is reasonable | Legal requirement, a fine of up to €1,000 |
| Receipts and warranty cards | 2 years, with manufacturer’s warranty for the full term | Tip: no receipt, no claim |
| Account statements | 3 years | Tip: limitation period |
| Documents for the tax return | minimum 4 years, realistically 7 | Must present upon request, but formally not required to store it |
| Steuerbescheid | indefinitely | Advice, but a very firm one |
| Tenancy agreement, handover protocol | 3 years after leaving | Advice |
| Utility bill calculations | minimum 1 year, preferably 3 | Advice |
| Payslips | the annual certificate – indefinitely | Advice |
| Life insurance, BU (occupational disability insurance) and pension insurance policies | indefinitely | Advice |
| Pension documents, certificates, employment references | indefinitely | The tip that determines the size of your pension |
| Civil status records, inheritance documents, property documents | indefinitely | Advice |
Separate, stricter rules apply to entrepreneurs and the self-employed — a section below is dedicated to them. The main thing you need to know: From 1 January 2025, the retention period for accounting documents has been reduced from 10 to 8 years.
Documents needed to calculate your pension are kept for decades:
🔹 References and certificates from employers, and employment contracts (Arbeitszeugnisse, Arbeitsverträge).
Certificates and diplomas confirming university education or advanced training relevant to the calculation of a pension.
🔹 Documents confirming employment during which social security contributions were paid from the salary into pension accounts (Meldebescheinigung zur Sozialversicherung).
🔹 Documents relating to periods of unemployment: time during which you received benefits from the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency) or the Jobcenter counts towards your pension record.
🔹 Children’s birth certificates — child-raising periods (Kindererziehungszeiten) provide pension points.
Why pension documents should never, ever be thrown away
The law directly shifts the burden of proof onto you: under § 149 Abs. 4 SGB VI, the insured person is obliged to check their Versicherungsverlauf (insurance record) for completeness and to submit the necessary documents and evidence themselves. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung (statutory pension insurance) does not keep your employment record books, let alone certificates from other countries.
This is where the unpleasant part begins. Under Section 149, paragraph 5 of the Sixth Book of the Social Code (SGB VI), if you have not objected within six calendar months of the statement being sent out, all data older than six years is formally established by a separate decision (Bescheid). After that, you will have to prove the missing period yourself — using documents that may no longer exist.
The statement is sent out about every six years, but you can check your account at any time: the procedure is called Kontenklärung, and the form is V0100, processing takes three to four months. For those who have moved to Germany, this is critical: periods of work and study abroad are not automatically counted.
Document storage and entrepreneurship
For entrepreneurs, the self-employed and owners of a Gewerbe (registered trade business), retention periods are set by law: § 147 Abgabenordnung (AO, German Fiscal Code), § 257 Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB, German Commercial Code) and § 14b Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG, German VAT Act).
Main change: eight years instead of ten
Since 1 January 2025, the retention period for accounting documents (Buchungsbelege) and invoices has been reduced from ten years to eight. This was done by the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz) — sections 147(3) of the Fiscal Code (AO), 257(4) of the Commercial Code (HGB), and 14b(1) of the Turnover Tax Act (UStG) have been amended.
The transitional rule (Art. 97 § 19a para. 2 EGAO) is formulated generously: the new period applies to all documents whose ten-year retention period had not yet expired by 31 December 2024. In practice, this meant that on 1 January 2025, two years’ worth of documents—for 2015 and 2016—could be destroyed at once.
Important exception. For banks, insurance companies and investment firms (institutions under § 1(1b) of the KWG, insurers supervised under § 1(1) of the VAG, investment firms under § 2(1) of the WpIG), the reduction was first postponed for a year and then—by the Act of 22 December 2025, which entered into force on 30 December 2025—cancelled altogether. Under § 147 of the AO and § 257 of the HGB, they retain the previous ten-year period. Meanwhile, regarding VAT (§ 27 para. 40 sentence 2 of the German VAT Act - UStG), an eight-year period applies to them from 2026 – in practice, the longer period prevails.
How long to keep records: a table for entrepreneurs
| Deadline | Documents | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 10 years | Annual financial statements (Jahresabschluss), balance sheets, inventories, account books and records, opening balance sheet, work instructions and organisational documentation, customs documents | Section 147(1) no. 1 of the German Fiscal Code (AO), Section 257(1) no. 1 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) |
| 8 years | Accounting documents (Buchungsbelege): incoming and outgoing invoices, cash receipts, bank statements, receipts, payrolls, expense reports, contracts serving as primary documents | Section 147(1) no. 4 of the German Fiscal Code (AO), Section 257(1) no. 4 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), Section 14b(1) of the German Turnover Tax Act (UStG) |
| 6 years | Business correspondence — received and sent, including business-related e-mails; other documents significant for tax purposes | Section 147(1) nos 2, 3 and 5 of the German Fiscal Code (AO), Section 257(1) nos 2 and 3 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) |
| 6 years | Individuals with income from rental properties, capital and other Überschusseinkünfte (surplus income) exceeding €500,000 per year (the threshold will rise to €750,000 from 1 January 2027) | Section 147a(1) of the German Fiscal Code |
The period always runs from the end of the calendar year, in which the document was generated, issued, received or sent (§ 147 para. 4 AO). An invoice from March 2026 with an eight-year retention period must be kept until 31 December 2034.
Eight years is not the limit
The most common mistake is to treat the retention period as a calendar period. § 147 Abs. 3 Satz 5 AO explicitly states: the period does not expire as long as the documents are important for taxes for which the assessment period has not expired (Festsetzungsfrist). The period is extended if a tax audit (Außenprüfung) has begun, an assessment has been issued subject to review (Vorbehalt der Nachprüfung), an objection (Einspruch) has been filed, or tax proceedings are under way.
If the documents are missing, the tax office has the right to assess the tax base by estimation (Schätzung, § 162 AO) — and the estimate is rarely in your favour. A separate fine is provided for tax endangerment (Steuergefährdung) of up to €25,000 (§ 379 AO), for VAT — up to €5,000 (§ 26a UStG), and in the event of bankruptcy, the destruction of documents before the expiry of the retention period is already a criminal offence (§ 283b StGB).
Electronic documents: what cannot be printed and deleted
The rules of the electronic archive are described in the GoBD, a letter from the German Federal Ministry of Finance as amended on 14 July 2025. The key rule: electronically received items must be stored electronically in their original format. Printing a PDF statement from online banking and deleting the file is a violation.
With electronic invoices (E-Rechnung), the new version of the GoBD has become more lenient: it is sufficient to store the structured XML part, and the human-readable attachment only if it contains additional meaningful data. However, the XML part itself must not be deleted after conversion.
There is also the opposite exception: annual financial statements and the opening balance sheet cannot be kept in electronic form only — the paper original is required (§ 147 Abs. 2 AO).
Storage of insurance policies and warranty cards
🔹 Appliance warranty cards and receipts — minimum two years from the time of delivery of the goods: this is the seller’s liability period for defects (Gewährleistung, § 438 para. 1 no. 3 BGB). If the manufacturer has given their own guarantee (Garantie) for three or five years, keep it for the entire duration. Practical advice: keep the receipt for another couple of months beyond the period, otherwise you will have no way to prove a defect found in the last week.
🔹 Invoices from tradespeople – plumbers, electricians, builders. Here, a private individual has a real legal obligation: § 14b Abs. 1 Satz 5 UStG requires them to keep the invoice, a payment document or other proof for two years from the end of the year in which the invoice was issued. This applies to any work related to real estate. The tradesperson is obliged to state on the invoice itself that you are required to keep it (§ 14 para. 4 no. 9 UStG).
The violation carries a fine. Most roundups still state “up to €500” — this figure is outdated: since 1 July 2021, under § 26a Abs. 3 UStG, the fine is up to €1,000.
🔹 But two years is only the “tax” minimum. Claims regarding the quality of work last longer: for standard work, two years from sign-off, construction work — five years from acceptance (§ 634a para. 1 no. 2 BGB). Therefore, it is sensible to keep invoices for roof, heating or window repairs for five years, and for one’s own property, indefinitely.
🔹 Another reason not to throw away a tradesperson’s invoice: the tax deduction under § 35a EStG. It is only granted if you have an invoice and the payment was made by bank transfer to the contractor’s account. Paid in cash — no deduction, even with a receipt in hand.
🔹 Life insurance, disability insurance (BU) and pension insurance policies — indefinitely. These are the documents under which you will one day receive payouts.
🔹 Property and liability insurance policies: three years after termination of the contract (general limitation period, § 195 BGB). Confirmations of a claim-free history are best kept indefinitely: they will come in handy in disputes regarding previous claims.
Storage of tenancy and property contracts
Residential tenancy agreement and property handover protocol (Übergabeprotokoll) — no less than three years after termination of the contract: this is how long the general limitation period under § 195 BGB runs, including for the return of the deposit (Kaution).
🔹 Make sure you keep the check-out inventory: the landlord’s claims for damage to the flat become time-barred in six months (counted from the return of the property, § 548 Abs. 1 BGB), but it is precisely this document that will have to be used to prove the condition of the flat.
🔹 Utility bill calculations (Nebenkostenabrechnung) — at least a year, more reliably three. Two time limits from § 556 Abs. 3 BGB apply here: the landlord is obliged to hand over the calculation no later than 12 months after the end of the billing period, otherwise they can no longer demand an additional payment; you, in turn, have 12 months from receipt of the calculation to raise objections.
🔹 From 1 January 2025, an important change came into effect: under the new Section 556(4) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the landlord is entitled to provide supporting documents for the utility bill calculation digitally — previously it was possible to request a personal viewing of the originals. Download and save files immediately, as they might not be uploaded again.
🔹 Utility bills (Nebenkostenabrechnungen) will also come in handy when applying for housing benefit: the housing benefit office (Wohngeldbehörde) usually requires statements for the last two years.
🔹 If you are the owner of your home, keep the contract of sale, land register extract, building permit, declaration of division and all invoices for work on the property indefinitely. They are needed for calculating tax upon sale (speculation period is 10 years, Section 23 EStG), for depreciation when renting out and in disputes over construction defects.
Storage of other documents
🔹 Bank statements (Kontoauszüge). There is no obligation for a private individual to keep them, but it makes sense: three years is the general limitation period (§ 195 BGB) during which payment can be demanded from you again. The countdown does not start from the date of payment, but from the end of the year, in which the claim arose (§ 199 BGB). Hence the rule of thumb: keep annual statements for another three full years.
There is a catch here. By law, the bank keeps documents for 10 years, but in online banking, statements are usually available for between 90 days and two years, whereas the restoration of old ones is a chargeable service. At the same time, the Federal Court of Justice declared the flat-rate fee for a duplicate to be invalid (BGH, 17.12.2013, XI ZR 66/13): a fee is only permissible to the extent of the bank’s actual costs (§ 675d para. 4 BGB). The most reliable method is to download the PDF into your own archive once a month.
🔹 Sick notes (Krankmeldung). Since 1 January 2023, the electronic sick note (eAU) has been in effect: the doctor transmits the data to your Krankenkasse (statutory health insurer), and the employer retrieves it from there themselves. However, you are still obliged to notify your employer of your illness personally and on the very first day. The doctor will still issue a paper copy “für den Versicherten” (for the insured person) – keep it at least until your salary or Krankengeld (sickness benefit) for this period has been paid correctly. Details on deadlines and rules can be found in the article Sick leave in Germany.
🔹 Till receipts (Kassenbon). Keep them until the item’s warranty expires. Please note: thermal receipts fade within a year to eighteen months — take a photo or scan them straight away, otherwise you will have nothing to show in the shop.
🔹 Contracts of sale (Kaufvertrag) and receipts (Quittung). Strictly speaking, until the warranty expires. I recommend keeping these documents for life, in case of theft, as proof of the item’s value for insurance companies. It is particularly common to be required to prove the existence and value of items when claiming compensation under home contents insurance (Hausratversicherung).
🔹 Tax documents. An ordinary employee has no obligation to keep receipts for their tax return – since 2017, a receipt retention duty (Belegvorhaltepflicht) has been in place: documents do not need to be attached to the tax return, but must be presented upon request. Keep the Steuerbescheid (tax assessment notice) itself indefinitely: it is needed for Elterngeld (parental allowance), BAföG (state student finance), loan applications, legal aid and pension recalculations.
Supporting documents, however, are worth keeping longer than it seems. The tax office can review assessments for four years (§ 169 AO), but the clock only starts from the end of the year the tax return was filed (§ 170 AO) — in practice, this works out to up to seven years from the tax year itself. In cases of tax evasion (Steuerhinterziehung) the period is extended to ten years, and in cases of grossly negligent underpayment (leichtfertige Steuerverkürzung) to five.
🔹 Payslips (Lohnabrechnung). The duty to retain records lies with the employer (§ 28f SGB IV), not with you. However, keep your annual tax statement (Lohnsteuerbescheinigung) indefinitely: if the employer goes bankrupt or fails to submit the data to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, this will be the only proof of your contributions.
🔹 Invoices (Rechnungen). The general limitation period is three years from the end of the year in which the document was due for payment.
Documents that should never be thrown away
There is no statutory retention period for these documents in the law. The reason is different: replacing them is either impossible or very time-consuming and expensive — and you will be the one who has to prove it.
| Document | Why indefinitely |
|---|---|
| Birth, marriage and divorce certificates | The registry office (Standesamt) keeps the birth register for 110 years, marriage registers for 80, and death registers for 30 (§ 5 PStG). After this time, a duplicate can no longer be obtained. |
| Diplomas, certificates, decisions on the recognition of education | It is usually impossible to replace them from abroad; they are needed for credits towards your pensionable service. |
| Employment contracts and references (Arbeitszeugnisse) | The sole proof of periods of insurance record if the employer no longer exists |
| Pension documents, Versicherungsverlauf, Feststellungsbescheide (notices confirming your insurance periods) | The burden of proof lies with the insured person (§ 149 SGB VI) |
| Medical documents, vaccination record, Röntgenpass (X-ray record) | Occupational diseases, income protection insurance, disability |
| Will, inheritance agreement, Erbschein (certificate of inheritance), powers of attorney | Inheritance claims last for 30 years (§ 199 Para. 3a BGB) |
| Property documents: contract, Grundbuch (land register) extract, permits, construction invoices | Tax on sale, depreciation, disputes over defects |
| Life, pension and disability insurance policies | One day they will pay out |
| Steuerbescheide | Required for Elterngeld, BAföG, loan and pension recalculation |
| Contracts and certificates of purchase of securities, passbooks | Proof of the purchase price when calculating the Abgeltungsteuer (flat-rate tax on capital income) |
How to properly dispose of documents
Tearing it in half and throwing it in the paper recycling bin is a bad idea. If the papers contain other people’s personal data (customer invoices, employee documents), this is a GDPR violation: Art. 5 and Art. 32 DSGVO require that reconstruction must be impossible or significantly hindered.
Shredding security levels are defined in the DIN 66399 standard, which has now formally been replaced by the international ISO/IEC 21964 standard with the same content.
| Level | For which documents |
|---|---|
| P-1, P-2 | General waste paper without personal data: advertising brochures, drafts |
| P-3 | Internal documents without sensitive data |
| P-4 | Standard personal data: bills, letters from government departments, bank statements, contracts. Enough for 95 % of household documents |
| P-5 | Highly sensitive data: medical records, personnel and financial files |
| P-6, P-7 | Secret and state-secret documents |
A P-4 grade home shredder is inexpensive and covers almost everything. For medical papers and employee documents, get P-5. It is cheaper to send large archives to a destruction service – they issue a certificate (Vernichtungsnachweis) which will come in handy during an audit.
Frequently asked questions
Can only scans be kept instead of paper?
For a private individual — almost always yes. But remember: a scan is not a document in the sense of § 416 ZPO, the court assesses a copy at its discretion and it is weaker than the original. The original is mandatory for notarised deeds, wills, certificates of inheritance, registry office (civil status) documents, the land register and passbooks. Digitisation is also permitted for businesses, but requires a procedure description (Verfahrensdokumentation) in accordance with the GoBD, and annual financial statements and opening balance sheets still remain on paper.
I am an employee. Do I actually have to store anything at all?
By law — almost none. The only clear obligation for a private individual is to keep invoices for property-related work for two years (§ 14b UStG), with a fine of up to €1,000. Another time limit specified by law: donation receipts must be kept for one year after receiving the tax assessment (§ 50 EStDV). Everything else is not an obligation, but a matter of proof: without a document, you simply won’t be able to substantiate something.
Why does the entrepreneur get told “eight years”, while the accountant insists on ten?
Both are right in their own way. Eight years is the new general retention period for accounting records from 2025. But ten years remain for annual reports, balance sheets, stocktakes and ledger books, and § 147 Abs. 3 sentence 5 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) extends any period while an external audit is ongoing or the tax assessment period has not expired. If the company has an open tax audit (Außenprüfung), nothing must be thrown away.
What will happen if the documents turn out to be missing?
An individual has almost no direct sanctions — apart from fines regarding craftspeople’s invoices. The risk lies elsewhere: if you cannot prove payment, you will pay a second time; if you cannot prove the period of work, you will lose part of your pension; if you cannot prove the value of items, the insurance company will pay less. For an entrepreneur, the consequences are harsher: estimated assessment of the tax base (§ 162 AO) and fines of up to €25,000.
For how many years does a bank store documents, and can an old statement be ordered?
The bank is obliged to keep accounting documents for ten years. You can order an old statement, but usually for a fee — and this fee must correspond to the bank’s actual costs; a court has ruled flat-rate fees of “€15 per statement” to be invalid. Do not rely on the bank: download PDFs yourself.
How to calculate the period — from the date of the document?
No, from the end of the calendar year. The invoice dated 5 March 2026 with an eight-year retention period must be kept until 31 December 2034, not until March. This rule applies equally to § 147 AO, § 257 HGB and § 14b UStG.
What else to read on finber.de
- Sick leave in Germany — electronic sick note, notification deadlines and caring for a sick child
- Tax classes in Germany — which class is more profitable and how to change it
- Useful telephone numbers in Germany — emergency and helpline numbers with opening hours
- Home contents insurance — what it covers and what documents will be needed in the event of an insurance claim
- How to start your own business in Germany — first steps, registration and tax duties
Sources
Deadlines and regulations have been cross-checked with the current editions of laws and departmental clarifications as of 19.08.2026:
- Abgabenordnung — §§ 147, 147a, 162, 169, 170, 379 AO; Art. 97 § 19a EGAO (gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Handelsgesetzbuch — Section 257 HGB
- Umsatzsteuergesetz — Sections 14, 14b, 26a, 27 UStG
- German Civil Code (BGB) — Sections 195, 199, 438, 548, 556, 634a, 675d
- Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz of 23 October 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 323) — reduction of the period to eight years
- Gesetz zur Modernisierung und Digitalisierung der Schwarzarbeitsbekämpfung (Act to Modernise and Digitalise the Fight against Undeclared Work) of 22 December 2025 (Federal Law Gazette 2025 I No. 369) — reduction reversed for the financial sector
- Bundesministerium der Finanzen (Federal Ministry of Finance), GoBD as amended on 14 July 2025
- SGB IV Section 28f, SGB VI Section 149, EStG Sections 23 and 35a, EStDV Section 50, PStG Section 5, StGB Section 283b
- BGH, judgment of 17.12.2013, XI ZR 66/13 – fee for statement reissuance
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung — Kontenklärung and form V0100
- Verbraucherzentrale and Finanztip – deadline recommendations for private individuals
The material is for informational purposes only and does not replace the advice of a tax advisor or lawyer. Deadlines may change — we indicate the date of the last verification in the text.
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With our recommendations, we want to help as many people as possible look after their finances. We fund our work through affiliate links. We mark these links with an asterisk (*).
