On 18 October 2024, the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (BEG IV) was passed.
One key new provision concerns retention periods under commercial and tax law:
The retention period for accounting documents has been reduced from 10 to 8 years.
When does this regulation come into effect?
This regulation has been in effect since 1 January 2025 and applies to all documents whose previous retention period had not yet expired at that time.
What is affected? – Accounting documents within the meaning of § 257 sec. 1 No. 4 HGB
The rule ‘No posting without a document’ remains in force – accordingly, the following documents, among others, must still be retained:
- Orders received and order supplements,
- Order confirmations and dispatch notes received,
- delivery notes, consignment notes,
- invoices and complaints received,
- credit notes and payment receipts (cheques, bank transfers, etc.),
- Bankaccount statements, account statements,
- Cash payment receipts,
- Contracts (if relevant for accounting, with associated correspondence if applicable).
These documents may be retained for eight years after expiry.
What remains at 10 years?
Not all retention periods have been shortened. The following must still be retained for 10 years in accordance with § 257 sec.1 No. 1 HGB:
- Commercial books (including subsidiary books)
- Inventories, opening balance sheets, annual financial statements, management reports
- Related organizational documents and work instructions
The legislator has not made any changes here.
Tax law harmonisation: § 147 AO is now also 8 years
Tax law is also catching up: the retention period for tax-relevant accounting documents has been reduced to 8 years in § 147 sec. 3 AO. This ensures standardised retention periods in commercial and tax law.
What should companies do now?
- Adapt archiving and deletion concepts
- Review digital and physical archiving systems
- Update internal deadline regulations
Grau Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB offers legal support in your daily business, especially for foreign companies that operate subsidiaries in Germany or are suppliers of German companies – the entire spectrum of German commercial law, starting with corporate law, through distribution law, labour law, insolvency law and claims management.
If you have any further questions, please contact our law firm on +49 (0) 40 180 364 020 or kontakt@graulaw.eu.
