Records You
Actually Need To Keep.

What to actually keep

• Every invoice you raiseWhat you charged, to who, and when.
• Every receipt for a business expenseMaterials, tools, fuel, insurance, anything you're claiming against your tax bill.
• Bank statements for any account business money moves throughEven if it's a personal account you also use for the business.
• CIS statementsThe deduction statements contractors give you, showing what was deducted and when.
• Mileage recordsIf 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 businessHMRC can ask about this if your numbers don't otherwise add up.

How 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.

Digital 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. That is why photographing receipts as you go and sending them over works: it captures the same record, just sooner.

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.