How long business keep credit card receipts

Here is everything business should know about their holding period, proper storage, and disposal. These two reasons also determine the duration for which you should keep the receipts. It is common knowledge that banks allow customers to request for chargebacks. A merchant must also know that the window to file for these chargebacks can vary from anywhere between 60 days 2 months to days 18 months depending on the issuing bank and the credit card company.

In case of such a dispute, the signed receipts serve as proof that the customer agreed to the purchase. The presence of the receipt proves that you were presented with the card using which you entered all their personal information at your POS terminals. Only then the funds were transferred to the merchant account. Bank can then match the signatures on the receipt to the ones they have on file for their customers. Receipts are invoices that show that the respective sales took place.

In case, your business is audited by the IRS, it is highly likely that you may be asked to produce proof of a specific suspect transaction. IRS requirements may change depending on your place of business and the local tax laws. But, a good practice is to retain the signed receipts for 3 years. Suppose you are audited and there are no receipts. In that case, it becomes difficult for you to justify the income from select transactions, any information related to them, and the subsequent tax return.

In the worst-case scenario, you are looking at a case of tax fraud. Your business understands the significance of storing signed receipts and is ready to commit. But, there are a few things you should keep in mind about credit card receipt storage and management. These are private records that have to be protected under the law. Bench gives you a dedicated bookkeeper supported by a team of knowledgeable small business experts. Your bookkeeping team imports bank statements, categorizes transactions, and prepares financial statements every month.

Get started with a free month of bookkeeping. This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult his or her own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post.

Bench assumes no liability for actions taken in reliance upon the information contained herein. Sign up for a trial of Bench. No pressure, no credit card required. For Partners. By Nick Zarzycki on October 20, How long do you need to keep tax records for?

Exceptions to the three-year rule Do I need to hang on to paper bank statements? This is fine, right? When in doubt, keep it. Tired of doing your own books? Try Bench. But did you know that the IRS also requires you to keep financial records for your business? Share this article. Get Started. You may be able to lighten your load when it comes to your credit card statements.

Experts suggest that credit cardholders should keep their personal credit card statements for a minimum of 60 days.

But how long all that extra paper or those extra bytes should be kept around can change depending on what a credit card is used for and whether the cardholder relies on hard copies or online statements or both.

For many people, keeping credit card statements for at least 60 days is likely long enough. Reviewing each monthly statement also helps prevent any surprises, find mistakes, and identify signs of identity theft or fraud. According to the Fair Credit Billing Act, consumers have up to 60 days to report signs of fraud or other billing errors to credit card servicers, but the sooner they can, the better. Saving credit card statements also remains useful for tracking spending habits and maintaining a budget.

Tax-related expenses are a very important reason to keep credit card statements for longer than 60 days. This might be especially helpful for those using business credit cards. Credit card statements are vital to prove any business expenses, large purchases or payments of several thousands of dollars or tax deductions like charitable donations. Keeping statements in a safe place is critical in any case.

Most credit card companies offer online account access that enables account holders to access their statements for at least one year. Some popular companies offer a longer statement history. For example, Chase allows account holders to search up to seven years of statements.

Bank of America allows searching for up to three years of statements. Statements may not even be easily accessible by a simple search. Downloading statements at least once a month will also come in handy if the account holder ever decides to close an account. Often, credit card statements will no longer be accessible after the account is closed. Experts recommend a fireproof, lockable safe that is stored in a safe place. Always label statements with month, year and any other important notes to remember.

After credit card statements become old news, the next step is to get rid of old copies. Online statements can be kept on a hard drive for as long as necessary, then can be permanently deleted to free up storage space. Paper copies require a bit more effort to dispose of.

Shredders can be bought cheaply on online retailers like Amazon. Office suppliers like FedEx or Office Depot also offer shredding services for a fee. Shredding old credit card statements and other important financial documents is crucial for protecting account numbers, names, addresses and especially social security numbers. Getting audited by the IRS or losing thousands of dollars due to fraud is much less fun than filing a bit of paperwork.