Retention
The question sounds like it has one number for an answer. It does not: in Germany the period depends on what kind of record is in front of you.
As of: 06.09.2026
These periods are what the law says. They are not a Vaultivo recommendation and not advice from an accountant; they are what applies in Germany to that kind of record.
| Kind of record | Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Books, inventories, annual accounts | 10 years | AO § 147 Abs 3 |
| Vouchers and invoices | 8 years | AO § 147 Abs 3 · UStG § 14b Abs 1 |
| Business correspondence, received and sent | 6 years | AO § 147 Abs 3 |
The tax code sorts your records into classes and gives each class its own period: 10 years for books, inventories and annual accounts, 8 years for booking vouchers, and 6 years for the remaining records, which is received and sent business correspondence.
The number most people are looking for is the middle one. An incoming invoice that you book is a booking voucher, so 8 years. For invoices the VAT act states the same number separately again, both for the copy of an invoice you issued and for every invoice you received.
The 8 years for booking vouchers are new. Until the end of 2024 the period was 10 years; since 1 January 2025 the statute says 8.
This is the normal case, not the edge case. An incoming invoice is received business correspondence, and the moment you book it, it is also a booking voucher. Both descriptions fit, so both periods have to be met, and therefore the longer one.
That is why the answer for a booked incoming invoice is 8 years and not 6. Sorting by the shortest class a record fits into is sorting the wrong way round.
When a document is archived, Vaultivo sets a retention date. It is derived from the document type and from your registered seat, and the basis is shown beside it so you do not have to look it up.
You can change the date at any time. Every change is recorded permanently, with the previous and the new value. What has to be kept, and for how long, is your decision.
Until September 2026 Vaultivo suggested the same, longer period for every German document type. Since then it suggests the period for the class, so 8 years for a booking voucher.
Existing documents were not recalculated. A document filed before the change still carries its old date, so it is kept longer than necessary rather than shorter, which is the harmless direction.
If you later edit that document’s date, or reset it to the calculated value, it adopts the current rule and moves forward. The new value is the correct one. It is still a jump, which is why it is written here.
This text covers the general retention periods for the records of a business. It is not tax advice and does not replace any.
Not covered here, among others: periods for personnel records and payroll accounts, retention connected with customs and excise duties, and anything a contract or a grant award adds on top. You can record any of those periods in Vaultivo; what Vaultivo cannot do is suggest them.
And a period can extend itself without you doing anything. When that happens is the subject of the next piece.