How long are accounting documents kept? How many years should an enterprise keep accounting and tax documents?

How long to store primary documents, tax reports, invoices, accounting databases? How to store and destroy documents. Rosarkhiv. Responsibility for storing documents. LIST OF STANDARD MANAGEMENT DOCUMENTS PRODUCED IN THE ACTIVITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS, INDICATING STORAGE TERMS Federal Archive Service of Russia Rules for storing documents in accounting.

The question arises, how many years to keep accounting documents.

According to some documents - 5 years.

On the other hand, the so-called “depth” of a tax audit is 3 years.

At the same time, Part 1 of Law No. 402-FZ of December 6, 2011 states that primary accounting documents, accounting registers, financial statements, as well as audit reports about them must be stored for the period established by the rules of archiving. But at least five years. The storage periods for standard archival documents are determined in the list approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558.

To avoid being punished for violating the rules established by Law No. 402-FZ of December 6, 2011, keep tax returns, calculations, registers and other documents for at least five years. Longer - only those for which the law sets a longer period.

Keep copies of used strict reporting forms (stubs) confirming the amounts of cash received, packed in sealed bags, for at least five years. After this period ends and at least one month has passed since the date of the last inventory, copies of used forms can be destroyed on the basis of the act of their write-off. Such rules are established in paragraph 19 of the Regulations, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2008 No. 359.

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Storage periods for HR documentation

The periods during which personnel documents are stored are specified in Article 22.1 of the Law of October 22, 2004 No. 125-FZ and the list approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia of August 25, 2010 No. 558. The beginning of the document storage period is considered to be January 1 of the year. , following the year in which they were compiled (paragraph 4 of clause 1.4 of the list approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558).

Orders for hiring, transfer, dismissal and other orders for personnel generally must be kept for at least 75 years if they were created before 2003. If these documents were created after 2003, then they must be stored for at least 50 years.

Employment contracts, personal cards and employee files must also be kept for 75 years if they were created before 2003, or for 50 years if they were created after 2003. Any documents on personnel that were formed during the period of civil service, which is not the state civil service, must be stored for 75 years, regardless of the date of their creation.

The period during which it is necessary to store documents confirming that an employee received education at the expense of the organization is determined by the requirements of tax legislation. The fact is that paragraph 3 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes that in order to write off these costs to reduce taxable profit, the organization must keep all documents confirming training (agreement with an educational institution, an order from the head to send an employee for training, an act of provision of services, a diploma , certificate, certificate, etc.). Their storage period is limited to the duration of the training contract and one year of the employee’s work, but not less than four years.

In the list approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558, in addition to documents on personnel, other documents are also named. They are grouped into sections depending on their scope of application.

Keep the labor regulations even after replacing them with new ones. Shelf life is one year. A one-year shelf life is also established for vacation schedules.

Keep your time sheets for five years. And in difficult, harmful and dangerous working conditions - 75 years.

Beginning of the document storage period

count as January 1 of the year following the one in which they were compiled (accepted for accounting) (paragraph 4 of clause 1.4 of the list approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558). For example, if a document was drawn up in 2017, then the storage period begins to be calculated from January 1, 2018. There are two exceptions to this rule.

1. Registers required to deduct VAT. In particular, the purchase book and sales book, as well as journals of issued and received invoices. The beginning of their storage period is determined from the date of the last entry in them. This follows from clause 13 of section II of appendix 3, clause 24 of section II of appendix 4, clause 22 of section II of appendix 5 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137.
2. Documents that confirm the original cost of depreciable property. The shelf life for them is considered from the moment when depreciation was no longer calculated (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 26, 2011 No. 03-03-06/1/270).

So, the four-year period begins after the reporting (tax) period in which the document was last used for preparing tax reports, calculating and paying taxes.

For example, for documents confirming the initial cost of fixed assets, the storage period will begin after the cost of the fixed asset is no longer taken into account in “profitable” expenses through the depreciation mechanism. Those. when the fixed assets are completely depreciated, liquidated or sold (Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated February 12, 2016 No. 03-03-06/1/7604).

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In case of loss of documents, the taxpayer is obliged to restore them for the four previous years

If a company has lost its primary document as a result of flooding, then it is obliged to restore the documents. Including for the past four years, and not just for 2011. Specialists from the Russian Ministry of Finance recalled this in a letter dated 08/11/11 No. 03-02-07/1-288.

Which refers to the provisions of paragraph 5. Which states that during a tax audit, inspectors do not have the right to demand from the company documents that have previously been submitted to the inspectorate (during a desk or on-site audit). The exception is those papers that were previously presented in the form of originals, but were returned by the tax authorities, and then the company lost them due to force majeure circumstances.

Another reason for the restoration of documents is that the storage period for documents necessary for calculating taxes is four years. This is stated in subparagraph 8 of paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

How to recover a lost document

Formally, the procedure is as follows:

1. Issue an order appointing a commission to investigate the reasons for the missing tax return.
2. Conduct an investigation into the missing document. Receive written explanations - memos - from the employees responsible for its safety.
3. Based on the results of the investigation, draw up a report. In it, indicate the reasons for the loss of the document, the measures that need to be taken to restore it.
4. Restore the document based on primary documents and tax registers.
5. Sign it with the employee who is authorized to do this today. Even if at the time when the document was originally drawn up, it should have been signed by another employee.
6. Make the inscription “Duplicate” on the declaration. In practice, colleagues rarely follow this procedure. According to the accounting data, they fill out the declaration again if it is not saved in the accounting program.

How many years must the primary document be kept, which confirms the loss in the income tax return?

The Tax Code says: documents that confirm a loss must be kept for the entire period while the loss reduces the income tax base. This is 10 years maximum. Plus another four years after the loss is paid off.

But what about claims documents? Only declarations of previous years or the entire primary?

The Russian Ministry of Finance insists: all primary documents must be stored (letter dated April 23, 2009 No. 03-03-06/1/276).

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STORAGE TIMES OF VARIOUS DOCUMENTS(table)

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Organization and rules for storing accounting and other documents

To store accounting documents, you need to equip special rooms, safes or cabinets (clause 6.2 of the Regulations, approved by letter of the USSR Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1983 No. 105). The requirements for the construction of such storage facilities are given in the Rules approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated March 31, 2015 No. 526.

Strict reporting forms are stored in safes, metal cabinets or in special rooms to ensure their safety (clause 16 of the Regulations approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2008 No. 359). Cash orders, advance reports, bank statements with related documents are collected in chronological order and bound.

Documents labeled “trade secret” are stored in safes.

Other documents can be stored in special rooms or in locked cabinets under the responsibility of persons authorized by the chief accountant.

Note: Clauses 6.2–6.4 of the Regulations approved by letter of the USSR Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1983 No. 105, and clauses 3.2 and 3.6 of the Regulations approved by Resolution of the Federal Securities Commission of Russia dated July 16, 2003 No. 03-33/ps.

The organization has the right to store accounting documents in electronic form

According to the legislation on accounting, primary and summary accounting documents can be drawn up on paper or in electronic form (Part 5 of Article 9 of the Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ). Tax accounting registers can also be maintained on paper, electronically and (or) on any computer media (). Finally, tax returns (calculations) can, and in some cases must be, submitted electronically (Article 80 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

And since primary documents, accounting and tax accounting documents, as well as tax returns (calculations) can be prepared in electronic form, then they can be stored in the same format. No need to print. The only condition is that such documents must be certified in accordance with all the rules with an electronic signature.

Note: Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 22, 2012 No. 03-02-07/1-202 and dated July 24, 2008 No. 03-02-07/1-314.

At the request of regulatory agencies, including the tax inspectorate, copies of electronic documents will have to be printed and certified in person before being submitted for inspection (clause 1 of article 252, clause 1 of article 93 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This conclusion is based on the provisions of Part 6 of Article 9 of the Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ, Articles 313 and 314 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

To organize the storage of documents in electronic form, apply the Regulations approved by letter of the USSR Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1983 No. 105 (in the part that does not contradict the law), and the Rules approved by order of the Russian Ministry of Culture dated March 31, 2015 No. 526. Do this until the federal accounting standard is approved , establishing requirements for documents and document flow in accounting. This is stated in the information of the Ministry of Finance of Russia No. PZ-13/2015.

Text electronic documents for storage in the organization’s archive should be submitted in PDF/A format. At least once every five years, check the condition of the electronic document carriers and whether the documents themselves can be reproduced. These are the requirements of paragraphs 2.31 and 2.32 of the Rules, approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated March 31, 2015 No. 526.

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Destruction of documents

When the storage period for documents expires, they should be destroyed (clause 2.3 of the Rules approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated March 31, 2015 No. 526). Documenting the destruction of documents is beneficial for the organization itself. After all, acts of destruction may be needed during inspections or court cases, if the organization is required to provide any documents. The destruction procedure is prescribed in paragraphs 4.6–4.13 of the Rules, approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated March 31, 2015 No. 526.

An expert commission selects documents for destruction. The expert commission may include employees of the organization (secretary, accountant, clerk, etc.).

The destruction of selected documents must be formalized in an act according to the form (.xls 35Kb) from Appendix 21 to the Rules, approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated March 31, 2015 No. 526. In the act, write the details of all documents. Similar documents can be listed under a common heading. Mark the deadlines for similar documents. For example, “advance reports for 2009, deadlines are 01/20/2009–12/01/2009.”

An organization can destroy documents in the following ways:

• transfer for processing (disposal). When transferring documents for processing (disposal), fill out an invoice, indicating the date of transfer, weight and quantity of papers;
• Destroy documents yourself - burn them, shred them with a shredder, throw them away, etc.

The chosen method of destruction must be indicated in the act.

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Fines and Liability for violation of rules and terms of storage of documents

If there are no accounting documents, for example, they were lost, this is a gross violation of the rules for accounting for income and expenses. The organization faces a fine of 10,000 rubles. according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The same punishment will occur if you do not comply with the procedure and period for storing documents.

If a lack of documents leads to an underestimation of the tax base, the taxpayer faces a fine of 20 percent of the amount of unpaid tax, but not less than 40,000 rubles.

The following penalties may be applied to an official:

• fine from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles. – for the first violation;
• from 10,000 to 20,000 rub. or disqualification for a period of one to two years - for a repeated violation.

Such sanctions are provided for gross violation of accounting requirements, including financial statements, of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses.

The safety of documents is not ignored in criminal law. Based on paragraph 1 of Article 325 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, theft, destruction, damage or concealment of official documents out of personal interest can be punished by imprisonment for up to one year. But, of course, law enforcement agencies will have to prove such interest.

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The papers that the accounting department works with can be divided into two groups:
- tax accounting and reporting documents;
- accounting and reporting documents.

Tax accounting and reporting documents include tax reporting forms and tax registers. This also includes papers that serve as the basis for VAT calculations (invoices, purchase and sales books). Accounting documents (reporting) are divided into three main groups:
- accounting reporting forms;
- accounting registers (general ledger, order journals, etc.);
- primary documents recording the fact of business transactions.

In addition, accounting documents also include other papers not included in these groups (powers of attorney to receive money and valuables, accounting certificates, correspondence about accounts receivable and payable, personal accounts of employees, etc.)

Retention periods for accounting documents must be observed

Let's consider how long certain accounting (tax) documents should be stored.

Legal requirements

What deadlines should an institution follow? According to the author, in order to avoid liability for non-compliance with the rules established by law, it is necessary to store documents:
- at least five years, if the List establishes shorter storage periods for accounting documents;
- within the periods established by the List, if it provides for a storage period exceeding five years.

Responsibility for violation of the procedure and terms of storage of documents

The head of the institution is responsible for organizing the storage of accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements (Clause 3, Article 17 of the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ). And their safety, registration and transfer to the archive is ensured by the chief accountant.

For violation of the procedure and terms of storage of accounting documents, administrative liability is provided - a fine for officials will be from 2000 rubles. up to 3000 rub. (Article 15.11 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses).

The absence of primary documents, invoices, and accounting registers is a tax offense. Responsibility for it is provided for in Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The minimum fine under this article is 5,000 rubles.

Accounting and tax reporting

However, for a number of documents the storage period begins to be calculated in a manner different from the general one.

For example, an exception to the general rule is the purchase ledger and the sales ledger. The beginning of their storage period (five years) is determined from the date of the last entry (and not from January 1 of the following year). This is stated in the paragraphs and Rules approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 2, 2000 No. 914.

A special procedure for calculating deadlines is also provided for in the List itself. Specifically, the five-year storage period begins to run:
- for contracts (for the provision of audit services, credit, business, property insurance) - from the moment of expiration;
- for an agreement on financial liability - from the moment of dismissal of the financially responsible person;
- for certificates of registration with the tax office - from the moment the organization is deregistered from tax registration.

How to store papers

To store accounting documents, the institution must equip special rooms, safes or cabinets.

In particular, strict reporting forms are stored in safes, metal cabinets or special premises to ensure their safety (clause 16 of the Regulations approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 2008 No. 359). Documents labeled “trade secret” are kept in safes.

The remaining papers are stored in special rooms or locked cabinets under the responsibility of persons authorized by the chief accountant.

What documents are transferred to the archive?

To provide conditions for storing accounting documents, an institution can organize an archive (Clause 2, Article 13 of Law No. 125-FZ of October 22, 2004).

Documents of permanent (eternal) and long-term (over 10 years) storage are transferred to the archive. The remaining papers (storage period up to 10 years inclusive) are stored in the accounting department until they are destroyed. Basis - clauses 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 of the Rules, approved by the decision of the Rosarkhiv board of February 6, 2002.

Procedure for destroying papers

The destruction of documents with an expired storage period is preceded by their examination, during which documents of permanent, temporary storage and those subject to destruction are distinguished. These activities in the institution are carried out by an expert commission appointed by order of the head.

There are two ways to destroy documents.

Using the services of a specialized organization. In this situation, the transfer of documents for destruction is formalized by an acceptance certificate or invoice, which indicates the date of their transfer, the number of cases submitted and their weight. The transfer of papers for disposal must be carried out under the supervision of an employee responsible for ensuring the safety of documents.

Destroy documents yourself. For example, by burning it or using a paper shredder. In this case, the fact of destruction of outdated documents must be recorded by an expert commission by drawing up an appropriate act. Due to the lack of a unified form of this act, it is drawn up in any form (see).

Basically, stored documents are needed for inspection authorities. To answer the question of how long you need to store papers, you should look into the legislation regulating work with each of the departments for which corporate archives are formed. How long to store documents for the tax inspectorate can be found in paragraph 4 of Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, it says: “as part of an on-site tax audit, a period not exceeding three calendar years preceding the year in which the decision to conduct the audit was made.” It seems that we have found the answer: we store documents for only three years. By the way, Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation specifies a similar period for which papers may be required: “The general limitation period is established at three years.”

Basically, stored documents are needed for inspection authorities. To answer the question of how long you need to store papers, you should look into the legislation regulating work with each of the departments for which corporate archives are formed.

But it's not that simple. Let's go back to the tax code: in subparagraph 8 of paragraph 1 of Article 23 it is written in black and white that taxpayers are obliged “for four years to ensure the safety of accounting and tax accounting data and other papers necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes, including documents confirming receiving income, making expenses (for organizations and individual entrepreneurs), as well as paying (withholding) taxes.” In other words, to those already announced years during which the archive needs to be maintained, we add one more. By the way, a similar requirement has been established for tax agents, who are often employers (clause 5, clause 3, article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Let us turn to the “new testament” for accountants, namely Article 29 402-FZ: there we are instructed to store documents and electronic databases for at least five years, and also refer to the Federal Law of November 22, 2004 No. 125-FZ (ed. dated July 27, 2010) “On archiving in the Russian Federation.”

As already noted, companies are required to maintain an archive not only for tax authorities, but also for other departments. The documents that need to be kept for the longest period are for the Social Insurance Fund. This conclusion follows from subparagraph 6 of paragraph 2 of Article 28 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2009 No. 212-FZ, which obliges “to ensure the safety of documents confirming the calculation and payment of insurance premiums for six years.”

Exceptions to document retention rules

The legislation provides exceptions to the general rules for storing papers.

Svetlana Shchepetilnikova, expert at Calculation magazine

How long are accounting documents kept? The question is very important and relevant. The article contains a sample that indicates the storage periods for accounting documents in the organization (table): primary, cash, and reporting.

As stated in the basic accounting law 402-FZ, the storage period for accounting documents should not be

• less than 5 years after the reporting year (clause 1 of Article 29 of Law 402-FZ) for primary and cash accounting registers;
• at least 5 years, starting from the year in which they were last used. This applies to accounting policies and other local acts that establish the procedure, methods and methods of accounting at a particular enterprise.

However, it should be taken into account that the procedure for storing accounting documents, including their storage periods, is established by each organization independently, taking into account the norms and requirements:

• Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
• provisions approved by Resolution of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market of the Russian Federation dated July 16, 2003 No. 03-33/ps for JSC.

If each of the specified acts of legislation specifies a different period for the same documents, the actual one must be established in accordance with the act that specifies the maximum period.

In the table you can find answers to the question of how long to store accounting documents by type with references to legislative acts.

It is important to organize the storage of accounting documents in an organization in accordance with the legislative acts mentioned above. If the document’s storage period has not expired and it is requested as part of an on-site or desk audit by a tax authority, Social Insurance Fund or labor inspectorate, but it is not physically there, a fine will be imposed on the organization based on clause 1 Art. 126 Tax Code of the Russian Federation in the amount of 200 rubles. for each document not provided. The organization and the official also face administrative fines (Part 1 Art. 5.27, part 1 Art. 15.6, part 3, 4 Art. 15.33 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, art. 26.31 of Law No. 125-FZ).

Let's look at an example of how to determine the shelf life of a delivery note and invoice received in the 3rd quarter of 2017. Goods were accepted for accounting, and VAT was deducted in the same quarter. In 4th quarter In 2017, goods were sold, and their cost was taken into account in expenses when calculating income tax.

The storage period for the invoice is until September 30, 2021, since it was used to calculate VAT in the 3rd quarter of 2017 (a deduction was claimed), and the period is calculated as 4 years after the tax period in which the invoice was used, i.e. from 10/01/2017.

The shelf life of a consignment note depends on its qualifications:

• to confirm the right to deduct VAT, we count the four-year period from 10/01/2017 and get 09/30/2021 (by analogy with an invoice);
• to recognize the cost of goods as expenses when calculating income tax, we count the four-year period from 01/01/2018 (since the tax period for income tax is a year) and get 12/31/2021;
• as a primary document - we count 5 years after the year in which the cost of goods is recognized as expenses, i.e. from 01/01/2018, and we get 12/31/2022.

On this issue we take the following position:

When establishing storage periods for an organization’s documents, it is necessary to be guided by: Law N 402-FZ, Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Law dated July 24, 2009 N 212-FZ, List of standard management archival documents generated in the course of the activities of state bodies, local governments and organizations, indicating deadlines storage, approved by order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 N 558.
Documents that are not transferred to the organization’s archive (with a storage period of up to 10 years inclusive) can be grouped in chronological order and stapled, for example, in binders. In this case, the folder must contain the title of the case.

Justification for the position:

Storage periods for accounting documents

The storage periods for electronic documents (registers) are established in the same manner as for documentation generated on paper. At the same time, economic entities must store accounting policy documents, standards of an economic entity, other documents related to the organization and maintenance of accounting, including tools that ensure the reproduction of electronic documents, as well as verification of the authenticity of an electronic signature for at least five years after the year in which they were used to prepare accounting (financial) statements for the last time (Part 2 of Article 29 of Law No. 402-FZ).

When determining specific storage periods for individual accounting documents, one should be guided by the List of standard management archival documents generated in the process of activities of state bodies, local governments and organizations, indicating storage periods, approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 N 558 (hereinafter referred to as the List). This List was developed and approved in pursuance of the provisions of Part 3 of Art. 6, part 1 art. 17 of the Federal Law of October 22, 2004 N 125-FZ “On Archival Affairs in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as Law N 125-FZ).

In accordance with clause 1.4 of the List, the storage periods for documents are calculated from January 1 of the year following the year of completion of their paperwork.
For example:

Primary accounting documents and appendices to them, which recorded the fact of a business transaction and served as the basis for accounting records (cash documents and books, bank documents, bank checkbook counterfoils, orders, time sheets, bank notices and transfer requests, acts of acceptance, delivery, write-off property and materials, receipts, invoices and advance reports, correspondence, etc.) are stored for 5 years, subject to an inspection (audit) (Article 362 of the List);

Documents (protocols, acts, calculations, statements, conclusions) on the revaluation of fixed assets, determination of depreciation of fixed assets, assessment of the value of the organization’s property are stored permanently (Article 429 of the List);

Acts on the transfer of rights to real estate and transactions with it from the previous to the new copyright holder (from balance sheet to balance sheet) are stored permanently (Article 432 of the List);

Treaties, agreements not specified in individual articles of the List - 5 years after the expiration of the contract, agreement (Article 436 of the List). Gift agreements, leasing, for example, are stored permanently (Articles 439, 449 of the List).

It is also necessary to take into account that paragraphs. 8 clause 1 art. 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes a four-year storage period for accounting and tax accounting data and other documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes, including documents confirming receipt of income, expenses (for organizations and individual entrepreneurs), as well as payment (withholding) of taxes.

At the same time, paragraph 4 of Art. 283 and paragraph 7 of Art. 346.18 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which are special rules, oblige payers, respectively, of corporate income tax and tax paid in connection with the application of a simplified taxation system with the object of taxation of income reduced by the amount of expenses, to store documents confirming the amount of loss incurred throughout the entire period its repayment. Let us remind you that taxpayers can carry forward losses to future periods within 10 years after receiving them (clause 2 of Article 283, clause 7 of Article 346.18 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

We also draw attention to the fact that some expenses for profit tax purposes are taken into account over a long period, for example, fixed assets (fixed assets) and intangible assets (intangible assets), or are of a deferred nature (taken into account not in the period of their incurrence, but at the time of sale of assets ( Art. 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)).

Depreciation is a uniform accounting during the periods of use of fixed assets and intangible assets of expenses that form their initial cost (Articles 256, 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation indicates the possibility of accounting for expenses only if they are documented.

In this regard, the Russian Ministry of Finance explains that the storage period for primary documents reflecting the formation of the initial cost of depreciable property, established by paragraphs. 8 clause 1 art. 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (4 years), should be calculated from the moment of completion of depreciation in tax accounting (for the acquisition of such property) (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 02/12/2016 N 03-03-06/1/7604, dated 04/26/2011 N 03- 03-06/1/270). That is, for tax accounting purposes, it is necessary to store primary documents confirming the formation of the initial cost of depreciable fixed assets and intangible assets for at least 4 years after their full depreciation.

At the same time, specialists from the financial department also noted that, according to the List, documents on determining the depreciation of fixed assets are stored permanently.

The Ministry of Finance of Russia, explaining the procedure for applying paragraphs. 8 clause 1 art. 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in letter dated March 30, 2012 N 03-11-11/104, indicates that the four-year period begins after the reporting (tax) period in which the document was last used for preparing tax reporting, accrual and payment tax, confirmation of income received and expenses incurred. A similar position is set out in the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated July 24, 2012 N 3546/12.

This legal position of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation must also be taken into account when including in expenses:

Losses in the form of amounts of bad debts (clause 2, clause 2, article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, determinations of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated 10/09/2012 N VAS-5055/12, dated 06/09/2012 N VAS-7081/12). Primary documents confirming their occurrence must be available on the date of accounting for the loss;

Losses specified in paragraphs. 2, 3 tbsp. 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, determined as of the date of sale of property and property rights (for more information, see letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 16, 2015 N GD-4-3/2251@).
At the time of implementation, expenses are also taken into account in the form of:

Prices for the acquisition (creation) of other property, such as, for example, land plots, material assets (clause 2, clause 1, article 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);

The cost of inventories, other property in the form of surpluses identified during the inventory, and (or) property received free of charge, and (or) property received during the dismantling or disassembly of decommissioned operating systems, repair, modernization, reconstruction, technical re-equipment or partial liquidation of the OS (clause 2, clause 1, article 268, paragraph two, clause 2, article 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);

Prices for the acquisition of property rights and expenses associated with their acquisition (clause 2.1, clause 1, article 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);

Costs of purchasing purchased goods.

Consequently, when determining the storage period for documents confirming the costs of acquiring (creating) fixed assets and intangible assets, other property, property rights, purchased goods, it is necessary to take into account the provisions of Art. 268 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Expenses for the acquisition of securities are also deferred, since the date of incurring expenses for the acquisition of securities is the date of their sale or other disposal (clause 7, clause 7, article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, documents confirming expenses for the acquisition of securities must be kept for periods determined taking into account the provisions of paragraphs. 7 paragraph 7 art. 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (decrees of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated March 19, 2013 N 09AP-2671/13, FAS Moscow District dated July 19, 2013 N F05-7106/13 in case N A40-74496/2012).

When determining the storage periods for documents, it is also necessary to take into account that payers of insurance premiums are obliged to ensure for six years the safety of documents confirming the calculation and payment of insurance premiums (clause 6, part 2, article 28 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2009 N 212-FZ) .

In practice, it is not always possible to isolate accounting records that may be retained for four, five or six years. Therefore, in accounting, it is advisable to apply a minimum retention period of six years to all documents (unless longer periods are established by the List).

The procedure for storing documents in office work

When organizing the storage of accounting and tax accounting documents, it is necessary to be guided by the Rules for organizing the storage, acquisition, recording and use of documents of the Archive Fund of the Russian Federation and other archival documents in government bodies, local governments and organizations, approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated March 31, 2015 N 526 ( hereinafter - the Rules) and the Regulations on documents and document flow in accounting, approved by order of the USSR Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1983 N 105 (hereinafter - Regulation N 105) (to the extent that does not contradict the relevant legislative and other regulatory legal acts issued later). See also information from the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 11, 2015 N PZ-13/2015.

According to paragraph 2 of Art. 13 of Law N 125-FZ, legal entities have the right to create archives for the purpose of storing archival documents generated in the process of their activities, including for the purpose of storing and using archival documents that are not state or municipal property. This means that the creation of an archive is a right, but not an obligation, of economic entities. This is also written in clause 1.4 of the Rules.

Thus, the economic entity independently establishes the procedure for storing primary documents. At the same time, economic entities can transfer documents for storage to state and municipal archives by concluding appropriate compensation agreements with them (Part 3 of Article 15, Part 3 of Article 21 of Law No. 125-FZ).

According to clause 2.3 of the Rules, the organization’s archive must store documents from the Archive Fund of the Russian Federation (Article 5 of Law No. 125-FZ), documents on personnel and documents with temporary (over 10 years) storage periods. The specified part of the documentary fund constitutes the archival fund of the organization.

Documents with temporary (up to 10 years inclusive) storage periods are stored in the structural divisions of the organization and, upon expiration of their storage periods, are subject to destruction, after a mandatory examination of the values ​​of the documents (clauses 4.6-4.13 of the Rules). Before the examination of value, destruction of documents is prohibited (clause 4.5 of the Rules).

In exceptional cases, by decision of the head of the organization, files with temporary (up to 10 years inclusive) storage periods are transferred to the archive of the organization according to inventories of files, documents or according to the nomenclature of files (clause 4.2 of the Rules).

Thus, the organization’s archival documents are initially formed in all its structural divisions (in office work), and then, after an examination of the documents’ values, they are transferred to the organization’s archive for storage or destroyed.

In each structural unit of the organization, documents similar in content and related to the same issue of the organization’s activities are grouped into files (storage units) (clauses 2.9, 3.3 of the Rules).

When forming a case, it is necessary to comply with the requirements established by clause 4.20 of the Rules.

According to clause 4.19 of the Rules, permanent and temporary (more than 10 years) files of permanent and temporary (over 10 years) storage periods, including those for personnel, completed by records management, after the end of the calendar year in which they were opened, are prepared for transfer to the organization’s archive and are subject to registration and description.

Depending on the storage period, full or partial registration of cases is carried out. Cases of permanent and temporary (over 10 years) storage periods and personnel records are subject to full registration.

Registration of cases on paper provides for:

Binding or binding of case documents (non-format documents are stored in closed hard folders or boxes) (clause 4.21 of the Rules);

Numbering of case sheets (clause 4.22 of the Rules);

Drawing up a sheet of evidence for the case in the form established by Appendix No. 8 to the Rules (clause 4.23 of the Rules);

Drawing up an internal inventory of case documents (Appendix No. 27 to the Rules) (clause 4.30 of the Rules);

Design of the cover of the case (Appendix No. 28 to the Rules) (clauses 4.24-4.29 of the Rules).

Cases are transferred to the organization’s archive according to inventories compiled in structural divisions.

It follows from clause 4.19 of the Rules that only files completed by office work with permanent and temporary (more than 10 years) storage periods and personnel records are subject to full registration (filing or binding, numbering of sheets of the file, drawing up a document certifying sheet, etc.) before transfer to the organization's archives.

In relation to cases containing documents with temporary (less than 10 years) storage periods, such a procedure is not established by the Rules. As follows from clause 4.2 of the Rules, such cases are not transferred to the archive. They are stored in the structural divisions of the organization and, upon expiration of the storage period, are subject to destruction in the prescribed manner. The only exception is when, by decision of the head of the organization, files with temporary (up to 10 years inclusive) storage periods are transferred to the archive of the organization. Then cases with a storage period of up to 10 years are transferred to the archive after the end of the calendar year in which they were opened, and such cases are subject to full registration.

Thus, in general, the main requirement for cases containing documents for which the retention period is less than 10 years is their grouping and execution in accordance with the procedure established by clause 4.20 of the Rules.

According to this procedure, documents are placed in the case that, in their content, correspond to the title of the case, while it is prohibited to group draft and doublet copies of documents, as well as documents that are subject to return, into cases. That is, all cases, regardless of the period of storage of documents in them, must have a title.

When forming a case, the following requirements must be met:

Documents of permanent and temporary storage must be grouped into separate files. Let us immediately note that temporary storage documents should be grouped separately: into files with a storage period of more than 10 years; files with a storage period of up to 10 years inclusive;

Include one copy of each document in the file;

Group documents from the same calendar year into a file;

The exceptions are: moving cases; court cases; personal files that are formed during the entire period of a person’s work in the organization; documents of elected bodies and their standing commissions, deputy groups, which are grouped during the convocation period; documents of educational organizations that are formed during the academic year; theater documents characterizing stage activities within the theater season; files of films, manuscripts, medical histories.

Orders for personnel must be grouped into files in accordance with the retention periods established for them;

Documents in personal files are arranged in chronological order as they are received;

Personal accounts for employee wages are grouped into separate files and arranged in them alphabetically by last name, first name and patronymic.

A paper case should not contain more than 250 sheets with a thickness of no more than 4 cm.

In our opinion, documents that are not transferred to the organization’s archive (with a storage period of up to 10 years inclusive) can be grouped in chronological order and stapled, for example, in binders. In this case, the folder must contain the title of the case. The Rules do not contain any other requirements for such cases. This procedure does not contradict clause 6.4 of Regulation No. 105.