VAT records: until the absolute limitation period

Scope: what exactly applies

This period is the only one in the calculator that deliberately returns no date — because the law names none. VAT retention does not end after a number of years but when the tax claim is absolutely time-barred, and that moment depends on the individual tax year and how its procedure ran. In practice: the ten years from the CO are the floor, not the ceiling. As long as an audit, an additional assessment or an appeal is open for a year, the documents for it are still needed. Discarding here towards a deadline a calculator worked out risks discarding too early — this calculator therefore shows the minimum horizon and names the rest openly.

In practice with bexio

VAT returns and the documents behind them sit spread across bexio: the return in the VAT area, the vouchers with the entries and in the inbox. In an audit what counts is how fast you bring the two together. quintio continuously mirrors the documents into your own Google Drive, where full-text search finds them in minutes even years later.

Related retention periods

• Real-estate documents 20 years — thereafter until the tax limitation period is reached
• Invoices 10 years — insofar as they substantiate an entry
• Bank and credit-card statements 10 years
• Annual and audit report 10 years — signed
• To the retention period calculator
• Retention obligation in Switzerland: who, what, how long

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

How long must I keep VAT records?

Until the absolute limitation of the tax claim (Art. 70 para. 2 in conjunction with Art. 42 para. 6 VAT Act). The law names no fixed date; the ten years under the CO are the floor.

Why does the calculator show no end date here?

Because none follows from the document year alone. The calculator shows the minimum horizon and points to the governing limitation period instead of inventing a date.

Does this apply if I am not VAT-registered?

Then the VAT link is missing and the ten-year period under Art. 958f CO for accounting vouchers applies.