Retention periods in Switzerland: for which records do ten years apply, when does the period start and when may you delete? There is no single figure for the whole filing system. The period depends on the type of record and the legal basis. This guide sets out the documented basic rules for accounting records, vouchers, value added tax and working-time records, and shows how to develop a traceable retention overview from them. It is not a complete list of all retention obligations: sector-specific rules and special circumstances come on top.
Classifying records by their content
Start with a list of your record types, for example vouchers, accounting records, the annual report, contracts, working-time lists and general correspondence. The file type does not decide the period; the content does. An email may be a mere arrangement of a meeting or it may document a business transaction. Under Art. 957a of the Code of Obligations (CO, OR), para. 3, a voucher is any written record on paper or in electronic or comparable form that is needed to understand the business transaction or circumstance underlying a posting.
For each record type, determine who is responsible for the legal classification and which basis applies. If no basis is available, enter the question for clarification instead of adopting a supposedly usual period. A period that cannot be calculated is an open issue, not a signal to delete.
Ten years under the Code of Obligations
Under Art. 958f CO, para. 1, accounting records, vouchers, the annual report and the audit report must be retained for ten years. The period starts at the end of the financial year. It therefore does not run for ten years from the individual invoice date or from the date you uploaded a file.
Under para. 2, the annual report and the audit report must be retained in writing and signed. Under para. 3, accounting records and vouchers may be retained on paper, electronically or in a comparable way, provided correspondence with the business transactions is ensured and they can be made readable again at any time. Duration and form of retention are two different questions. For a financial year that does not end on the calendar year-end, its actual end counts. For bookkeeping itself, see the guide Bookkeeping obligations for SMEs.
VAT: separate rules, sometimes longer periods
Anyone liable for VAT must retain accounting records, vouchers, business papers and other records under Art. 70 of the Value Added Tax Act (VAT Act, MWSTG), para. 2 until the tax claim reaches its absolute limitation period; Art. 958f CO remains reserved. Under Art. 42 MWSTG, para. 6, absolute limitation occurs in every case ten years after the end of the tax period in which the tax claim arose. Under Art. 34 MWSTG, para. 2, the tax period is the calendar year. The option to use the financial year on application (para. 3) is not yet in force according to Fedlex. On its VAT audit page, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) confirms that records must be retained in order and classified by financial year until absolute limitation.
However, the FTA states in VAT Info 16 (no. 1.4.2) that the retention period starts at the end of the financial year, and that records must be retained arranged by tax period. Law and practice therefore set the start differently. For a deviating financial year, calculate both variants and follow the later end date.
Art. 70 MWSTG, para. 3 contains a special rule: business records needed to calculate subsequent input tax deduction (Einlageentsteuerung) and own consumption for immovable property must be retained for 20 years. The background: for immovable property, the input tax amount is reduced linearly by one twentieth per year (Art. 31 MWSTG, para. 3 and Art. 32 MWSTG, para. 2). The text of the law gives no start of the period. The FTA also gives 20 years on its page, but in VAT Info 16 (no. 1.4.2, as from 5 January 2024) it gives 26 years for such records, for example supplier invoices, purchase contracts, VAT returns, general ledger accounts and leases. Both statements come from the FTA and contradict each other. Anyone who owns property should therefore clarify the period with their fiduciary or the FTA. This is not a blanket rule that all records of a property company must be retained for 20 years: it concerns the records needed for the calculation mentioned.
Overview: periods with legal references
| Records | Period | Start | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting records, vouchers, annual report, audit report | 10 years | End of the financial year | Art. 958f CO, para. 1 |
| Accounting records, vouchers, business papers, records (VAT-liable persons) | until absolute limitation, i.e. 10 years | after the end of the tax period (calendar year); FTA practice: end of the financial year | Art. 70, para. 2, Art. 42, para. 6, Art. 34, para. 2 MWSTG |
| Business records for subsequent input tax deduction and own consumption for immovable property | 20 years (FTA practice: 26 years) | not stated in the law | Art. 70, para. 3 MWSTG; VAT Info 16 |
| Lists and records on working time | at least 5 years | after their validity expires | Art. 73, para. 2 ArGV 1 |
| Work instructions on keeping and retaining the books | as long as the books kept in accordance with them | – | Art. 4, para. 2 GeBüV |
| Records of accesses and entries to the archive | as for the data carriers | – | Art. 8 GeBüV |
For contracts, correspondence or personnel records outside this table, the rules read here state no general period. If a contract or an email forms part of the evidence for a business transaction, it is a voucher (Art. 957a CO, para. 3) and falls under Art. 958f. In practice, not by law: for other contracts, the ten-year limitation period of Art. 127 CO is often used as a guide; it starts at different times depending on the claim. On working-time records, see Working time recording: the duty for SMEs.
Data protection: retaining does not mean storing indefinitely
Under Art. 6 of the Data Protection Act (DSG), paras. 2–4, the processing of personal data must be proportionate and bound to its purpose. Personal data are destroyed or anonymised as soon as they are no longer needed for the purpose of processing. A statutory retention obligation can justify further processing; Art. 31 DSG, para. 1 mentions justification “by law”.
Document, therefore, why records containing personal data are still needed. An old contact list is not a voucher just because it sits in the same folder. Conversely, a request for deletion does not by itself dispose of a running retention obligation. Under Art. 6 DSG, para. 5, appropriate measures must also be taken to ensure the data are correct; correct wrong assignments without unnoticed alteration of the evidence of a business transaction subject to retention. Conflicts between a deletion request and retention belong in specialist clarification, not in an automatic deletion run.
Practical example: calculating the periods for Weidenraum
The fictional trading company Weidenraum AG closes its financial year on 31 December. A supplier invoice dated 12.02.2026 belongs to financial year 2026. That year ends on 31.12.2026, and the ten years under Art. 958f CO end on 31.12.2036. A deletion check comes into question at the earliest from 01.01.2037, and only if no further obligation or other reason stands in the way.
The sister company Weidenraum Logistik AG has a financial year from 1 July to 30 June. For it, the same invoice dated 12.02.2026 belongs to financial year 01.07.2025–30.06.2026. Under the CO, the period runs until 30.06.2036. If the voucher belongs to tax period 2026, the following applies for VAT: ten years after the end of calendar year 2026, that is until 31.12.2036. The later date governs, here extended by six months.
When buying a property in 2026, Weidenraum collects the records for the subsequent input tax deduction. The law gives 20 years without a start of the period. If the end of financial year 2026 is assumed as the start, the result is 31.12.2046; the 26 years of the FTA statement lead to 31.12.2052. The company records the assumption in writing and clarifies it with its fiduciary. If the company assumes that the working-time lists for 2026 are valid until 31.12.2026, it retains them until at least 31.12.2031. For a lease whose end is still open, the company does not insert an invented period but notes the need for clarification and the responsible person.
Checking before deletion
Reaching a period date is the occasion for a check, not for automatic deletion. Check whether the records really belong to the assigned class, whether the calculation rests on correct data and whether pending proceedings or other reasons require further retention, for example an ongoing tax audit. Include all filing locations: paper files, copies in other systems and backups. Record in writing who checked the classification and approved the deletion. The technical and organisational side of retention, such as integrity and logging, is governed by the GeBüV.
Checklist for your retention overview
- Record type determined from the content
- Legal basis and the version checked recorded
- Financial year and its end recorded correctly
- If VAT-liable: period also calculated from the end of the tax period, later end date governs
- Property records for subsequent input tax deduction and own consumption assessed separately, start of the period clarified
- Missing events and open legal questions visibly marked
- Records containing personal data checked for purpose and necessity
- Further grounds for retention clarified before deletion
- Responsible persons and decision path determined
How KMU | base helps
In Docu | base, open the “Archive” menu item under “Docu | base”. There, for the documents you may see, you can see which periods expire soon, which documents are on hold and where an event that triggers a period is still missing.
Classes with a period. Each document has a retention class with a period and legal basis, for example 10 years from the end of the financial year or 20 years for VAT records relating to property. The start of the period depends on the class: from the end of the financial year, from the document date or from an event such as the end of a contract. As long as the event is missing, the period stays open and nothing is deleted.
Overview of periods. The “Archive” shows what expires in 90 days, what can be deleted, what is on hold and where an event that triggers a period is still missing.
Deletion hold and four-eyes principle. With a deletion hold you block documents by company, class or year, for example for proceedings or a tax audit. You delete expired documents only on request, which a second person approves or rejects.
Limits. The classes are an organisational aid, not a legal review of your individual case; have the periods stored confirmed by your fiduciary or legal adviser before productive use. The class for vouchers calculates ten years from the end of the financial year. There is no separate calculation of the longer VAT period for a deviating financial year, nor an input screen with which you as a customer could extend the period of individual documents. Check such cases by hand before deletion. The class for property records works with 20 years from the end of the financial year; the 26 years of the FTA statement are not reflected in it.
The Docu | base user guide describes how to operate it. Take a look at the Demo or open a test account. If you have questions, we will be happy to help through the Contact page.
Sources
- Code of Obligations (OR, SR 220), Art. 127, 957a, para. 3 and Art. 958f, as at 1 October 2026: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- VAT Act (MWSTG, SR 641.20), Art. 31, para. 3, Art. 32, para. 2, Art. 34, Art. 42, para. 6 and Art. 70, as at 31 March 2025: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Ordinance 1 to the Labour Act (ArGV 1, SR 822.111), Art. 73, para. 2, as at 1 September 2024: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Ordinance on Accounting Records (GeBüV, SR 221.431), Art. 4, para. 2 and Art. 8, as at 1 January 2013: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- Data Protection Act (DSG, SR 235.1), Art. 6, paras. 2–5 and Art. 31, para. 1, as at 7 July 2025: fedlex.admin.ch (German original), accessed on 27.10.2026.
- FTA: VAT audit (in German), section on the retention of accounting records, accessed on 27.10.2026.
- FTA: VAT Info 16 Accounting and invoicing, no. 1.4.2 Retention period (in German), as from 5 January 2024, accessed on 27.10.2026.
This guide does not replace legal or tax advice. Information as at 27.10.2026.