Where do the 7 years for account books start?

For a company, from the day after the corporate tax return deadline, not from the fiscal year-end. With a March year-end and no extension the deadline is 31 May, so records for the year ending March 2025 are counted from 1 June 2025 and kept until 31 May 2032. Sole proprietors keep them 7 years from the day after 15 March of the following year, so records for 2025 are kept until 15 March 2033.

Do companies keep books for 7 years or 10 years?

The Corporation Tax Act says 7 years (10 for fiscal years using a tax loss carryforward), but the Companies Act requires account books and financial statements to be kept for 10 years, so companies keep them for the longer 10 years. Transaction records such as invoices and receipts follow the Corporation Tax Act: 7 years (10 for years with tax losses).

How many years should a sole proprietor keep receipts and invoices?

For blue-return filers, cash and bank records such as receipts and bank books are kept 7 years (5 years if income two years earlier was 3 million yen or less), and other documents such as invoices, quotations, contracts and delivery notes 5 years. White-return filers keep books 7 years and documents such as receipts and invoices 5 years. All are counted from the day after 15 March of the following year. Consumption tax payers keep invoices (qualified invoices) for 7 years to claim input tax credits.

How long should wage ledgers and timecards be kept?

5 years under the Labor Standards Act, but a transitional measure allows 3 years for the time being. The starting point differs by document: the worker register from the date of leaving, dismissal or death; the wage ledger from the last entry (or the wage payment date, if later); attendance records and timecards from the date of completion.

Which years’ documents can be discarded this year?

For a company with a March year-end and no extension, documents under the 7-year rule of the Corporation Tax Act can be discarded up to the year ending March 2019 from 1 June 2026. Account books and financial statements under the 10-year rule of the Companies Act can be discarded up to the year ending March 2016 from 1 April 2026. A sole proprietor can discard 7-year documents up to 2018 and 5-year documents up to 2020 from 16 March 2026. Choose your year-end month on the “Years you can discard” tab to see the full chart.

How long must minutes of shareholders’ and board meetings be kept?

Under the Companies Act, both must be kept at the head office for 10 years from the meeting date. Copies of shareholders’ meeting minutes must also be kept at branch offices for 5 years (unless they can be viewed electronically, among other exceptions).

Document Retention Period Calculator | Work Out Until When to Keep Account Books, Financial Statements, Invoices, Wage Ledgers and Minutes Under Japanese Law, and When You Can Discard Them, With a Year-by-Year Disposal Chart and a Retention Table

The Document Retention Period Calculator answers questions such as “until when do I have to keep these books?”, “where do the 7 years start?” and “which years’ documents can I throw away this year?” under Japanese law. Choose the type of document and enter the fiscal year-end, the tax year or the date of leaving, and it applies the statutory period and starting point to give the retention deadline and the first day you may discard it. For companies, account books, financial statements and transaction records such as invoices and receipts must be kept for 7 years from the day after the corporate tax return deadline (10 years for fiscal years using a loss carryforward), account books and financial statements for 10 years under the Companies Act, and minutes of shareholders’ and board meetings for 10 years from the meeting. Sole proprietors count from 16 March of the following year: blue-return books, year-end documents and cash and bank records 7 years (some 5 years if income two years earlier was 3 million yen or less), and other documents such as invoices and quotations 5 years; white-return filers keep books 7 years and documents 5 years. Worker registers, wage ledgers, attendance records, hiring and leaving documents and annual paid leave records are 5 years under the Labor Standards Act (3 years under the transitional measure); employment insurance records for insured persons 4 years, health insurance and pension records 2 years, workers’ accident compensation records 3 years, health check records 5 years and dependant deduction forms 7 years. Handles a 1 to 4 month extension of the filing deadline and, when laws differ, shows the longer period. Choose your fiscal year-end month to see the deadline for each fiscal year and “up to which year you can discard today”, plus a table of periods, starting points and laws for every document.

Choose a document and work out how long to keep it

Enter the type of document and the year-end, tax year or date of leaving, and the tool applies the statutory period and starting point to give the retention deadline (how long to keep it) and the first day you may discard it.

Whose documents

Type of document

Fiscal year-end date

Filing deadline extension

Fiscal year with a tax loss that uses a loss carryforward (the Corporation Tax Act period becomes 10 years)

Please enter a date.

Periods are counted as in the Civil Code (the first day is not counted, and the period ends on the day before the corresponding date in the final year). If the filing deadline is moved later by a weekend or holiday, the retention deadline moves by the same amount.

These are guideline periods under Japanese law. Special rules, industry rules (construction, healthcare, finance, etc.) and tax audits can change them. If unsure, check with a tax accountant or a labour and social security attorney.

ABOUT

About Document Retention Period Calculator | Work Out Until When to Keep Account Books, Financial Statements, Invoices, Wage Ledgers and Minutes Under Japanese Law, and When You Can Discard Them, With a Year-by-Year Disposal Chart and a Retention Table

The Document Retention Period Calculator is a free tool for companies, sole proprietors and HR staff in Japan. Choose a document and enter the fiscal year-end, the tax year or the date of leaving, and it uses the statutory period and starting point to show the retention deadline and the first day you may discard it. It counts the different starting points of the Corporation Tax Act (7 years, 10 with tax losses), the Companies Act (10 years), blue returns (7 or 5 years) and the Labor Standards Act (5 years, 3 for now).

How to use Document Retention Period Calculator | Work Out Until When to Keep Account Books, Financial Statements, Invoices, Wage Ledgers and Minutes Under Japanese Law, and When You Can Discard Them, With a Year-by-Year Disposal Chart and a Retention Table

1Choose whose documents they are: a company, a sole proprietor, or HR and social insurance
2Choose the type of document, such as account books, financial statements, invoices, wage ledgers or minutes
3Enter the date the period is counted from: the fiscal year-end, the tax year, or the date of leaving or completion
4For a company, choose any extension of the filing deadline and whether the fiscal year uses a tax loss carryforward
5Check the retention deadline, the disposal date and the period under each law. On the “Years you can discard” tab, choose your fiscal year-end month to see a chart by fiscal year

Great for

Deciding up to which fiscal year old books and invoices can be discarded after closing the accounts
Checking whether “7 years” counts from the fiscal year-end or from the filing deadline
Finding out how many years of receipts and invoices a sole proprietor should keep
Working out until when to keep the worker register, wage ledger and timecards of someone who has left
Checking the retention deadline for minutes of shareholders’ and board meetings
Looking up a table of retention periods when drafting document management rules

Good to know

A company’s books and records must be kept for 7 years from the day after the corporate tax return deadline under the Corporation Tax Act. With a March year-end and no extension, the deadline is 31 May, so records for the year ending March 2025 are counted from 1 June 2025 and kept until 31 May 2032. Fiscal years using a tax loss carryforward (those starting on or after 1 April 2018) need 10 years, until 31 May 2035.
The Companies Act requires account books to be kept for 10 years from when they are closed, and financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and so on) for 10 years from when they are prepared. This is longer than the 7 years under the Corporation Tax Act, so books for the year ending March 2025 are kept until 31 March 2035. The tool counts financial statements from the year-end too, so the actual deadline is slightly later by the time taken to prepare them.
Sole proprietors count from the day after 15 March of the following year (the tax return deadline). For 2025 this is 16 March 2026: blue-return books, year-end documents and cash and bank records are kept 7 years, until 15 March 2033, and other documents such as invoices, quotations, contracts and delivery notes 5 years, until 15 March 2031. If income two years earlier was 3 million yen or less, cash and bank records are also 5 years.
Since the April 2020 amendment, the Labor Standards Act requires worker registers, wage ledgers, attendance records, hiring and leaving documents and annual paid leave records to be kept for 5 years, but a transitional measure allows 3 years for the time being. For someone who left on 31 March 2025, the worker register is kept until 31 March 2030 (5 years) or 31 March 2028 (3 years).
Periods are counted as in the Civil Code: the first day is not counted, and the period ends on the day before the corresponding date in the final year (or at the end of the month if there is no such date). If the filing deadline is moved later by a weekend or holiday, the retention deadline moves by the same amount. Special rules, industry rules and tax audits can change the period, so check with a tax accountant or labour and social security attorney if unsure.

Questions this tool answers

Use Document Retention Period Calculator | Work Out Until When to Keep Account Books, Financial Statements, Invoices, Wage Ledgers and Minutes Under Japanese Law, and When You Can Discard Them, With a Year-by-Year Disposal Chart and a Retention Table for searches like these:

Work out until when to keep books and invoices
Know where the 7- and 10-year retention periods start
Find which years’ documents can be discarded this year
Know how long a sole proprietor must keep receipts and invoices
Know the retention period and starting point for wage ledgers, worker registers and timecards
See a table of document retention periods

FAQ

Where do the 7 years for account books start?: For a company, from the day after the corporate tax return deadline, not from the fiscal year-end. With a March year-end and no extension the deadline is 31 May, so records for the year ending March 2025 are counted from 1 June 2025 and kept until 31 May 2032. Sole proprietors keep them 7 years from the day after 15 March of the following year, so records for 2025 are kept until 15 March 2033.
Do companies keep books for 7 years or 10 years?: The Corporation Tax Act says 7 years (10 for fiscal years using a tax loss carryforward), but the Companies Act requires account books and financial statements to be kept for 10 years, so companies keep them for the longer 10 years. Transaction records such as invoices and receipts follow the Corporation Tax Act: 7 years (10 for years with tax losses).
How many years should a sole proprietor keep receipts and invoices?: For blue-return filers, cash and bank records such as receipts and bank books are kept 7 years (5 years if income two years earlier was 3 million yen or less), and other documents such as invoices, quotations, contracts and delivery notes 5 years. White-return filers keep books 7 years and documents such as receipts and invoices 5 years. All are counted from the day after 15 March of the following year. Consumption tax payers keep invoices (qualified invoices) for 7 years to claim input tax credits.
How long should wage ledgers and timecards be kept?: 5 years under the Labor Standards Act, but a transitional measure allows 3 years for the time being. The starting point differs by document: the worker register from the date of leaving, dismissal or death; the wage ledger from the last entry (or the wage payment date, if later); attendance records and timecards from the date of completion.
Which years’ documents can be discarded this year?: For a company with a March year-end and no extension, documents under the 7-year rule of the Corporation Tax Act can be discarded up to the year ending March 2019 from 1 June 2026. Account books and financial statements under the 10-year rule of the Companies Act can be discarded up to the year ending March 2016 from 1 April 2026. A sole proprietor can discard 7-year documents up to 2018 and 5-year documents up to 2020 from 16 March 2026. Choose your year-end month on the “Years you can discard” tab to see the full chart.
How long must minutes of shareholders’ and board meetings be kept?: Under the Companies Act, both must be kept at the head office for 10 years from the meeting date. Copies of shareholders’ meeting minutes must also be kept at branch offices for 5 years (unless they can be viewed electronically, among other exceptions).

Special Thanks

SOLO GUILD | サービス作るAIエンジニア

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