From Tax Year 2026-27, the income tax rule on how long to keep your records has new wording. Rule 46 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 asks you to keep books and documents for seven tax years from the end of the relevant tax year. The old Rule 6F said six years from the end of the assessment year. Since the assessment year ends a year after the financial year, the period is the same; only the counting changed. GST and company law run their own clocks, and that’s where people slip.
The Retention Periods, Side by Side
| Law | Applies to | Keep records for |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax, FY 2025-26 and earlier (Section 44AA, Rule 6F) | Professionals and businesses required to keep books | 6 years from the end of the relevant assessment year |
| Income tax, Tax Year 2026-27 onward (Section 62, Rule 46) | Same | 7 tax years from the end of the relevant tax year |
| GST (Section 36, CGST Act) | Registered persons | 72 months from the due date of the annual return for that year |
| Companies Act (Section 128(5)) | Companies | 8 financial years |
One override applies to all of them: if a proceeding is open for a year, keep that year’s records until it ends (under GST, one year beyond final disposal of an appeal).
Working Out Your Actual Dates
GST example. FY 2025-26 records tie to the GSTR-9 due date of 31 December 2026, so keep them until 31 December 2032. GSTR-9 is optional below ₹2 crore turnover, but the clock still runs from the due date.
Income tax example. FY 2025-26 is AY 2026-27, which ends on 31 March 2027. Six years from then takes you to 31 March 2033.
Why so long? Because the department can still look back:
- A reassessment notice can normally be issued within three years from the end of the assessment year, or up to five years where escaped income is ₹50 lakh or more (Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, effective 1 September 2024).
- You can file an updated return (ITR-U) up to 48 months after the end of the assessment year, and you’ll need the underlying records to do it.
“I’m on 44ADA. Do I Need Bills at All?”
Partly. Under presumptive taxation, you needn’t maintain the prescribed books. You still need proof of what you received (invoices, bank statements, FIRAs, TDS certificates), because your AIS and 26AS are matched against the receipts you declare.
The exception that catches people: if you opt out of 44ADA, or your receipts cross the ₹75 lakh limit, you need complete books for that year, including expense bills. Those can’t be rebuilt after the fact.
At Tax Vic, we set up a simple digital record system for self-employed clients, with folders mapped to the ITR and GST return each document supports, and review it at year-end.
What to Keep, Specifically
- Every sales invoice you issued, plus credit notes
- Purchase and expense bills, especially anything you’ve claimed as a deduction or input tax credit
- Bank and payment-platform statements, plus FIRAs or FIRCs
- Your LUT acknowledgement, if you export services
- TDS certificates (Form 16A) and advance tax challans
- Asset purchase bills, kept for as long as you own the asset, plus the retention period, since depreciation keeps referring back to them
Digital copies are fine, with a backup. Thermal-paper bills fade, so photograph them the day you get them.
My view: keep everything for eight years, digitally, in one place, and treat asset bills as permanent records while you hold the asset. Storage is cheap; rebuilding a year’s books during reassessment isn’t.
Common Mistakes
- Relying on an Upwork dashboard, WhatsApp or email as your only copy.
- Deleting GST records after six years from the end of the financial year, when the clock actually runs from the annual return due date.
- Forgetting that failing to keep or retain required books can attract a ₹25,000 penalty under Section 271A.
If a notice arrives, see our guides on the Section 143(1) intimation and high-value transaction notices. For setting up books, read our SME accounting guide.
Key Takeaways
- Income tax: seven tax years from the end of the tax year under Rule 46 (six years from the end of the AY under the old Rule 6F).
- GST: 72 months from the GSTR-9 due date. For FY 2025-26, that’s 31 December 2032.
- Keep records for any year with an open proceeding until it closes.
- 44ADA removes the requirement to keep books, not the need to keep proof.
- Keep asset bills for as long as you own the asset, plus the retention period.
Not sure which years you can safely clear out? Tax Vic reviews your records against open assessment and GST timelines and sets up a digital filing system that matches your returns. Contact info@taxvic.com or +91-9311070842.
Author: CA Reetu Bhandari
Published: 4 November 2026
Last Reviewed: 2 November 2026
