Closing the business doesn't mean you can clear out every file the same week. Both tax and corporate law set minimum periods for keeping records — and the safest habit is just to store everything digitally before you close, so it's not a scramble later.
The general ATO rule
As a general rule, the ATO expects business records to be kept for five years — generally from when you prepared or obtained the record, or from when the relevant transaction or acts were completed, whichever is later. Records connected to capital gains tax assets typically need to be kept for five years after the asset is disposed of, and if you're in a dispute with the ATO about a return, keep the related records until that's fully resolved.
For a deregistered company
While a company is operating, the Corporations Act requires financial records to be kept for seven years. Common professional guidance for directors of a company that's since been deregistered is to keep records for at least that long afterwards too, so there's a reasonable explanation available for historical transactions if anyone — the ATO, a former creditor — ever asks.
What's worth keeping
- Tax returns and notices of assessment
- BAS lodgements and GST records
- Bank statements for business accounts
- Invoices and receipts
- Payroll and superannuation records, if you had employees
- Directors' and members' resolutions, and your ASIC deregistration confirmation
This is general guidance, not tax advice — if your situation is unusual (a dispute, a complex asset sale, multiple entities), get a definitive answer from a tax agent before you delete anything.