Value Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 section 84

Section 84 sets out the obligation on traders to keep proper records of their business transactions and specifies the periods for which those records must be retained.

• Every accountable person must keep full and true records of all transactions that affect or may affect their VAT liability or entitlement to deductibility; unregistered business persons must retain purchase invoices received in connection with their business.
• Records — including invoices, credit notes, debit notes, receipts, bank statements, customs entries, vouchers and linking documents — must be retained for six years from the date of the latest transaction to which they relate.
• Extended retention periods apply to property transactions (duration of the taxable interest plus six years), waiver-of-exemption cases (duration of the waiver plus six years), and transactions that are the subject of a Revenue inquiry, investigation, claim, appeal or legal proceedings that have not been finally determined.
• Revenue may notify a person that retention of particular records is not required, and linking documents are defined as the working papers showing the calculations that connect the underlying records to the accounts and returns.