3. How long should you keep your records?

You should keep business records as long as they may be needed for the administration of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code:

The statute of limitations is the period of time which you can amend your return to claim a credit or refund or, the IRS can assess an additional tax.

The statute of limitations varies depending on the situation.

There are also non-tax reasons that you may want to keep the records. Your insurance company or creditors may want you to keep records for a period of time.

Attorney Bio Lori j. Williams, Esq.

I have been an attorney for 27 years. I have been admitted to the practice of law in three states and one foreign country. My bar memberships are in Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). I graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1988. I subsequently earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Taxation and Business Law from Capital University Law School in 1998. My experience includes serving as an Assistant States Attorney in Chicago, Illinois, where I prosecuted numerous offenders in a wide range of criminal matters in bench and jury trials. I also wrote appellate briefs and argued cases before the Illinois Court of Appeals. Additionally, I served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Virgin Islands Department of Justice. I prosecuted major felony cases in the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands, including murders, robberies, rapes, and white collar crimes. While in the Virgin Islands, I was cross-designated as an Assistant United States Attorney to assist with the prosecution of criminal and tax matters in the Federal District Court of the Virgin Islands. I also served as an Assistant Attorney General in the FSM Department of Justice. I was employed as Chief of the Litigation Division and was appointed by the FSM President to temporarily serve as the nation’s Acting Attorney General. In the FSM Department of Justice, I served as legal advisor for the Customs and Tax Department, the Banking and Insurance Commission, and other agencies and departments in the National Government. I also litigated civil and criminal matters before the FSM Supreme Court, and represented the National Government in administrative hearings. I have also maintained private law practices in North Carolina and South Carolina. My areas of focus included business, tax, civil mediations, probate, estate planning, criminal law and general civil matters. I am currently taking some time off from private practice to teach English as a Second Language, while I study Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.