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What is the guideline for how long payroll records should be kept?
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Payroll Records

posted at 5/4/2010 9:10 AM EDT
Posts: 58
First: 10/17/2006
Last: 9/13/2011
What is the guideline for how long payroll records should be kept?
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Payroll Records

posted at 5/4/2010 11:52 AM EDT
Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006
Last: 9/14/2011
I've heard 7 years at minimum. Personally I keep the year end records with year-to-date amounts much longer than that. Things like W-2s and 1099's I keep longer also.

You might also need to keep certain records longer for Workers Compensation audits, Benefits audits (especially pension plan contribution reasons), and for certain pay equity lawsuits under the Lily Ledbetter Act. Some might depend on what records you keep separately for those reasons.

One lady I depend on for documentation length is Paula Aftab at : http://www.aftab.com/documentretention.htm

"Payroll Documents. General principle -- Payroll documents and supporting data shall be kept in such a manner that the company can prove that it has fulfilled its responsibilities under the wage and Hour Rules of the Department of Labor, as well as the Walsh-Heasley Act. Also, payroll records must be such as to enable the company to compute the payment of any pension. (See section G above.)
Employee earnings record (P)
Labor distribution cost records (7)
Payroll registers (gross and net) (7)
Unclaimed wage records (6)
Employee deduction authorizations (4 after termination)
Assignments, attachments and garnishments (3 after payment or settlement)
Time cards and sheets (2)"

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Payroll Records

posted at 5/6/2010 4:47 AM EDT
Posts: 24
First: 1/25/2005
Last: 4/1/2011
We go by this: http://www.mycpas.com/resources-retention-schedule.html

(6 years)
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Payroll Records

posted at 5/17/2010 10:07 AM EDT
Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000
Last: 9/14/2011
If you have retirement plans and you have to verify earnings, you will need to keep the pay records for long periods ( alot longer than 7 years). The best thing to do is digitize them and store the discs in offsite storage.
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