How long must you keep your invoices and receipts?

"Can I throw out the old invoices?" It's one of the most common questions any monotributista or sole trader has. The short answer: not yet. You must keep the documentation that backs up your tax situation for as long as DGI can still review it. That window isn't arbitrary — it's tied to the prescription of taxes in the Código Tributario (Tax Code). Here's how long, what to keep and why, with the official rule in plain sight.

Why keep everything? Prescription

DGI can't claim a tax from you forever: after a certain period, the right to collect prescribes (expires). While that period is still running, DGI can open an inspection and ask you for the records that back up what you declared. If you don't have them, you're at a disadvantage. So the practical rule is simple: keep the documentation at least for the whole period during which the debt can still be claimed. The Tax Code sets it out like this:

Article 38 of the Tax Code (prescription):

«El derecho al cobro de los tributos prescribirá a los cinco años contados a partir de la terminación del año civil en que se produjo el hecho gravado»

In English: The right to collect taxes shall prescribe after five years counted from the end of the civil year in which the taxable event occurred

5 years… or 10?

The general term is five years, counted from the end of the civil year in which the taxable event occurred. But that same article provides that the term extends to ten years in certain cases — basically when there was fraud or when you failed to register, report the taxable event, or file your declarations:

The same article 38 adds:

«El término de prescripción se ampliará a diez años cuando el contribuyente o responsable haya incurrido en defraudación, no cumpla con la obligaciones de inscribirse de denunciar el acaecimiento del hecho generador, de presentar las declaraciones, y, en los casos en que el tributo se determina por el organismo recaudador, cuando éste no tuvo conocimiento del hecho.»

In English: The prescription term shall extend to ten years when the taxpayer or responsible party has incurred in fraud, fails to comply with the obligations to register, to report the occurrence of the taxable event, to file the declarations, and, in cases where the tax is determined by the collecting agency, when it had no knowledge of the event.

In plain terms: if you're registered and you file everything on time and correctly, the relevant horizon is five years. But since the term can stretch to ten, the prudent recommendation is to keep the important documentation for ten years. Storing files is cheap; not having them when they're requested is expensive.

What documentation must you keep?

Everything that backs up your tax situation: the invoices and receipts you issued (your CFE), the receipts for your purchases and expenses, your bank statements and movements, receipts of BPS contributions and tax payments, your tax returns, and any accounting or records you keep. If you work with an accountant, agree who keeps what; the responsibility for having the backup is still yours.

Electronic issuers: keep the XML, not just the PDF

If you're an electronic issuer, the valid tax receipt is the CFE file (the signed XML), not the printed representation or the PDF you send the customer. The PDF is a friendly view; the one with legal and tax value is the XML. Make sure your invoicing provider keeps your CFE and your reports and — better still — download and back up the XML files yourself too. Don't rely solely on "it's in the provider's system."

How to store it well

Practical tips: digitize everything on paper; keep at least one backup copy off your computer (an external drive or the cloud); organize files by year and by type (income, expenses, bank, contributions, taxes); keep the CFE XML files, not just the PDFs; and don't delete anything until the periods have safely passed. If you close your activity, keep the documentation anyway: prescription keeps running even if you no longer invoice.

• Electronic invoicing (CFE) in Uruguay: how it works
• The daily invoice report to DGI

Frequently asked questions

• How many years do I keep invoices? The general prescription term is 5 years; since it can reach 10, the prudent move is to keep everything for 10 years.
• From when are they counted? From the end of the civil year in which the taxable event occurred.
• Is the invoice PDF enough? Not for your CFE: the valid one is the signed XML file. The PDF is just a view.
• Do I have to keep bank statements? Yes, they're part of the backup for your tax situation.
• I closed my sole trader — can I throw it all out? No: prescription keeps running, keep the documentation anyway.
• Does my accountant keep it? They can help, but the responsibility for having the backup is yours.

In short: keep invoices, receipts, bank movements and records for as long as DGI can review you. The general term is five years, but it can reach ten, so the prudent move is to keep everything for ten years — including your CFE XML files, not just the PDFs. Organized and backed up, it's cheap insurance against an expensive headache.