What is the record retention requirement for payroll records

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Keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years after filing the 4th quarter for the year. These should be available for IRS review. Records should include:

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For each employee COVERED by FLSA:
Supplemental records:
For each "white collar" employee EXEMPT from FLSA:
For each employee paid SUB-MINIMUM wage rate:
Record keeping to substantiate special wage/hour practices:
How long does the IRS require employers to keep payroll records?
What payroll records must be kept permanently?
How long does a company need to keep timecards?

Your employer identification number.
Amounts and dates of all wage, annuity, and pension payments.
Amounts of tips reported to you by your employees.
Record of all allocated tips.
The fair market value of in-kind wages paid.
Names, addresses, social security numbers, and occupations of employees and recipients.
Any employee copies of Form W-2 and W-2c returned to you as undeliverable.
Dates of employment for each employee.
Periods for which employees and recipients were paid while absent due to sickness or injury and the amount and weekly rate of payments you or third-party payers made to them.
Copies of employees' and recipients' income tax withholding certificates (Forms W-4, W-4P, W-4S, and W-4V).
Dates and amounts of tax deposits you made and acknowledgment numbers for deposits made by EFTPS.
Copies of returns filed and confirmation numbers.
Records of fringe benefits and expenses reimbursements provided to your employees, including substantiation.
Documentation to substantiate any credits claimed. Records related to qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages for leave taken after March 31, 2021, and records related to qualified wages for the employee retention credit paid after June 30, 2021, should be kept for at least 6 years. For more information on substantiation requirements, go to the Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act for Leave Prior to April 1, 2021 and FAQs: Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act pages.
Documentation to substantiate the amount of any employer or employee share of social security tax that you deferred and paid for 2020.

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Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 07-Jul-2022

Employers must record and preserve specified information and records to show compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions relating to minimum wage, overtime, equal pay and child labor.

Review the federal record-keeping requirements for all non-agricultural employees.

For each employee COVERED by FLSA:

Retention Period: 3 Years Required Information & Records:

Name, address
Date of birth
Gender, occupation
Workweek days
If paid O/T... regular pay rate and exclusions
Wage basis
Hours worked
Straight-time earnings
Weekly overtime pay
Deductions from and additions to wages
Pay period covered
Pay dates
Wages paid by pay period
Retroactive payment
Also, payroll certificates, union agreements and benefit plan documents.

Supplemental records:

Retention Period: 2 Years Required Information & Records:

Time cards
Wage rate tables
Work time schedules
Job evaluations, etc.

For each "white collar" employee EXEMPT from FLSA:

Retention Period: 3 Years Required Information & Records:

Executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees are exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of FLSA. Records are kept to substantiate the claimed exemption, including:

The wage basis for the exempt employee (e.g. $500 per week)
Total remuneration (sum of pay plus fringe benefits

For each employee paid SUB-MINIMUM wage rate:

Retention Period: 3 Years Required Information & Records:

Qualifying learners, apprentices and disabled employees, for example, may be employed at sub-minimum wage rates. However, the employer must first obtain the proper authorization certificate from the Secretary of Labor. The certificate must be preserved in the employer's records for a specific period from the certificate's expiration date.
Also, the employer must identify any employees paid at a sub-minimum wage rate, using a letter symbol on their pay records, and the employer must retain evidence substantiating the special characteristics of the employee that justify the sub-minimum wage rate.
The foregoing requirements are in addition to the normal record-retention requirements applicable to employees covered by the FLSA.

Record keeping to substantiate special wage/hour practices:

Retention Period: 3 Years Required Information & Records:

For example, employers who credit tips toward the minimum wage requirement must record the following items, in addition to the information normally applicable to a covered employee: weekly or monthly tip amount reported by the employee, amount of tip credit taken, hours of untipped work and hours of tipped work.
Another example is an employer that pays employees on a piece rate basis. In addition to the information normally required for a covered employee, the employer must record each piece rate applicable to the employee. The employer must record the number of units completed at each applicable rate during the hours worked in excess of the statutory workweek, and the total weekly overtime excess compensation for the employee at the applicable rate.

How long does the IRS require employers to keep payroll records?

Keep all records of employment taxes for at least four years after filing the 4th quarter for the year. These should be available for IRS review. Records should include: Your employer identification number.

What payroll records must be kept permanently?

The IRS requires that you keep payroll records such as amounts and dates of wages, dates of employment, and dates and amounts of tax deposits. Keep these records for four years after filing the fourth quarter of the year.

How long does a company need to keep timecards?

Payroll records, collective bargaining agreements, sales, and purchase records should be saved for at least three years. Wage calculation records, such as time cards, wage rates tables, work and time schedules, and records of increases to or deductions from wages should be saved for two years.