Payroll Records: What to Save or Shred?

[Fit Small Business | ]( HR Insights from Our Experts Hiring, paying, and managing employees include complex HR processes, but a common factor between these is storing and keeping track of documents containing salary, payroll, and tax details. Knowing which records to shred or save, including the recommended retention periods, will help ensure compliance with federal and state payroll recordkeeping requirements. If you’re unsure which documents to toss or keep, read on to learn more about payroll record retention guidelines. Top Articles: - [New Employee Forms: Ultimate Guide for Small Businesses]( - [What Are Payroll Reports? Everything Your Small Business Should Know]( - [Payroll Records: What to Include & How Long to Keep Them](                 When to Start Retaining Records   The record retention process starts with your hiring and onboarding forms. While candidate applications and interview documents should be stored for one year, the retention period for these documents will increase to three years for qualified candidates you decide to hire. The forms you ask new employees to complete and submit should also be retained. It’s important that you securely store documents that show the worker’s basic information (like legal name and social security number), pay rate details, employment tax files (such as Form W-4s), and eligibility to work in the U.S. (like Form I-9s). Most of these new employee forms should be kept for three years, except for Form W-4s, which should be retained for four years. To ensure you don’t miss a document, we recommend creating a checklist that you can include in onboarding packets for new hires. Read more: [New Employee Forms: Ultimate Guide for Small Businesses](         With payroll, benefits administration, employee experience management and much more, Paylocity is a comprehensive HRIS designed for the entire employee lifecycle. [Do More with Your HR and Payroll](         Which Payroll Reports Should You Keep   Forms containing data used to calculate and process employee payroll and taxes should be retained for up to six years. Note that government agencies (such as the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) each have record retention requirements for specific records. Some states also have their own guidelines, so be sure to check local laws to ensure compliance. These payroll records include time tracking reports containing the number of regular and overtime hours you should pay employees. You should also keep payroll summaries for each pay period, including the employee benefits and deductions reports. Read more: [What Are Payroll Reports? Everything Your Small Business Should Know](     How to Save or Destroy Payroll Documents   There are several ways you can store HR and payroll records. You can keep paper documents on-site or store the forms in an offsite facility. You can also use digital forms and partner with a provider who can electronically store the records in a secure database. Some HR and payroll software even have document management functionalities, allowing you and your employees to scan paper forms and upload these directly into its system for safekeeping. For documents that have exceeded the required retention period, you can shred these files yourself or have a provider that offers secure document destruction services do it for you. Regardless of whichever option you choose, we recommend keeping a log of the records you or the service provider destroyed. Take note of the document type, when and how it was destroyed, and who did it. Don’t forget to have the person sign the log so you know who to contact if there are payroll audit-related questions. Read more: [Payroll Records: What to Include & How Long to Keep Them](     What’s new in HR? Check out some of our latest HR content:   [How to Do Payroll in South Dakota]( Calculating employee salaries and payroll taxes in South Dakota is a straightforward process. If your business is located in this state and you’re new to pay processing or need a refresher, read our guide on how to run payroll in South Dakota. [READ MORE]( [W-9 vs 1099: Comparing IRS Contractor Tax Forms & How to Use Each]( Knowing the difference between W-9 and 1099 forms means your business is prepared to provide the right forms to contractors at the start of their relationship with your business and at the end of each year for tax filing. In this guide, we tackle the differences between these forms, including when and how to use each document. [READ MORE](         Meet Fit Small Business’ HR & Payroll Experts   [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( [Heather Landau]( [Jennifer Soper]( [Robie Ann Ferrer](   [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( Want to Join Our HR Community? Check us out on LinkedIn! [-Jennifer Hartman, HR Staff Writer & Human Resources Expert]( [Juvy Vallescas]( [Genevieve Que](   Want to know more about the biggest issues in HR today? Watch out for next week’s newsletter where we tackle the top three issues. Until next time, Heather Landau, Jennifer Soper, Robie Ann Ferrer, Juvy Vallescas, and Genevieve Que [Alternate text] Want to change what you receive in your inbox? 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