Keeping accounting records in Italy: the ten years of article 2220 of the Civil Code, what they cover, and where to keep the company archive in that time without filling the office with binders.
Accounting records, invoices and business correspondence are kept for ten years from the date of the last entry: that's set by article 2220 of the Italian Civil Code. Tax rules may ask for something else, and your accountant confirms the right term for your company. Where to keep the archive is up to you: in the office, digitally or in outside storage.
I look after boxes for a living, I don't give tax advice. Below you'll find what the rule says, with the link, and then the part I actually handle: where to put ten years of binders.
Article 2220 of the Civil Code applies to businesses required to keep accounts. It says two things: records are kept for ten years from the date of the last entry, and for the same period you keep the invoices, letters and telegrams received, along with copies of those sent.
Next to the Civil Code sit the tax rules, which live in other laws and are being moved. Article 39 of Presidential Decree 633/1972, the VAT rule on registers and invoices, is listed as repealed by the new consolidated VAT law (Legislative Decree of 19 January 2026, no. 10), which applies from 1 January 2027. That's why I don't write tax terms here: they change, and they have to be read against your company's case.
Then there's the GDPR. Documents containing personal data, such as staff files, aren't kept longer than needed for the purpose the data was collected for (GDPR, art. 5(1)(e)).
| What | How long | Source |
|---|---|---|
Accounting records | 10 years from the date of the last entry | Italian Civil Code, art. 2220 |
Invoices, letters and telegrams received, and copies of those sent | 10 years, like the records | Italian Civil Code, art. 2220 |
Documents with personal data | No longer than needed for the purpose | GDPR, art. 5(1)(e) |
Tax terms (income tax, VAT) | To be checked with your accountant | Tax rules under revision in 2026-2027 |
Many documents are now born digital, starting with the electronic invoice, and those are stored digitally by nature. The paper that remains is usually from earlier years, signed contracts, correspondence and closed files.
Digitizing a paper archive is possible, but replacing the original with a copy has its own rules: before throwing away a scanned binder, ask your accountant whether the copy is enough. Meanwhile the paper takes up space, and that's where the next question comes in.
The choice depends on how often you consult the archive and how much the space it takes costs.
| Where | When it makes sense | The limit |
|---|---|---|
Office cabinets | Documents for the current year and those just closed | Square meters paid at office rent for paper you rarely open |
Company cellar or unit | If you already have one, and it's dry | Damp, awkward access, no record of what sits in which box |
Outside storage with pickup | Closed years you consult a few times a year | A document doesn't arrive the same day: redelivery is booked |
Managed records service | You need scanning on request or certified destruction | You pay for the extra services too, not just the space |
Is the archive taking space you need?
We collect the binders from your office, keep them with a code on every item and bring back the one you need. Monthly rate per size, invoiced.
Would you rather talk to a person?+39 02 999 444 21WhatsApp
Archive storageLess than it seems when it's spread across three cabinets. Packed in archive boxes and stacked, a small office's archive often fits in a few square meters; to estimate it there's the size guide.
Two habits save time later. First: one box per year and per type of document, with year and contents written on the label, so you know when it expires without opening it. Second: don't go over 20 kg per box, which with paper comes sooner than you'd think.
With our storage every box is checked at pickup, labeled with a unique code and logged, and from your account you see what you have in the warehouse. When you need a file, you request redelivery of the box that holds it, with at least 48 hours' notice; the rest of the archive stays where it is.
It's not a same-day service. The current year's archive, the one you open every week, is best kept on site; closed years go into storage. The warehouse isn't open to visitors and we move the items ourselves, at your request: we don't open the boxes.
Once the term has passed, and your accountant has confirmed no tax rule asks for longer, the documents can be disposed of. If they contain personal data, they have to be destroyed so they can't be reconstructed.
We don't do the destruction: we bring the expired boxes back and you decide how to dispose of them, or you leave them in storage until you've decided. The full archive service, with pricing and FAQs, is on the page on archive storage in Milan; the other services for companies are on business.
Under the Civil Code (art. 2220), ten years from the date of the last entry for accounting records, and for the same period the invoices, letters and telegrams received and copies of those sent. Tax rules may ask for different terms: your accountant confirms them for your company.
For accounting records, from the date of the last entry, as article 2220 of the Civil Code says. For invoices and correspondence the rule sets the same period: if your case is unclear, your accountant decides.
The warehouse isn't open to visitors and access is controlled. We move the items ourselves, only at your request, and we don't open the boxes. If the archive holds personal data with particular obligations, write to us before the pickup.
You request the redelivery from your account or by writing to info@smoves.it, with at least 48 hours' notice: we set the date and the address together with the request, and they move the same way. The new address can be anywhere in our service area. If you need your belongings at an address further away, elsewhere in Italy or abroad, we ship them on a quote.
The insurance covers your belongings for the period they spend in STORAGE: if something happens, we compensate the loss you can prove, up to the limit you chose. The base limit is included in the monthly rate; if you need a higher one, you raise it for a monthly amount. During carriage the carrier's statutory liability applies instead (art. 1696 of the Italian Civil Code, one euro per kilogram of gross weight). If you have high-value items, message us before pickup and we'll agree how to handle them.
Is the archive taking space you need?
We collect the binders from your office, keep them with a code on every item and bring back the one you need. Monthly rate per size, invoiced.
Would you rather talk to a person?+39 02 999 444 21WhatsApp
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