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Keeping invoices in Slovakia: for how long, in what form and what changes with e-invoicing

Published 5 min read

By Complete solution s. r. o., the company behind vporiadku

Čítať po slovenskyЧитати українською

Invoices are generally kept for ten years following the year they relate to: this applies to VAT payers under the VAT Act and to accounting documents under the Accounting Act.⁠[1]⁠[2]

This guide shows which period applies to you, whether you may scan a paper invoice, what an electronic archive must ensure, and why from 2027 an e-invoice is kept in XML format.

How long: the periods at a glance

How long to keep invoices and documents
Who and whatHow long
VAT payer: copies of issued invoices and received invoices10 years following the year they relate to⁠[1]
non-VAT payer: invoices it had to issue under the VAT Act, and received invoices on which it had to pay the tax10 years following the year they relate to⁠[1]
accounting entity: accounting documents and books10 years following the year they relate to⁠[2]
sole trader keeping tax records: the records and their documentsuntil the right to assess the tax expires: five years from the end of the year in which the return was due, at most ten years if extended⁠[3]⁠[4]

An example: a VAT payer keeps an invoice from 2026 until 31 December 2036. The periods can overlap; if you are unsure which applies to you, follow the longer one.

Shorter summaries are in Invoice requirements in Slovakia 2026 and How to issue an invoice in Slovakia.

How to keep the tax records themselves is shown in Cash book and tax records of a Slovak sole trader.

Paper, PDF or scan?

An invoice may be on paper or electronic. From its issue to the end of the retention period you must ensure the authenticity of its origin, the integrity of its content and its legibility; one method the law names is business controls that reliably link the invoice to the supply of goods or services.⁠[1]

Anyone who keeps invoices electronically must give the tax office access to them, and let it download and use them, for an inspection.⁠[1]

An accounting entity may convert a paper document into electronic form. When scanning, it must ensure completeness, a match of content and appearance with the original, legibility of the whole surface and integrity of the content. A document converted this way counts as provable and the original is not required, unless special laws provide otherwise.⁠[5]

Protecting the archive

An accounting entity must protect its accounting documents against loss, theft, destruction and damage, and also protect the hardware, media and software it keeps them in against misuse and unauthorised access.⁠[2]

In practice this means regular backups in a second place and access only for the people who need it. An archive on a single laptop will hardly meet this duty.

If an invoice is in a foreign language, you provide a Slovak translation only when the tax office asks for one during an inspection; you can therefore archive it in its original language.⁠[1]

E-invoices from 2027: an XML archive

From 1 January 2027 a VAT payer must keep an electronic invoice for ten years from the end of the calendar year it relates to.⁠[6]

The Financial Administration explains that an e-invoice is a document in a structured electronic format, and a VAT payer therefore archives it in XML.⁠[7] According to the same document, the digital postman delivering e-invoices has no legal duty to keep the XML files it sent, so the archive is your responsibility.⁠[7]

How to choose a postman is described in Choosing a digital postman step by step and the whole change in E-invoicing in Slovakia from 2027.

Checklist

  • You know under which law and for how long you must keep invoices.
  • Issued and received invoices are in one place and easy to find.
  • Your electronic archive keeps documents legible and intact, and the tax office can access them.
  • Scans of paper documents are complete and legible.
  • From 2027 you archive e-invoices in XML, not just their PDF.

The archive in vporiadku

Your issued invoices stay stored in vporiadku as long as you have an account, and you can download their PDFs at any time; on the Start plan they carry a watermark.

A received e-invoice you upload as an XML file is stored byte for byte in its original form, with a SHA-256 fingerprint and the end date of its retention period: 31 December of the tenth year after the year of issue. You can upload and read it on every plan.

If you close your account, we do not delete accounting documents straight away: we keep them with restricted access for the statutory period and only then delete them. Before closing, you can download a copy of all your data.

What else e-invoicing brings is on the page e-invoicing 2027; you can try vporiadku for free.

Try invoicing in vporiadku. Opening an account is free.

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Sources

  1. [1]Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on Value Added Tax, version in force from 1 January 2026 · Slov-Lex
  2. [2]Act No. 431/2002 Coll. on Accounting (§ 10 and § 35) · Slov-Lex
  3. [3]Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income Tax, version in force from 1 January 2026 (§ 4, § 6, § 11, § 15, § 32, § 34, § 38 and § 49) · Slov-Lex
  4. [4]Act No. 563/2009 Coll. on Tax Administration (the Tax Code), § 14 and § 69 · Slov-Lex
  5. [5]Act No. 431/2002 Coll. on Accounting, § 33 (transforming an accounting record) · Slov-Lex
  6. [6]Act No. 385/2025 Coll. amending the VAT Act No. 222/2004 Coll. (promulgated on 19 December 2025) · Slov-Lex
  7. [7]eFaktúra: frequently asked questions (12 October 2026, in Slovak) · Finančná správa SR

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