Record archiving in Hungary: How, where and why to keep your documents safe

Proper record archiving in Hungary isn’t just a legal necessity – it’s the backbone of compliance and smooth business operations. From tax audits to labour disputes, having the right documents readily available can save businesses from hefty fines and operational disruptions. But with varying retention periods, overlapping regulations, and the growing importance of digital archiving, staying compliant can feel overwhelming.

This article breaks down everything you need to know about record archiving in Hungary, ensuring your documents remain secure, accessible and retained fully in compliance with local laws.

General rules for record archiving in Hungary

In Hungary, different documents have different retention periods prescribed by law, and sometimes different laws impose different obligations. In such cases, the stricter rule must always be followed. 

In all cases, the documents must be preserved in a retrievable form and the authenticity of their origin, the integrity of their data content, and their readability must be ensured. 

It is important to emphasize that the fact that the company is wound up or liquidated does not exempt you from the obligation to retain documents. 

Relevant laws and regulations 

• Act CL of 2017 on the Taxation  
• Act C of 2000 on Accounting 
• Act CXXVII of 2007 on Value Added Tax 
• Act LXXXII of 1997 on Private Pensions and Private Pension Funds 
• 1/2018. (VI. 29.) ITM Decree on the rules of digital archiving 
• Act V of 2006 on Public Company Information, Company Registration and Winding-up Proceedings  
• Act XLIX of 1991 on Bankruptcy Proceedings and Liquidation Proceedings  

Reports, records, invoices and documents  

According to Section 78 (3) of Act CL of 2017 on the Taxation Procedure, receipts must be kept until the right to a tax assessment expires. The expiration date is the last day of the 5th year from the last day of the year of filing the return, notification or tax payment deadline. 

The expiration date may be affected by certain events: e.g. tax audits may extend it, self-audits carried out in favour of the taxpayer interrupt the expiration date. 

According to Section 169 of Act C of 2000 on Accounting: Economic entities shall be required to retain in a legible form the annual account on the financial year, the annual report, along with the inventory, valuation, the ledger statement and the general ledger and other registers maintained in compliance with the requirements of this Act in support of the annual account, for a period of at least eight years.  

The accounting documents underlying the accounting records directly or indirectly (including ledger accounts, analytical records and registers) shall be retained for minimum eight years, shall be legible and retrievable by means of the code of reference indicated in the accounting records. 

The obligation to retain documents according to Subsection (2) shall also apply to the void copies of documents of strict accounting. 

In this case, the stricter rule regarding documents must be followed. 

VAT documents 

Section 179 of the VAT Act also refers to the limitation period for the right to assess tax: 

Every person or organization to whom the law applies is obliged to preserve the documents issued by or on behalf of the person or organization, and those in his or her possession or otherwise available to him or her, at least until the limitation period for the right to assess tax, in order to verify the completeness and correctness of the tax assessment. 

Of course, the authenticity of the origin of the invoice, the integrity of its data content and its readability must be ensured within this period. 

However, since these documents are also subject to the scope of Act C of 2000, as are the accounting documents directly and indirectly supporting the accounting settlement, the 8-year retention period also applies to them. 

Labour documents 

According to Section 99/A of the Act on Social Security Pensions, the person obliged to register under the this law is obliged to keep labour documents, data and employment certificates related to the insured person’s insurance relationship, including information on the length of service or on the earnings and income taken into account in determining the pension benefits, for five years after the insured person reaches the applicable old-age pension age. 

It is important to emphasize that the obligation to retain documents also exists if the employer ceases to exist through liquidation or liquidation proceedings: 

In the event of termination without a legal successor, the person obliged to register is obliged to report the place of storage of labour documents to the pension insurance administrative body competent for its seat or location. 

So, an employee born in 1980 will reach the current retirement age in 2045, so the documents must be kept until 2050. 

Digital document storage 

When preserving digital documents, it is also necessary to ensure backups; it is not enough to preserve a single copy of the necessary document; it is important to make one or more copies of it on another data medium. 

Until the expiration of the retention obligation, the protection of the electronic document against deletion, destruction, accidental destruction, subsequent modification and damage, and unauthorized access must be continuously ensured, and the interpretability and readability of the preserved electronic document – for example, by ensuring a software and hardware environment that enables the display of the document – must be maintained during the retention obligation. 

A closed system can also be used to preserve the electronic document, which ensures the fulfilment of the requirements described above from the time the document is created or received by the person obligated to preserve it. 

Documents issued in electronic form must be stored in electronic form – in accordance with the law on digital archiving [1/2018. (VI. 29.)  Decree on the rules of digital archiving] – to preserve. 

The Art. allows the preparation of an authenticated copy produced electronically instead of the original paper-based document. 

The document preservation obligation under the Act can be fulfilled with an electronic copy of a document originally issued in a non-electronic form, if the method used for making the copy ensures the production of all data of the original document without delay, its continuous readability, and excludes the possibility of subsequent modification. 

Calculation of the retention period for record archiving in Hungary

An important question is also when the retention period should be calculated. 

The retention period for the accounting report and the documents supporting the data in the report starts from the last day of the business year in which the report was adopted, similarly to the beginning of the limitation period for the right to assess tax. 

Accordingly, for example, the meeting of the supreme body (member meeting, general meeting) that adopted the report for the 2023 business year is in 2024. In this case, the retention period for the report and the documents supporting it lasts at least until December 31, 2032. 

The retention of documents is the responsibility of the business operator. If an organizational change takes place – even the termination of the company – the retention period does not change, arrangements for the further retention of accounting documents must be made when the organizational change is implemented. 

Organizational change, termination 

Preservation of documents of a company that is being terminated

A company may be terminated with or without legal succession. In the event of termination by legal succession, the obligation (to preserve documents) incumbent on the company that is being terminated is transferred to the legal successor. 

In the event of termination without a legal successor (final settlement, compulsory cancellation procedure, liquidation), the relevant legislation makes separate provisions for preservation. 

According to Section 112 of Act V of 2006, the liquidator is obliged to ensure the placement of the company’s documents, and the related costs and the costs of document storage after termination must be indicated in the asset distribution proposal. 

The rules of the compulsory cancellation procedure under the Companies Act basically assign the tasks to the Companies Court, i.e. the Companies Court must also ensure the preservation of the company’s documents. 

Preservation of documents of a company being liquidated

According to Section 53 of the Bankruptcy Act, the liquidator is responsible for managing and preserving the documents of a company being liquidated. The tax law provisions regarding the preservation of documents prescribed in the legislation are contained in Section 78 of Act CL of 2017 on the Taxation Procedure.

According to this, the documents required for the assessment of various taxes are required. In the event of the termination of the company, the provision that the taxpayer must keep documents at a location notified to the tax authority remains valid: the documents may be forwarded to another location for the duration of accounting and processing, but upon request by the tax authority they must be presented within 3 working days; the documents must be kept until the taxpayer’s right to assess the tax expires, or in the case of deferred tax, for 5 years from the last day of the calendar year in which the deferred tax is due. This means December 31, 2029 for tax documents from 2023: they must be kept until then, even if the company is dissolved.

In this case, too, it applies that if the same document must be kept both according to accounting regulations and according to Art., then the longer retention period is the relevant one. For example, a document that is time-barred for tax purposes does not become time-barred for accounting purposes at the same time.

Place of keeping documents 

The Art. provides that, among the documents prescribed by law, the taxpayer obliged to keep them must keep the documents in a place notified to the tax authority. The documents may be forwarded to another place for the duration of processing and accounting, but they must be presented within three working days upon the tax authority’s request. 

Taxpayers are not obliged to take care of the keeping of their documents themselves, they may entrust someone else with this task; however, they cannot transfer the obligation to keep the documents to the agent; the obligation must still be fulfilled by the taxpayer. 

If the place of keeping the documents differs from the registered office of the entrepreneur, the entrepreneur is obliged to report the matter! 

Risk and sanctions

Inadequate record keeping not only poses a risk to business operations but can also result in serious fines. 

The Art., as a law prescribing the obligation to keep records, also provides for the legal consequences of violating the obligation, including a fine for default. However, the legislator highlights the obligation to keep records among the obligations and sanctions its violation with a higher fine. 

The tax authority may impose a fine for default of up to HUF 1 million on the taxpayer if he fails to comply with his obligation to keep records or if he submits his documents in a condition unsuitable for the audit. 

Simplify record archiving in Hungary with expert support

Hungary’s document retention requirements can be complex, with varying rules and strict compliance standards. Accace offers tailored solutions to help your business stay compliant while reducing administrative burdens.

Our team of experts specializes in accounting, tax compliance, and legal support, ensuring your records are properly managed, securely archived, and ready for audits. With our guidance, you can focus on your core business while we handle the intricate compliance details. Discover how Accace can streamline your document retention processes with our accounting and reporting services in Hungary.

Kinga Szakáts

Lead Accountant | Accace Hungary

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