For income tax purposes, you must keep records of all income derived by the estate/trust and distributions made to the beneficiaries for at least 5 years from the basis period1 to support your income tax declarations.

Example: Records to be kept for Year of Assessment (YA) 2020

Basis Period

Records Kept Until

Compulsory Period for Keeping Proper Records

1 Jan 2019 to 31 Dec 2019

31 Dec 2024

Five Years

1 Basis period refers to the period in which the income was derived

 

What records to prepare

Trade income

Prepare statements of accounts according to accounting standards.

Rental income

Prepare statements of rental income and expenses.

Foreign sourced dividend income

Prepare copies of dividend vouchers for submission.