- Short answer
- Plan for 8 to 10 years: no provision we read puts TSE data in an AO §147 class. Fiskaly holds the data for Shopify's TSE app; keeping it is your duty.
- Which class?
- No provision we read puts TSE data in an AO §147 class, such as the 10-year or 8-year one.
- When the clock starts
- End of the record's calendar year; no expiry while the assessment period runs for any tax the record matters to.
- Where the data sits
- In Fiskaly's external cloud; the Shopify pages we read name no retention period.
- Getting a copy
- Export TSE certificates, transaction data and the complete DSFinV-K export from the app; it arrives by email.
- If the tax office asks
- In an audit, if you name a third party holding your data, it must give access; costs are yours.
How many years does German law make you keep TSE data?
Germany's Fiscal Code, AO §147(3), sets periods including 10 years for books and records and 8 years for accounting vouchers (Buchungsbelege). The clock starts when the record's calendar year ends, and it doesn't run out while the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) is still running for any tax the record matters to.
No provision we read on October 2, 2026 — AO §146a and §147, KassenSichV §3 and §4, the GoBD and the AEAO — says which of those classes TSE data belongs to. The AEAO on §147 reads the 10-year class as covering all records that must be made for tax purposes, but doesn't name TSE data. A cash-register leaflet from Lower Saxony's tax administration says cash-register data must be kept 8 years; OpenFiskal's migration guide says "by law, it must be retained for 10 years".
Between those sources, plan for 8 to 10 years, and ask your tax adviser or Finanzamt which class your POS records fall into.
Who stores the data when you use Shopify's TSE app?
Shopify's TSE compliance page says the app stores "all financially relevant in-store transactions on an external cloud storage location", provided by Fiskaly, "a third-party compliance service provider". For its SIGN DE service, Fiskaly's technical documentation says transaction records "are stored for the duration of the legal retention period".
Shopify's TSE help page and App Store listing, which we read on October 2, 2026, name no retention period and don't say what happens to the data after you uninstall the app. If you plan to leave it, see what changes if you switch TSE apps.
Is keeping the data your job or Shopify's?
Yours. The Finance Ministry's GoBD make the taxpayer "allein" (alone) responsible for proper electronic books and records, even when that work is outsourced to third parties. Under AO §147(6), if you tell the tax office during an audit that your data sits with a third party, that party must give the office access, and the costs are yours.
From the app you can export TSE certificates, transaction data and the complete DSFinV-K export, sent to your email.
This article was written entirely by AI under human editorial direction. The editor sets the topic and structure, runs multi-stage validation on facts, links, and interactive elements, and verifies the output is useful from a business perspective. All claims are checked against official Shopify sources. Details may change — always confirm critical data at shopify.com.
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