Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Keep the receipts behind your taxes for six years, counted from the end of the tax year they belong to. For the 2025 return that means until the end of 2031, even if you filed online and attached nothing. For the 2026 return it is the end of 2032.
How long should you keep tax receipts?
The CRA says six years, and its keeping records page covers where to keep them and how to ask permission to destroy them early. The clock starts on December 31 of the tax year, not on the day you filed. Filing late or getting your notice of assessment in June doesn’t change the start date.
| Tax year | Six years ends |
|---|---|
| 2023 | December 31, 2029 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2030 |
| 2025 | December 31, 2031 |
| 2026 | December 31, 2032 |
That’s our own count from the CRA rule. If you want to destroy records sooner, you need written permission from the CRA, and most people have no reason to bother.
What counts as proof for a claim?
A receipt is the obvious answer, but it isn’t the only one. The CRA also tells you to hold your return copy, your notices of assessment or reassessment, cancelled cheques and bank statements. It adds that your records should be more than just the official receipts.
Why does that matter? A card statement shows you paid something. It doesn’t show what for. So pair the two when you can. The receipt says what you bought, the statement says the money left your account.
For a business, the rules are wider. The CRA defines records as ledgers, journals, statements, correspondence and anything else holding financial information, and it wants records from accounting or point of sale software kept too. Enough detail has to be there for the CRA to work out what you owe.
Do you send receipts in with your return?
No, not with a normal online return. The CRA still says to keep them, though, because it can ask to see them later. Think of the return as a claim you may have to back up.
So the timing that matters is the review, not the filing. A claim you can’t support can be disallowed. We did not find a CRA rule that names the fix for a lost receipt, so the practical route is asking the seller for a copy and keeping the bank record as backup.
How do you keep track of receipts for business tax?
Sort by category as you go. Use the same headings your tax form uses, so year end is a matter of adding columns. A phone photo in a labelled folder works as well as a shoebox, as long as you can find the right one in an hour.
Here’s an example on the home office. Say your workspace is 200 square feet in a 1,600 square foot home. That’s 12.5%, and the CRA accepts a reasonable basis such as area of the workspace over total area. If utilities and insurance for the year come to $4,000, the business share is $500. The catch is that you need those bills to show it.
The CRA also limits this claim to your net business income before the home expenses, and unused amounts carry forward. Work through the effect with the self-employed tax calculator. In our run for an Ontario sole proprietor, moving net income from $80,000 to $70,000 cuts income tax and CPP together from $22,126 to $18,298. That’s $3,828 for $10,000 of documented expenses.
GST/HST on a business expense is part of what you can deduct, less any input tax credit you claimed. So the receipt needs the tax amount visible, and ideally the seller’s registration number too. We haven’t confirmed that second point on a CRA page, so check before you count on it.
What does a simple system look like?
Mei is a nurse in Edmonton who claims medical costs and donations. She keeps one folder on her phone for each tax year, with sub-folders named Medical, Donations and Work. When a receipt arrives she snaps it and files it the same day, and the file name starts with the date, such as 2026-03-14-pharmacy. At tax time she adds up each folder, enters the totals and leaves the folders where they are.
That’s it. The system is dull on purpose, because a dull system is one you’ll actually use. Keep it going for the six years and then clear out the oldest year, not before.
Where should you keep records for tax purposes?
The CRA says to keep your records at your Canadian residence or place of business, unless it has given you permission to keep them somewhere else. That applies to the paper copies as much as to the files from your accounting software.
If a bookkeeper or an accountant keeps your books, the responsibility stays with you. The CRA's keeping records guide says you must make sure adequate records are kept even when someone else holds them, and you must make all of them available to the CRA on request, including records held by a third party. Ask for a copy of what they hold before you change providers.
Which mistakes cost you a claim?
Clearing the drawer in year two is where trouble starts.
- Keeping only the credit card statement and no receipt.
- Mixing personal and business spending on one card, so every line needs explaining.
- Claiming the full cost of something you also use personally. Only the business share counts.
- Deleting digital records when you change accounting software.
The tax credits calculator can show what a credit claim is worth before you go hunting for paperwork. It’s federal only, so provincial credits aren’t in the total. And the marginal tax rate calculator tells you what each extra deducted dollar saves at your income. Don’t spend a whole weekend hunting for a receipt worth a couple of loonies.
Can you keep receipts as photos or scans?
For personal receipts you can keep clear digital copies as extra backup, and many people do. Whether you can throw out the paper is a different question. The CRA's page on imaging paper documents is written for business records, and it says images must meet a national standard (CAN/CGSB 72.34) and the process has to be documented before the paper is destroyed.
So the safe habit is to photograph a receipt the day you get it, since thermal paper fades, and to keep the original for the full six years. Name the file with the date and what it was for, such as 2026-03-14-pharmacy.
Where we checked
We read the CRA's guide Keeping records (RC188) and its business records page in November 2026. The year table is our own count from the six year rule. The home office method comes from the CRA page on business use of home expenses. The dollar examples are our own arithmetic, with tax figures from the 2026 Ontario and federal schedules. We are not a government service and do not speak for one. See also CRA record-keeping requirements.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I keep receipts for taxes?
At least six years from the end of the tax year they relate to, unless the CRA allows you to destroy them earlier. Records for 2025 last to the end of 2031, and records for 2026 to the end of 2032. The clock starts at year end, not on the day you filed.
Do I send receipts to the CRA when I file?
Not with a normal online return. You keep them, because the CRA can ask to see them later in a review or a request for support. A claim you cannot back up can be disallowed, so the timing that matters is the review, not the filing.
Is a bank statement enough without a receipt?
Usually not on its own. The CRA lists bank statements and cancelled cheques among the records to keep, but a statement shows only that money left your account, not what it bought. Pair it with the receipt or an invoice. If the receipt is lost, ask the seller for a copy.
Can I keep receipts as photos?
A clear photo is a good backup, but keep the paper original for the six years unless you are sure your scans meet the CRA's imaging standard for business records. That standard is CAN/CGSB 72.34, and the process has to be documented. Thermal receipts fade, so photograph them early.
What if I am self-employed or run a small business?
The CRA wants all financial records, such as ledgers, invoices, statements and the accounting software files, kept for six years and organized so they show what you owe. Records go at your place of business or residence in Canada. Mixing personal and business spending makes every expense harder to prove.
- How to file your tax return in Canada: steps and dates
What to gather, when your return is due and how to file in Canada, from the first slip to the notice of assessment that closes the year