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Your bookkeeping records need enough detail for the CRA to work out your income, your expenses and your tax from them, and for you to prove each figure with a document. There’s no single line count or template. If a stranger could rebuild your year from the books and the paper behind them, the detail is right.
How much detail is enough?
Think of it as three layers. First, the entry: date, amount, who was paid or who paid you, and what it was for. Second, the category, such as rent, software or fuel. Third, the source document that backs it up, an invoice, a bill or a bank record.
The CRA describes records as accounts, invoices, statements, vouchers and any other item holding information. It doesn’t publish a minimum description length, and we couldn’t confirm a per-entry standard, so this is our reading of the rules and not a quoted requirement. It’s a practical test that works.
What a good entry looks like
| Field | Weak entry | Better entry |
|---|---|---|
| Date | March | 2026-03-14 |
| Payee | Supplies | The name on the bill |
| Amount | About $600 | $565.00 total, $500.00 before tax, $65.00 HST |
| Purpose | Stuff | Printer paper for the client packages |
| Proof | None | Photo of the bill, filed under the month |
Do I need to split the tax out of every purchase?
If you’re a GST/HST registrant, yes, in practice. You report tax you collected and tax you paid, so the total alone doesn’t do the job. Use the reverse HST calculator when a receipt shows only the total. In Ontario, $565 splits into $500 plus $65 of HST. Claiming the $65 back depends on the CRA’s documentation rules for input tax credits, which vary with the size of the purchase, so check the CRA page before you rely on a small receipt.
The GST/HST calculator runs the other way. On a $1,000 sale in Ontario it gives $130 of HST and $1,130 for the customer.
How detailed should payroll and income records be?
Payroll deserves the most care, because mistakes there carry penalties. Keep each pay run: gross pay, what you held back, and what you remitted. For one employee on $3,000 every two weeks in Ontario, the payroll remittance calculator estimates $961.03 per pay period, made up of $732.62 held back and $228.41 as your share. If your books show a different total, find out why before the due date.
For income, record each invoice and each payment. Lumping a week of sales into one deposit line hides which customers have paid. Late payment penalties on remittances run from 3% to 10% of the amount, so vague records cost you twice.
Limits and where people go wrong
- Recording a card statement total as one expense. Break it into its actual purchases.
- Keeping the entry but tossing the receipt. The CRA accepts scanned paper if the image is kept, so scan before you toss.
- Mixing personal spending in. Note it, or keep it out of the business account altogether.
- Writing descriptions only you understand. Six years is a long time, and a year-old “misc” tells you nothing.
Retention itself is covered in the guide on basic bookkeeping requirements: six years from the end of the last tax year the records relate to, kept in Canada.
Where the numbers come from
The definition of records and the six year rule come from the Canada Revenue Agency’s records pages and its retention circular, read in September 2026. Example figures come from this site’s calculators. We couldn’t confirm a specific level of detail per entry, so the table shows a habit and not a legal standard. This site is not connected to the CRA.
Frequently asked questions
Does the CRA set a required level of detail?
We couldn't find a per-entry standard. Records must let the CRA work out your taxes, so each entry should show date, amount, payee, purpose and a source document.
Do I need a receipt for every expense?
Keep the source document for every entry you can. Documentation rules for claiming GST/HST credits depend on the purchase, so check the CRA page.
Can I keep scans instead of paper?
Yes. The CRA accepts imaged paper records and lets you destroy the originals once they're properly imaged, with backups of the files.
Should I record personal spending?
Keep it out of the business books. If a personal item goes through the business account, note it clearly.
How long do detailed records stay useful?
Six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, which is the CRA retention period.
- Self-employed taxes in Canada: income, CPP and GST
How tax works when you are self-employed in Canada: reporting income and expenses, paying both halves of CPP, instalments and when to register for GST
Information only. This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns or offer tax services, and we have no connection with the CRA, Revenu Québec, any government or any company named on this page. Check the figures that matter with an official source or a qualified professional.