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For e-commerce record keeping, the CRA expects you to keep your business records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. That covers the sale itself, the money that came in, and the costs behind it, in a form the CRA can read.
Keep your records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, unless you have permission from the CRA to destroy them earlier.
Keeping records (RC188), canada.ca
Which e-commerce records does the CRA expect?
The CRA doesn’t publish a special list for online shops. The general rules apply, and its GST/HST page names the usual source documents: sales invoices, purchase invoices, credit card receipts, delivery slips, deposit slips, cheques and bank statements. Emails and other correspondence count too when they matter for GST/HST.
For an online shop that means more than the order export from your platform. Keep the payout reports from your payment processor, the shipping invoices, the supplier bills and the ad receipts. Each one should show a date, an amount and what it was for.
The CRA also says to keep web logs or emails that confirm an online sale, and information that shows an electronic signature is genuine. If a customer disputes an order two years later, that trail is what you’ll reach for.
Records to keep and how long
| Item | What the CRA says |
|---|---|
| Retention period | Six years from the end of the last tax year the record relates to |
| Earlier destruction | Only with written permission from the CRA |
| Location | At your Canadian residence or place of business, unless the CRA allows somewhere else |
| Electronic records | Kept in an electronically readable format, with source documents retained too |
| Third parties | You stay responsible even if a bookkeeper or online service holds the records |
Count the six years from the end of the tax year, not from the day of the sale. A receipt from March 2024 for a business with a December year end is safe to toss only after the end of 2030. Put the date on the folder, not in your head.
Are digital copies good enough?
Yes, if they’re readable. The CRA requires electronic records to stay in a format a system can open and produce usable copies from. A folder of unlabelled screenshots isn’t much use. A cloud accounting file, a tidy folder of PDFs and regular backups is.
One trap deserves a mention. Your store platform and your payment processor keep data for you, but you’re still responsible for it. If you close a shop account, export everything first. The CRA’s position is that having a third party keep your records doesn’t move the duty off you.
What records does the GST/HST side of an online shop need?
You must register for GST/HST once your taxable sales pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Say your quarterly sales run $8,000, $9,000, $7,000 and $7,000. No quarter comes close, but the four total $31,000, so you’re over the line.
Once registered, each order needs the tax split out. In Ontario, HST is 13%, so a $1,000 sale carries $130 of tax and you collect $1,130. Work the reverse with the HST reverse calculator when a customer total is all you have, and use the GST/HST calculator to add tax to a price. Rates differ by province, and the GST/PST calculator applies a flat 12% for British Columbia, so treat its result as an upper bound for exempt items.
We couldn’t confirm the current rules for tax on sales through marketplaces or on digital goods sold to customers abroad. Look up the CRA page for your case before you set those up.
How do you track the costs that go with online selling?
Ad spend, software subscriptions, packaging and shipping are expenses you’ll want on file. Match each to a receipt. Your gross profit is easy to misjudge if returns and refunds aren’t recorded, so log them as they happen. The profit margin calculator shows what each sale leaves after cost.
If you pay yourself a wage from a corporation, the payroll remittance calculator estimates what the CRA expects with each pay. Sole proprietors can test their bill with the self-employed tax calculator, which leaves out EI.
What mistakes make a review harder?
Mixing personal and business purchases on one card is the big one. Everything then needs an explanation. Open a separate card or account, even a basic one.
Another is keeping only the summary. A monthly payout of $4,000 doesn’t tell anyone which orders it holds. Keep the detail behind each payout.
Imagine Luc, who runs a small Montreal shop selling hockey cards. A review lands in year three, and he can show every sale, but not the shoebox of supplier receipts he tossed after year two. Those were the ones that mattered. And don’t wait until tax time to sort a year of receipts. A short weekly habit beats a weekend of panic.
Where we got these figures
The retention, location and electronic record rules come from the CRA pages on keeping records, electronic records and GST/HST records to keep. The $30,000 threshold comes from the CRA page on when to register for GST/HST. The 13% HST rate for Ontario matches the CRA’s rate table. This site is independent and not affiliated with the CRA.
Frequently asked questions
How long must I keep e-commerce records in Canada?
Six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, unless the CRA gives you written permission to destroy them earlier.
Can I keep my records only in digital form?
Yes, as long as they stay in a readable electronic format and you also keep the source documents that support them.
Do I still own the records if my platform stores them?
Yes. The CRA says you're responsible for adequate records even when a bookkeeper or online service keeps them for you.
When do I have to register for GST/HST?
When taxable sales pass $30,000 in one calendar quarter or across four consecutive quarters.
What should I keep for an online sale?
The invoice or order record, payment confirmation, shipping proof, and web logs or emails that confirm the sale.
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