Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Electronic record keeping in Canada means your digital files must be readable by the CRA, kept for six years, and backed up in a form that can be restored. If a record started life on a computer, the CRA wants the electronic version kept, even if you also have a paper printout.
What does the CRA expect from electronic records?
The CRA accepts records in an accessible and readable electronic format. That’s the whole test in plain words: someone at the CRA has to be able to open the file and read it when they ask. A spreadsheet in a format only your old software can open is a problem. So is a backup nobody has ever tried to restore.
The table sets out the main points from the CRA’s pages on keeping records, including its Keeping Records publication.
| Topic | What the CRA says |
|---|---|
| Format | Accessible and readable electronic format |
| Records created electronically | Keep the electronic version, even with a paper printout |
| Scanned paper | Accurate image that takes the place of the paper, same information, no obscured details |
| Backups | On rewritable media, stored safely, restorable in a usable form |
| Retention | Generally six years from the end of the last tax year |
| Early destruction | Needs written permission, form T137 |
Can you scan paper receipts and throw the originals away?
Yes, under conditions. The image has to be an accurate reproduction meant to take the place of the paper. It has to give the same information, and the important details can’t be hidden or cut off. The CRA also points to Canadian General Standards Board standards for imaging. Once you’ve imaged a document properly, the image becomes the permanent record and you can destroy the paper.
A phone photo taken at an angle in bad light is the kind of thing that fails. Check each scan at full size before the original goes in the recycling. Whether every phone scanning app meets the standard isn’t something we could confirm, so the safe habit is to look at the file, not the app’s promises.
Say Lena, a freelance editor in Victoria, snaps a $38 parking receipt and bins it. Two weeks later the file shows a glare across the total. Too late. Her five-second check at the time would have saved a deduction that’s small on its own and annoying when it repeats across a year.
How long do you keep the files, and when does the clock start?
The period is generally six years from the end of the last tax year the record relates to. Take a sole proprietor on a calendar year. Receipts for 2026 belong to the tax year ending on 31 December 2026, so they stay until the end of 2032.
Some records last longer. The CRA says documents about long-term purchases and sales of property, the share registry, or anything affecting the sale or wind-up of a business should be kept indefinitely. A corporation with a different year end counts from its own fiscal year end. And if the CRA tells you to keep something longer, it will say so in person or by registered mail.
Is it fine to store your books with a cloud service?
That depends on where the files sit, and this is where the CRA material we found isn’t tidy. The page on acceptable formats says electronic records must still be available to CRA officials when they ask, whoever stores them. An older CRA publication says records held only outside Canada and reached from Canada don’t count as records in Canada, although the CRA may accept a copy made available here in a usable form.
So there’s no single clean rule to quote. If your accounting software keeps data on servers abroad, keep your own complete, readable copy on hardware you control, and check the current CRA page before relying on a foreign host alone.
What if the CRA asks to see your files?
You hand over records it can open and read, and you make them available when it asks. Think about that before the letter arrives. Can you export the year in a common format? Can you find the receipts behind a given deposit? A few minutes of testing now beats a scramble with a deadline on the notice.
What goes wrong most often?
Lost passwords. A subscription that lapses and locks the data. A backup that was never tested, then fails in year four. None of these is exotic, and all of them leave you unable to produce records you’re legally required to hold.
A short routine beats a clever system. Name files by date and supplier. Copy the month’s files to a second drive when you reconcile the bank account. Restore one file from the backup every few months, just to see that it opens.
The records also feed your returns. The payroll remittance calculator estimates what an employer sends each pay period, the self-employed tax calculator shows the bill on your net income, and the corporate tax calculator covers an incorporated business. If you pay tax in instalments, the tax instalments calculator helps plan them, and all four depend on records you can stand behind.
The sources behind this page
The format, imaging, backup and retention points come from Canada Revenue Agency pages on keeping records, read in September 2026. The CRA’s wording has changed over the years, so use the pages themselves for anything that affects a decision. This is an independent guide, separate from any government body.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep only digital records?
Yes, if they are accessible and readable by the CRA and you can restore them from backup. Records that were created electronically should be kept electronically, even if you print them.
Can I throw away paper receipts after scanning?
Once an image is an accurate copy meant to replace the paper, shows the same information and leaves the details clear, the image becomes the record and the paper can go.
How long do electronic records have to be kept?
Generally six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. Records about property, shares or a business sale may need to be kept indefinitely.
Does a cloud accounting service satisfy the rules?
We could not confirm one clear rule on where files may sit. Keep your own readable copy and check the current CRA page.
Do I need permission to delete old files?
You need the CRA's written permission to destroy records before the retention period ends. The request goes on form T137.
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