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Which receipts to keep, and for how long

November 13, 2026 · 4-minute read

Short answer: keep every receipt for anything you claim, and keep it for six years. A photo is fine, as long as you can read it.

Six years

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) expects you to keep your business records for six years from the end of the tax year they belong to. A receipt from March 2026 belongs to the 2026 tax year, so keep it until the end of 2032. If the CRA asks about a year, the receipts are how you show what you spent.

What a good receipt shows

• Who you bought from: the store or person's name.
• When: the date.
• How much: the total, and the GST/HST (and PST, if your province has it) shown separately.
• What it was: on bigger purchases, a short description helps you and your accountant.
• The seller's GST/HST number: if you claim back the GST/HST you paid, the CRA expects the seller's number on the receipt, and more detail on larger purchases.

A card slip on its own usually isn't enough: it shows the amount, but not what you bought or the tax. Keep the itemized receipt.

Paper or photo?

The CRA accepts electronic copies of your records, as long as they're complete and easy to read. That means a clear photo of the whole receipt, or the PDF a store emails you. Faded thermal paper is the reason to snap receipts the day you get them: in a year, many are blank.

Without the shoebox

1. Snap it at the till. In PeaceBooks, tap Snap a receipt before you put it in your pocket. The app reads it, you check it, and the photo is kept with the record.
2. Forward the emails. Online orders and bills go to your own PeaceBooks address, so they're kept with everything else.
3. Long receipt? Use Add a page, so the whole thing is kept together.

At year-end, PeaceBooks puts every receipt photo in the file for your accountant, named by date and store.

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