# Keeping tax records: what to keep and for how long

> The records individuals and self-employed people need, the six-year rule and when it runs longer, keeping records electronically, and what happens without them.

- Web page: https://taxnotes.ca/guides/keeping-records/
- For: Self-employed · Topic: Self-employment
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-11

If you have to file a tax return, the law requires you to keep records that back it up; if you run a business, that means a record of every transaction. Don't send them with your return. Keep them, generally for six years, in case the CRA asks.

## Who has to keep records

Anyone who has to file a tax return, anyone carrying on a business, anyone who files a GST/HST return or claims a GST/HST rebate or refund, and anyone who deducts payroll amounts from pay. If you run more than one business, keep separate records for each.

"Records" is broad: ledgers, invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements, logbooks, your tax returns, and emails and other correspondence that support your transactions.

## If you're an individual

Keep your slips and every receipt or document that supports a deduction or credit you claim. If your return is selected for review, the CRA can ask to see them, and it may also ask for other proof such as cancelled cheques or bank statements. See [slips to gather](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/slips-to-gather/) for the slips to expect.

## If you're self-employed

**Income.** Keep a daily record of what you earn and spend; the CRA doesn't require any particular bookkeeping system. Record your gross income with the date, amount and source of each payment, whether you were paid in cash, property or services. Back up each entry with original documents such as sales invoices, cash register tapes, receipts, deposit slips, fee statements and contracts. Keep your bank statements and cancelled cheques too.

**Expenses.** Get a receipt for every business purchase showing the date, the seller's name and address, your name and address, and a full description of what you bought. Receipts from GST/HST registrants may also need to show the seller's business number; [what can I deduct](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/what-can-i-deduct/) explains when. If a receipt doesn't describe the item, write the description on it or in your expense journal. If you get no receipt at all, record the seller's name and address, the amount, the date and what it was for.

**Property.** For anything you buy for the business, record who sold it to you, the cost and the date. When you sell or trade it in, record the date and what you got for it. You'll need this for capital cost allowance.

**Vehicle.** A logbook is the best evidence of business use. For each business trip, note the date, destination, purpose and kilometres, and record the odometer reading at the start and end of each fiscal period. After one full year of logs, you may be able to use a three-month sample in later years, if the results stay within 10% of that base year. Keep the full-year logbook for six years from the end of the last tax year you use it for.

**GST/HST.** If you're registered, your records must let you work out the GST/HST you collected and owe. Keep the invoices or receipts that support every input tax credit you claim.

**Payroll.** If you have employees, keep the hours each one worked, the CPP, EI and income tax you withheld, their TD1 forms, and copies of slips and returns you filed.

**Online sales.** If you sell online, keep information about those transactions, such as web logs or confirmation emails. Keep your own copies even if an outside service provider handles part of the transaction, since it may not keep the information as long as you must.

## How long to keep them

Generally, six years from the end of the last tax year the records relate to. For individuals, the tax year is the calendar year, so records for 2025 can generally go after December 31, 2031.

"Last tax year they relate to" matters for long-term items. The CRA says records showing what you paid for investments or other capital property should be kept until six years after the end of the last tax year in which they could enter into any tax calculation, not six years after you bought them.

Some situations call for longer:

- **You filed late:** six years from the date you filed that return.
- **You objected or appealed:** until the dispute is resolved and the time for any further appeal has passed, or six years, whichever is later.
- **Long-term business records:** records about buying and selling property, the share register, and other history that would matter if the business were sold or wound up must be kept indefinitely.
- **The CRA asks:** it can tell you, in person or by registered mail, to keep records longer.
- **Your business closed:** an unincorporated business keeps its records for six years from the end of the tax year it ended.
- **You're settling an estate:** the legal representative of someone who died can destroy their records once they have a clearance certificate.

To destroy records sooner, you need the CRA's written permission first. Ask using Form T137 or in writing to your tax services office. Destroying records without permission can lead to prosecution.

## Where to keep them

Keep records at your home or place of business in Canada, unless the CRA gives you written permission to keep them elsewhere. Records stored outside Canada and accessed online from here don't count as kept in Canada. They must be in English, French or both.

## Electronic records and scanning

- **Records created electronically** must be kept in an electronic format the CRA can read, even if you also print them.
- **Paper records** should generally be kept as originals. You can scan them instead if the image is accurate, complete and readable, and your process meets the national standard for electronic records (CAN/CGSB-72.34). If it does, the image becomes your record and you can destroy the paper. If you can't meet the standard, keep the originals.
- **Back up your files,** ideally at a location in Canada other than your business. If electronic records are lost or damaged, tell the CRA and recreate them within a reasonable time.
- **Using a bookkeeper or cloud service?** The records are still your responsibility, and they must be available when the CRA asks.

## What happens without records

- **Claims can be denied.** If your records don't support a deduction or credit, the CRA can disallow it.
- **The CRA works it out another way.** If auditors can't determine your income from your records, they have to use other methods, which costs you time.
- **You can't prove what isn't taxable.** Without records showing where money came from, you may not be able to show that some of it wasn't business income or wasn't taxable at all.
- **It can be an offence.** The CRA can require you to keep proper records, and failing to keep or provide them can lead to prosecution and, on conviction, a fine, imprisonment or both.

Lost something? Ask the bank or supplier that created it for a copy. If you can't get one during an audit, the auditor will work with you on other ways to confirm the amounts. See [CRA reviews and audits](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/cra-review-or-audit/).

## Quebec residents

Revenu Québec sets the record-keeping rules for your Quebec return:

- **Individuals.** Don't send your slips, receipts or other supporting documents with your return unless an instruction asks for them, but keep them, on paper or electronically, in case Revenu Québec asks. As a rule, keep them for six years after the tax year they cover.
- **Businesses and the self-employed.** If you carry on a business, or have to withhold or collect amounts under a tax law (source deductions or QST, for example), keep registers and supporting documents at your establishment, your home or another place Revenu Québec designates. They can be on paper, electronic or on microfilm; electronic records must stay accessible and readable. Generally keep them for six years after the end of the last year they relate to, unless Revenu Québec tells you otherwise, and longer if you object to an assessment or take it to court. To destroy them sooner, get Revenu Québec's written authorization first.

Revenu Québec's [income and expense journal examples](https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/citizens/income-tax-return/completing-your-income-tax-return/self-employed-persons-income-tax-return/accounting-records-income-and-expense-journals/) show simple ways to track business income and expenses.

## What to do

- Keep a daily record of income and expenses, with a receipt for each.
- Back up electronic files, and keep a vehicle logbook if you claim car expenses.
- Keep each year's records for at least six years, and longer for property and long-term items.

## Sources

1. [What are records, who has to keep them, and why it is important](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/keeping-records/what-records-who-keep-them.html) (canada.ca)
2. [Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request the permission to destroy them early](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/keeping-records/where-keep-your-records-long-request-permission-destroy-them-early.html) (canada.ca)
3. [Your responsibilities and the requirements associated with records the law requires you to keep](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/keeping-records/your-responsibilities-requirements-associated-records-law-requires-you-keep.html) (canada.ca)
4. [Acceptable format, imaging paper documents and backing up electronic files](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/keeping-records/acceptable-format-imaging-paper-documents-backing-electronic-files.html) (canada.ca)
5. [Business records](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/sole-proprietorships-partnerships/business-records.html) (canada.ca)
6. [Motor vehicle records](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/sole-proprietorships-partnerships/business-expenses/motor-vehicle-expenses/motor-vehicle-records.html) (canada.ca)
7. [GST/HST and payroll records](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/keeping-records/gst-hst-payroll-records.html) (canada.ca)
8. [How tax returns are selected for review](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/review-your-tax-return-cra/tax-returns-selected-review.html) (canada.ca)
9. [IC78-10R5, Books and Records Retention/Destruction](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/ic78-10/books-records-retention-destruction.html) (canada.ca)
10. [RC4188, What you should know about audits](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4188/what-you-should-know-about-audits.html) (canada.ca)
11. [What to Do with Your RL Slips, Receipts and Other Supporting Documents – Revenu Québec](https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/citizens/income-tax-return/filing-your-income-tax-return/what-to-do-with-your-rl-slips-receipts-and-other-supporting-documents/) (revenuquebec.ca)
12. [Keeping Registers and Supporting Documents (GST/HST and QST) – Revenu Québec](https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/businesses/consumption-taxes/gsthst-and-qst/basic-rules-for-applying-the-gsthst-and-qst/keeping-registers-and-supporting-documents/) (revenuquebec.ca)
13. [Keeping Your Registers and Supporting Documents – Source Deductions and Contributions – Revenu Québec](https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/businesses/source-deductions-and-employer-contributions/keeping-your-registers-and-supporting-documents/) (revenuquebec.ca)
14. [Accounting Records: Income and Expense Journals – Revenu Québec](https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/citizens/income-tax-return/completing-your-income-tax-return/self-employed-persons-income-tax-return/accounting-records-income-and-expense-journals/) (revenuquebec.ca)

Tax figures in this guide come from the TaxNotes.ca rates tables (https://taxnotes.ca/rates/), which cite the Canada Revenue Agency and, for Quebec, Revenu Québec.

Last reviewed: October 11, 2026

How to cite: "Keeping tax records: what to keep and for how long", TaxNotes.ca, last reviewed 2026-10-11, https://taxnotes.ca/guides/keeping-records/. For a figure or rule, also cite the official source listed above.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to share and adapt with attribution: https://taxnotes.ca/reproducing-our-content/