How long to keep receipts for taxes

Short answer Keep receipts for at least three years after you file the return they support. Keep them for six years if there's any chance you under-reported income, seven if you claimed a bad-debt or worthless-securities loss, and keep anything that affects the value of property (a home, equipment, a car you depreciate) until three years after you sell it.

Most people who ask this are holding a shoebox and want to know what they can throw out. The answer depends on how long the IRS has to question a return. That window is called the period of limitations. Once it closes for a tax year, the receipts behind that year are no longer needed for federal tax purposes.

The IRS timelines

The IRS publishes these in Publication 583 and on its How long should I keep records? page:

Your situation	Keep records for
Most returns	3 years from the date you filed
You filed a claim for a credit or refund after filing	3 years from filing, or 2 years from when you paid the tax, whichever is later
You left out income worth more than 25% of the gross income on your return	6 years
You claimed a loss from worthless securities or a bad-debt deduction	7 years
You have employees (employment tax records)	At least 4 years after the tax was due or paid, whichever is later
You didn't file, or filed a fraudulent return	Indefinitely

When the clock starts

The clock starts when you file, not on the date of the receipt. A receipt dated January 2025 supports your 2025 return. If you filed that return in April 2026, the three-year window runs to April 2029.

If you file early, the IRS treats the return as filed on the due date. Filing in February doesn't shorten the window.

Receipts that last longer: property and assets

Some receipts don't belong to a single tax year because they set the basis of something you own. Basis is what you paid for it, and it's used to work out depreciation and any gain or loss when you sell. Keep these until the period of limitations ends for the year you sell or dispose of the property:

• Equipment and computers you depreciate or expense for a business
• A vehicle you use for business
• Improvements to a home or rental property, such as a new roof, a kitchen remodel or an addition
• Purchase documents for investments

A laptop bought for your business in 2024 and sold in 2028 means keeping that receipt until roughly 2032. Home improvement receipts can sit in a folder for decades. That's normal.

A rule you can actually follow

Remembering six different timelines is how shoeboxes happen. Most people do fine with this:

1. Keep everyday receipts for seven years. That covers every federal window except the "forever" cases, and most state windows too.
2. Keep asset and home-improvement receipts until seven years after you sell the thing.
3. Keep them digitally, sorted by year, so throwing out a year means deleting one folder.

States set their own rules, and some keep returns open longer than the IRS does. If you file state income tax, check your state revenue department's guidance. The seven-year habit usually covers it.

Reasons to keep receipts that have nothing to do with taxes

The IRS isn't the only one who might ask:

• Warranties and returns. Most warranty claims need proof of purchase.
• Insurance claims. After a theft, fire or flood, receipts are the fastest way to prove what you owned and what it cost.
• Client and expense disputes. If you bill expenses back to clients, the receipt settles the argument.
• Loans and mortgages. Self-employed borrowers are often asked to back up business expenses.

Make the "how long" question easy

How long to keep receipts only matters if you can find them. Faded thermal paper in a drawer fails both tests. A few habits help:

• Capture receipts when you get them. Photograph paper receipts the same day; thermal paper fades within months.
• Don't leave emailed receipts scattered across your inbox. Pull them into the same place as everything else (here's how to find them in Gmail).
• File by year. Each tax year's receipts should be easy to export, hand over or delete as a set.

What Receipt? does this automatically. It reads each receipt's date, vendor and total, files it by category and project, and exports to CSV or Excel. The Excel file includes monthly totals by category and project. With Gmail connected, Import a past year pulls a whole tax year of emailed receipts at once and hands you that year's CSV. The Mac edition stores the original files in an organized folder tree (Business/2026/2026-07/2026-07-26_Slack_35.00.pdf), so a year really is one folder.

Questions

Can I throw away paper receipts after scanning them?

Generally yes. The IRS accepts electronic copies, including scans and photos, as long as they're legible, complete and you can produce them when asked. Check that a scan is readable before you shred the original. More on what counts as a valid digital receipt.

Do I need to keep receipts under $75?

For business travel, gifts and car expenses, IRS Publication 463 requires documentary evidence, such as a receipt, for any lodging expense and for other expenses of $75 or more. That doesn't mean small expenses need no records. You still need to record the amount, date, place and business purpose. Keeping the receipt is the easiest way to do that.

Is a bank or credit card statement enough?

A statement proves you paid a vendor a certain amount on a certain date. It usually doesn't show what you bought. The receipt or invoice shows that, which is what makes the expense deductible. Keep both.

How long should I keep receipts for personal purchases?

For taxes, only if they support something on your return: a deduction, a credit, or the basis of property such as your home. Otherwise keep them for as long as the warranty or return window lasts, and longer for anything you might need to claim on insurance.

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This guide is general information about US federal record-keeping, not tax advice. Rules change and situations vary. Ask a tax professional about yours.