What Receipts Should I Keep and for How Long?

Keep receipts for any expense you plan to deduct, any purchase that establishes the cost basis of an asset, and any transaction supporting a tax credit. The general retention period is three years from the date you filed the return, but property records, investment basis documents, and a few special situations call for longer. What follows is a practical guide to which receipts to keep and how long to hold them, organized by the kind of expense you’re documenting.

Receipts to Keep for Itemized Deductions

If you itemize on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction, every line needs backup. Without documentation, the IRS can disallow the deduction and charge interest on the resulting underpayment.

Medical and Dental

You can only deduct medical and dental costs that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses Because small charges add up toward that floor, save everything: co-pays, hospital bills, prescription receipts, invoices for hearing aids, eyeglasses, contacts, crutches, and wheelchairs, dental and vision bills, out-of-pocket health insurance premiums, and a mileage log with parking and tolls for medical trips. Keep these even when you’re not sure you’ll clear the threshold, because you won’t know until year-end.

Charitable Contributions

For a single cash donation of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from the charity showing its name, the amount, and whether you received anything in return.2Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions Written Acknowledgments Smaller cash gifts still require a bank record, receipt, or written communication from the organization with the date and amount.

Non-cash rules scale with value. Donating goods worth more than $500 in total means filing Form 8283 with a description of each item, when you acquired it, and its fair market value. A single item or group of similar items exceeding $5,000 in claimed value also needs a written appraisal from a qualified appraiser.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8283

State and Local Taxes

If you deduct state and local income, sales, or property taxes, save property tax statements, copies of state income tax returns, and receipts for any estimated tax payments you made during the year.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes

Receipts to Keep for Business and Self-Employment

Self-employed workers and business owners can deduct expenses that are ordinary and necessary for the trade.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 162 – Trade or Business Expenses The IRS expects clear documentation for each one, and missing records can trigger a 20% accuracy-related penalty on any resulting underpayment.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6662 – Imposition of Accuracy-Related Penalty on Underpayments

Travel and Meals

Travel and meal expenses have stricter documentation rules than most other business costs. Federal law requires you to prove four things: the amount, the time and place, the business purpose, and (for meals) the business relationship of the person you were with.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 274 – Disallowance of Certain Entertainment, Etc., Expenses Estimates don’t work here, even if you can prove the expense happened.

Save airfare, hotel, rental car, rideshare, and parking receipts. A receipt is required for all lodging and for any other single expense of $75 or more. For meals, a restaurant receipt showing the name and location, number of people served, date, and total is usually enough, but you also need to note the business purpose somewhere, such as a calendar entry or a note written on the receipt itself.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2024), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses

Vehicle Use

Whether you take the standard mileage rate (72.5 cents per mile for 2026) or deduct actual vehicle expenses, you need a mileage log.9Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Standard Mileage Rates The log should show the date of each trip, starting point and destination, a specific business purpose, miles driven, and odometer readings at the start and end of each year. If you’re deducting actual expenses, add every gas receipt, repair invoice, insurance statement, and registration fee.

Home Office

Under the simplified method, you deduct $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet, and you only need to have measured the space.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 587 (2024), Business Use of Your Home Under the regular method, keep canceled checks, utility bills, and insurance statements so you can allocate the business-use portion of mortgage interest or rent, utilities, homeowner’s insurance, repairs, and depreciation.

Equipment and Depreciable Assets

Keep the original invoice for equipment, furniture, and other business assets. It should show the purchase price, sales tax, shipping, and installation costs, since those figures set the basis for depreciation. Record the date you put the asset into business use and the depreciation method you’re applying. Hold these records for as long as you own the asset, plus three years after the tax year you dispose of it or stop claiming depreciation.

Receipts to Keep for Your Home

Improvements That Change Your Basis

When you sell your home, you can exclude up to $250,000 of profit from income, or $500,000 if you file jointly. If your gain exceeds that, receipts for improvements reduce what’s taxable. A new roof, kitchen remodel, deck, updated wiring, or new HVAC system gets added to the home’s basis.11Internal Revenue Service. Publication 523 (2024), Selling Your Home Save receipts for labor and materials on every project, small ones included, and keep them for at least three years after filing the return for the year you sell. These records also help with insurance claims after a fire, flood, or theft.

Energy-Efficient Upgrades

Qualifying upgrades such as heat pumps, energy-rated windows, insulation, and biomass stoves can generate an annual credit of up to $3,200 — $1,200 for items like windows, doors, and insulation, and a separate $2,000 for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and biomass equipment.12Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit Keep the purchase receipt and the manufacturer’s written certification that the product meets the applicable efficiency standard. You’ll also need the manufacturer’s qualified identification number to report on Form 5695. Don’t attach the certification to your return; keep it in your files in case the IRS asks.13Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 5695 – Residential Energy Credits

Receipts to Keep for Investments and Digital Assets

Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds

When you sell, you owe tax on the difference between sale price and cost basis. Brokers report covered securities on Form 1099-B with acquisition date, basis, and holding period.14Internal Revenue Service. Stocks (Options, Splits, Traders) 1 For noncovered securities, generally those acquired before 2011, you track your own basis. Keep trade confirmations, brokerage statements, records of reinvested dividends (each reinvestment creates a separate tax lot), and every 1099. For inherited or gifted investments, document the fair market value at the date of death or the donor’s original basis.

Cryptocurrency

Starting in 2026, digital asset brokers report transactions on Form 1099-DA, including basis for assets sold through their platforms.15Internal Revenue Service. Final Regulations and Related IRS Guidance for Reporting by Brokers on Sales and Exchanges of Digital Assets The IRS still expects you to keep independent records showing the type of asset, date and time of each transaction, number of units, fair market value in U.S. dollars at the time, and your basis. This matters most for assets moved across wallets, decentralized exchanges, or platforms that may never issue a 1099-DA.16Internal Revenue Service. Digital Assets

Receipts to Keep for Education and Care Credits

For the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit, keep receipts for tuition, enrollment fees, and required course materials, even ones bought outside the school. Your institution should send Form 1098-T, but hold your own records too, especially when the 1098-T doesn’t match what you actually paid. If a school never provides one, save proof that you requested it.17Internal Revenue Service. Education Credits AOTC and LLC

For the child and dependent care credit, you have to report your provider’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number on Form 2441.18Internal Revenue Service. Child and Dependent Care Credit Information Save invoices, canceled checks, or payment app confirmations. If your provider is an individual, like a nanny, request that identifying information using Form W-10 before tax season.

What Counts as a Valid Receipt

Not every slip qualifies. A usable receipt shows five things:

  • The name of the business or person you paid
  • The total amount, including tax and fees
  • The date of the transaction
  • A description of what you bought or the service you received, detailed enough to show it qualifies
  • Proof of payment — a canceled check, bank statement, or credit card record showing funds left your account

A receipt alone doesn’t guarantee a deduction; you also need to show the expense qualifies. A credit card statement proves payment but doesn’t describe the purchase, so pair a bank record with an itemized invoice when possible.19Internal Revenue Service. Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records

Electronic records carry the same weight as paper ones as long as they contain the information above and sit in a system you can access and produce on request.20Internal Revenue Service. Rev. Proc. 97-22 For foreign-currency payments, convert to U.S. dollars using the exchange rate on the transaction date. The IRS doesn’t require a specific source but expects you to apply a posted rate consistently.21Internal Revenue Service. Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates

How Long to Keep Each Type of Record

The base rule: three years from the date you filed the return, or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.22Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6501 – Limitations on Assessment and Collection Several situations extend that:

Some records need their own timelines:

  • Property improvements: for as long as you own the property, plus at least three years after filing the return for the year of sale
  • Depreciating assets: three years after the final year you claim depreciation
  • Employment tax records: employers must keep payroll and employment tax records for at least four years after filing the fourth-quarter return for the year24Internal Revenue Service. Employment Tax Recordkeeping
  • Investment records: hold purchase confirmations and basis documentation for at least three years after you report the sale

If a Receipt Is Missing

A missing receipt isn’t always fatal. Courts have historically let taxpayers estimate a deduction when they can prove the expense occurred but can’t produce exact documentation. Under this principle, known as the Cohan rule, a reasonable estimate can be accepted, but the burden falls on you and any uncertainty is resolved against you.

Two categories never accept estimates. Travel, meal, and gift expenses are governed by strict documentation rules that override the estimation principle entirely; without records of amount, date, place, and business purpose, the deduction is disallowed regardless of other evidence.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 274 – Disallowance of Certain Entertainment, Etc., Expenses Charitable contribution deductions also require specific written records, and missing them bars the deduction even when you can prove you gave.

Before estimating, try to reconstruct. Banks and credit card companies can supply duplicate statements going back years. Vendors will often reissue invoices. Medical providers maintain billing records you can request. Rebuilding the paper trail before an audit produces far better results than showing up with rough numbers.