Receipts for the self-employed: what to keep and for how long

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Receipts are the boring part of running a business, right up until you need one. They support the expenses that lower your taxable profit, and they're what you'd show if the IRS ever asked. Here's what the IRS says to keep, how long to keep it, and a routine that doesn't need a filing cabinet.

The basic rule: any system that clearly shows income and expenses

The IRS says you may choose any recordkeeping system suited to your business that clearly shows your income and expenses. Your books, whether that's an app, a spreadsheet, or a notebook, are the summary. The receipts and other documents behind each entry are what the IRS calls supporting documents, and it says to keep them in an orderly fashion and in a safe place, for example organized by year and type of income or expense.

What to keep for income

IRS Publication 583 says to keep documents that show the amounts and sources of your gross receipts (the money your business takes in). Examples it lists include:

• Bank deposit slips
• Receipt books
• Cash register tapes and credit card charge slips
• Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC you receive

If customers pay you in cash, by check, or through a payment app, keep a record of each payment and which job it was for.

What to keep for expenses

For expenses, the IRS says your supporting documents should identify the payee, the amount paid, proof of payment, the date, and a description that shows the amount was for a business expense. Sometimes one document doesn't cover all of that, and the IRS notes a combination may be needed, like a store receipt plus the card statement that shows you paid it.

For a service business, that usually means receipts for supplies, fuel, parts, tools, equipment repairs, phone service, and insurance, plus account or credit card statements that show the payment.

Vehicle, equipment, and other special cases

• Car and truck expenses have their own rules in IRS Publication 463, including a log of business miles. See our mileage log guide.
• Equipment and other assets, like a mower, pressure washer, or trailer: the IRS says your records should show when and how you got the asset, the purchase price, the cost of any improvements, deductions taken, how you used it, and when and how you sold or disposed of it, along with the selling price and expenses of the sale.
• If you have employees, there are separate employment tax records to keep, covered in IRS Publication 15.

How long to keep records

The IRS says to keep records that support an item of income, deduction, or credit on your return until the period of limitations for that return runs out. From its "How long should I keep records?" page:

• 3 years in most cases.
• 3 years from filing or 2 years from paying the tax, whichever is later, if you file a claim for credit or refund after you file.
• 6 years if you don't report income you should have, and it's more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return.
• 7 years if you file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction.
• Indefinitely if you don't file a return or file a fraudulent return.
• At least 4 years for employment tax records.

Keep records about property, like a truck or equipment, until the period of limitations runs out for the year you dispose of it. The IRS also says to check whether your insurance company or lenders need you to keep records longer.

Paper or digital?

Publication 583 says all the requirements for paper records also apply to electronic storage systems, including those that keep records by electronic imaging. Copies have to be complete, accurate, and legible, and the system has to let you find and reproduce them. If you plan to throw away paper originals, read that section first or ask a tax professional. Faded thermal receipts are a good reason to take a clear photo early.

A routine that works from the truck

1. Snap it at the register, before you leave the parking lot.
2. Note the job or customer if it isn't obvious.
3. Drop the paper in one envelope or folder per month.
4. Once a month, check that every expense in your books has a receipt or statement behind it.

How receipt scanning in MiniCFO.io helps

In MiniCFO.io, you scan a receipt from your phone and the AI pulls out the merchant and amount. You check them before you log, and the expense goes straight into your numbers with a category. That keeps your profit, your tax set-aside estimate, and your 6-month cash flow projection current without a pile of receipts waiting at month end. Keep the original or a clear copy as well, as the IRS describes, and export your transactions to CSV for your tax preparer when it's time.

This guide is general information and an estimate, not tax advice. Rules change and your situation matters, so check with a tax professional.

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