How Long to Keep Business Records in Canada: The CRA's 6-Year Rule

Every year, Canadian business owners throw away records they might desperately need — or hoard documents that could have been shredded a decade ago. The CRA has clear retention rules, but most people only know the headline: "keep everything for six years." The full picture is more nuanced, and getting it wrong in either direction costs you.

The Core Rule: Six Years from the Tax Year-End

Under the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act (GST/HST), Canadian businesses are required to keep all records and supporting documents for a minimum of six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate.

This is not six years from the date of the transaction — it's six years from the end of the tax year in which you used the record. A receipt for a 2025 expense stays on file until at least December 31, 2031 (six years after December 31, 2025 — the end of the 2025 tax year).

What Records Must You Keep?

The CRA's definition of "records" is broad. You must keep anything that supports the information on your tax returns and financial statements, including:

Income Records

• Sales invoices and receipts issued to customers
• Cash register tapes
• Bank deposit slips and statements
• Contracts and agreements with clients
• Credit card statements showing sales

Expense Records

• Supplier invoices and receipts for all purchases
• Credit card and bank statements showing expenditures
• Petty cash receipts
• Expense reports and supporting documentation
• Vehicle logbooks (see note below)

Payroll Records

• Time sheets and pay stubs
• CPP and EI contribution records
• T4 and T4A slips issued
• Records of source deductions remitted
• ROEs (Records of Employment)

GST/HST Records

• All GST/HST returns filed
• Supporting documents for every Input Tax Credit (ITC) claimed
• Records of GST/HST collected from customers

Corporate Records (Incorporated Businesses)

• Articles of incorporation and corporate minute book
• Share register
• Minutes of directors' and shareholders' meetings
• All T2 returns filed

Records With Longer Retention Requirements

Document Type	How Long to Keep	Why
Capital assets (equipment, vehicles, buildings)	6 years after the year of disposal	CCA schedules and gains/losses on disposal
Corporate minute books and articles of incorporation	Permanently (or until 6 years after dissolution)	Legal requirement under corporate law
Land and real estate records	6 years after the year of sale	Capital gains calculations
Records under audit or objection	Until the matter is fully resolved	CRA can audit beyond 6 years if fraud is involved
Payroll records	6 years from end of tax year	CPP/EI disputes can arise years later

Can You Keep Digital Records?

Yes — the CRA accepts electronic records as long as they are a true copy of the original and can be retrieved and presented in a readable format if requested. Scanned invoices, digital bank statements, and cloud-based accounting records are all acceptable.

Best practices for digital record-keeping:

• Store files in a format that won't become obsolete (PDF is safest)
• Maintain backups in at least two locations (local + cloud)
• Keep a consistent naming convention (YYYY-MM-DD_Vendor_Amount)
• Use apps like Dext, Hubdoc, or Google Drive to organize receipts automatically

You do not need to keep paper originals if you have a complete, legible digital copy — with one exception: certain legal documents may need to be retained in their original form for other legal purposes.

What Happens If You Can't Produce Records?

If the CRA audits you and you can't provide the supporting records, they can:

• Disallow your deductions and reassess your return
• Use a net-worth assessment to estimate your income (they compare your lifestyle to your reported income)
• Apply gross negligence penalties (50% of understated tax) if it appears records were deliberately destroyed

Destroying records early — even accidentally — is not just an administrative problem. It creates a presumption against you in a CRA review.

When Can You Safely Destroy Records?

You can destroy records once:

1. Six years have passed from the end of the tax year to which they relate
2. There are no open audits, objections, or appeals involving those records
3. The CRA has not requested the records

If you have records under an open dispute with the CRA, keep everything related to that dispute until the issue is fully resolved — regardless of how old the documents are.