How do you keep track of your receipts?

Capture them digitally as soon as you get them — before paper fades — and tag each by what it was for (tax, business, warranty) plus the date or merchant. A searchable digital archive beats a shoebox: at tax time or for an expense report, you pull every relevant receipt in seconds instead of sorting faded paper. The IRS accepts digital records, so you can discard the paper once scanned.

How long should I keep receipts for taxes?

Keep tax and business-expense receipts at least 3 years — the IRS's standard period of limitations to assess additional tax after you file. Stretch to 6 years if you might have underreported income by more than 25%, since that extends the audit window. They're the evidence behind your deductions; without the receipt, the IRS can disallow the expense.

What is the $75 rule for receipts?

Under Treasury Regulation 1.274-5, you generally don't need to keep a receipt for a business travel, meal, or similar expense under $75 — though lodging always requires one regardless of amount. The rule only waives the paper receipt, not the record itself: you must still document the amount, date, place, and business purpose. It applies to specific deduction categories, not every expense.

Do digital receipts count for taxes and warranties?

Yes. The IRS treats scanned and digital copies as valid records under Revenue Procedure 97-22, as long as they're legible, complete, and accurately reproduce the original. Most merchants honor a clear digital receipt for warranties and returns too. A digital copy is often more reliable than thermal paper, which fades within months — so capturing receipts digitally protects them better.

Which receipts do I actually need to keep?

Keep receipts that substantiate a tax deduction, a business or reimbursable expense, or a warranty or return — those have real future value. Everyday personal receipts for routine purchases only matter until the return window closes. Keeping every single receipt forever just creates clutter without protecting anything, so prioritize the ones tied to money you could be asked to prove.

Financial

Receipts

A receipt is proof that a payment was made — it records the merchant, the date, the items or services purchased, the amount paid, and the payment method. Receipts substantiate expenses for taxes, reimbursements, warranties, and returns, and are among the most numerous documents people need to keep track of.

The IRS period of limitations to assess additional tax is generally 3 years from the date you file, extending to 6 years if you underreport gross income by more than 25%.

Source: IRS — How long should I keep records?

Written & maintained by the Granite team · Last updated June 2026

Overview

A merchant issues a receipt at the point of payment, on paper or digitally. It confirms a transaction occurred and is the evidence behind expense deductions, business reimbursements, warranty claims, and returns. The challenge with receipts isn't any single one — it's the sheer volume and how easily paper ones fade or get lost.

For tax-deductible expenses and reimbursable business spending, a missing receipt can mean a lost deduction or denied claim. The IRS lets you keep records electronically — scanned and digital copies are valid records under Revenue Procedure 97-22 as long as they're legible and complete. Capturing receipts digitally as they come in — and tagging what each was for — is what turns a shoebox of fading paper into a usable record.

When you’ll get your Receipts

You made a purchase you may deduct or get reimbursed for
You need proof of payment for a warranty or return
You're tracking business or tax-deductible expenses
You want a digital record before a paper receipt fades
You're organizing receipts for an expense report or tax filing

What’s on your Receipts

These are the fields Granite reads and extracts automatically the moment you upload one.

Merchant: The store or business that issued the receipt.
Date: When the purchase was made.
Items / Description: What was purchased.
Amount Paid: The total paid, including tax.
Payment Method: How it was paid — card, cash, or other.
Tax: Sales tax charged, when itemized.

How long to keep it

Keep receipts that back a tax deduction, business expense, or warranty at least 3 years; stretch to 6–7 years for anything you'd struggle to reconstruct. Routine personal receipts only until a return window closes.

The IRS period of limitations to assess additional tax is generally 3 years from when you filed, but it extends to 6 years if you underreport income by more than 25% — which is why a 6-to-7-year window is the safe default for deduction-backing receipts. Warranty receipts need to last the warranty term. Everyday personal receipts can be discarded once you're past the return period — keeping everything forever just adds clutter without value.

How Granite handles your Receipts

Granite reads each receipt — merchant, date, items, amount, and payment method — the moment you snap or upload it, before the ink fades, and files it as a payment record. Tax-deductible and reimbursable receipts are captured and searchable by merchant or date, so building an expense report or substantiating a deduction is a search instead of a shoebox excavation.

FAQ

Receipts: common questions

How do you keep track of your receipts?: Capture them digitally as soon as you get them — before paper fades — and tag each by what it was for (tax, business, warranty) plus the date or merchant. A searchable digital archive beats a shoebox: at tax time or for an expense report, you pull every relevant receipt in seconds instead of sorting faded paper. The IRS accepts digital records, so you can discard the paper once scanned.
How long should I keep receipts for taxes?: Keep tax and business-expense receipts at least 3 years — the IRS's standard period of limitations to assess additional tax after you file. Stretch to 6 years if you might have underreported income by more than 25%, since that extends the audit window. They're the evidence behind your deductions; without the receipt, the IRS can disallow the expense.
What is the $75 rule for receipts?: Under Treasury Regulation 1.274-5, you generally don't need to keep a receipt for a business travel, meal, or similar expense under $75 — though lodging always requires one regardless of amount. The rule only waives the paper receipt, not the record itself: you must still document the amount, date, place, and business purpose. It applies to specific deduction categories, not every expense.
Do digital receipts count for taxes and warranties?: Yes. The IRS treats scanned and digital copies as valid records under Revenue Procedure 97-22, as long as they're legible, complete, and accurately reproduce the original. Most merchants honor a clear digital receipt for warranties and returns too. A digital copy is often more reliable than thermal paper, which fades within months — so capturing receipts digitally protects them better.
Which receipts do I actually need to keep?: Keep receipts that substantiate a tax deduction, a business or reimbursable expense, or a warranty or return — those have real future value. Everyday personal receipts for routine purchases only matter until the return window closes. Keeping every single receipt forever just creates clutter without protecting anything, so prioritize the ones tied to money you could be asked to prove.

Sources

This page is checked against primary and authoritative sources:

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