Are Photos of Receipts Good Enough for CRA, or Do I Need the Paper?

In many cases a clear photo or scan is accepted in place of the paper. But a photo is a picture, and a record is a picture you can find, read and produce six years from now. A blurry photo may not be usable evidence, and a camera roll on its own is a poor long-term filing system.

What CRA says about electronic records

CRA accepts electronic records, including images of paper documents, when they meet the conditions in its guidance on electronic record keeping (Information Circular IC05-1 and GST/HST Memorandum 15.2). The copy has to be complete, readable and retrievable, and CRA officials can ask to see it. The rules about where records must be kept and for how long are on CRA's page about keeping records.

The same documentation rules apply to a digital copy as to paper. For a GST/HST input tax credit, the image has to show everything the paper receipt would have needed to show.

What makes a photo count

• The whole receipt is in the frame. All four edges are visible, and a long receipt is captured in pieces.
• It's readable. The date, supplier name, amounts and tax can all be read without squinting.
• Both sides are captured when something important is printed on the back.
• It was taken before the paper faded. Thermal receipts, the kind from gas stations and restaurants, can fade within months.

A readable photo is only the start

CRA's guidance doesn't treat every clear phone photo as an acceptable electronic record. It also looks at how the copies are made and kept: complete, readable, protected from loss or alteration, and retrievable when CRA asks. A photo that's easy to read today but sits unbacked in a camera roll hasn't answered those questions.

Where the file lives

Three things are separate here: where the file is stored, whether it's backed up, and whether you can pull it up on request. A camera roll is weak on all three. Phones get lost, dropped and replaced, and the records have to last six years. Our post on how long to keep business records explains where the six years start. It also covers CRA's position that records stored on servers outside Canada generally need CRA's written permission. Many cloud tools store data outside the country, so ask your accountant how this applies to your setup.

Email and app receipts

A receipt that arrives by email is already an electronic record. Save it yourself instead of relying on the supplier's website to keep it for you. Accounts get closed, and portals change.

Should you keep the paper?

CRA's guidance lets electronic images replace paper only when its standards are met. If you aren't sure your copies meet them, keep the paper until you've confirmed with your accountant.

Where people go wrong

• Cropped, blurry or glare-covered photos that can't be read later.
• Photos that never get linked to the transaction. A picture in your camera roll isn't connected to anything. Most accounting software, including QuickBooks Online, Xero and Wave, lets you attach a receipt to the transaction it belongs to. Ask Margot for the exact steps in your software.
• Deleting photos to free up phone space before they've been backed up.
• Relying on an app to keep your files and losing access when the subscription ends.
• Throwing out the paper first and discovering the scan is unreadable.

If a receipt has already gone missing, see can I claim an expense if I lost the receipt? For expenses paid on a personal card, see can I claim a business expense I paid for with my personal credit card?

The Guided plan's dashboard keeps a monthly close checklist in front of you, so receipts get handled each month instead of in one tax-time scramble. If you're not sure whether your own setup holds up, ask Margot (bottom right of this page, free to try, no sign-up) and she'll help you apply it in the software you use.

FAQ

Can I throw out the paper after taking a photo? Only when your electronic copies meet CRA's standards. If you're unsure, keep the paper until you've checked with your accountant.

Do photos work for GST/HST input tax credits? Yes, provided the image contains the required ITC information and the electronic copy meets CRA's record-keeping standards.

Are email receipts enough? Yes, if they show the required details. Save a copy yourself.

Does CRA recommend a particular receipt app? No. What matters is that the copy is complete, readable and retrievable for the full retention period.

Follow the system. File with confidence.