Can I Claim an Expense If I Lost the Receipt?

Sometimes, yes. Lost receipts happen to careful people, and a missing one isn't automatically a tax problem. It does put the job of proving the expense on you, and the GST/HST credit is usually harder to save than the income tax deduction.

Two claims, two sets of rules

When you claim a business expense, you're usually making two separate claims.

The first is the income tax deduction, which lowers the profit you pay tax on. CRA expects you to be able to show the expense happened, that it was for the business, and what it was for. A receipt is the best proof, but not the only kind. CRA can consider other evidence, though it isn't required to accept it.

The second is the input tax credit (ITC), which is how a GST/HST-registered business recovers the GST/HST it paid on purchases used in its business. The paperwork needed for an ITC is written into regulations, so there's much less room to work with. Our post on input tax credits covers what you can and can't claim back.

What a bank or credit card statement does and doesn't prove

A statement shows you paid someone on a certain date. It usually doesn't show what you bought, how much tax was charged, or the supplier's GST/HST registration number. It's useful backup, but rarely enough on its own, especially for an ITC.

What the ITC paperwork has to show

CRA's documentation requirements grow with the size of the purchase. The tier depends on the total shown on the document, tax included. These are the current tiers, set out on CRA's input tax credit page:

• Under $100: the supplier's name, the invoice date (or the date the GST/HST was paid or became payable), and the total amount.
• $100 to $499.99: all of that, plus the supplier's GST/HST registration number, the GST/HST charged or a statement that the price includes tax at the applicable rate, and, when taxable and exempt items appear together, the tax status of each item.
• $500 or more: all of that, plus the buyer's name, a description of the goods or services, and the payment terms.

The required information doesn't have to appear on one document. An invoice, a contract and other supporting records can work together, as long as together they contain the information CRA requires.

CRA raised these thresholds in April 2021 from $30 and $150, so older articles show different numbers.

That makes a lost receipt for a $12 purchase a small problem, since no registration number is needed at that level. A lost invoice for a $900 laptop is a bigger one, because it needs the full set of details.

What to try before giving up

• Ask the supplier for a copy. Most can reissue a receipt or invoice. Check the supplier's website account, your order confirmation emails and your card's app.
• Gather other proof. An email confirmation, a quote, a contract, a delivery notice or a calendar entry can show what the expense was and why it was for the business.
• Write a short dated note saying what the purchase was, why it was for the business, and what you did to replace the receipt. Keep it with whatever other proof you found.

Where people go wrong

• Recreating a receipt after the fact and presenting it as the original. A clearly labelled note explaining the gap is far safer than a document that looks real but isn't.
• Claiming the ITC without the supplier's registration number on purchases of $100 or more.
• Lumping lost-receipt expenses together as "miscellaneous" at year-end. Each expense needs its own explanation.
• Assuming the statement is enough. It's backup, not the whole file.
• Deleting vendor emails that would have been the replacement.

Receipts that go missing on a regular basis point to a records problem, not a one-off. How long to keep business records and whether photos of receipts are good enough for CRA cover how to stop it. For the difference between the two documents, see invoice vs. receipt.

If you're looking at a gap in your records right now, ask Margot (bottom right of this page, free to try, no sign-up). She'll help you work out what to do first for your situation, or say so plainly when it belongs with your accountant. The RSB Guide is for the longer fix: a monthly routine that catches missing receipts while they're still easy to replace, and the Guided plan adds a dashboard with a monthly close checklist. The button below shows what's included.

FAQ

Can a credit card statement replace a lost receipt? For income tax, a statement can be part of your proof but rarely the whole of it. For an ITC, it usually can't, because it doesn't show the details the regulations require.

Is there a dollar amount below which I don't need a receipt? For income tax records, CRA doesn't set a small-purchase cutoff, so keep the receipt whatever the size. The ITC paperwork is lighter for purchases under $100, but it isn't gone.

What if the supplier has gone out of business? Then your other evidence matters more, and the ITC may be hard to save. Talk to your accountant about the best way to handle it.

Should I claim the expense anyway? Claim what you can support. For the borderline ones, that's a decision for you and your accountant.

Replace it now, while the supplier still has the record.