Guide · Updated 17 August 2026
Records and receipts: what to keep, and for how long
The five-year rule, the $300 threshold, what counts as written evidence, and the records that matter for decades rather than years.
How long do you need to keep tax records in Australia?
Generally five years from the date you lodge the return the records relate to. If a record supports a claim in a later year — a depreciation schedule, a carried-forward loss — keep it five years from that later return. Capital gains records must be kept for five years after the CGT event, which in practice means keeping purchase documents for the entire time you own an asset, sometimes decades. If you're under review, keep everything until the matter is finalised. Digital copies are acceptable provided they're true, clear and readable.
- Five years from lodgement, as a rule
- CGT records: five years after the sale
- $300 total threshold for work expenses
- Digital copies are fine if legible
The $300 threshold, correctly understood
If your total work-related expenses are $300 or less, you can claim without written evidence — but you must have actually incurred the expenses and be able to explain how you calculated them. Once the total exceeds $300, you need written evidence for the whole amount, not just the excess.
Some items sit outside the threshold and always need records: car expenses (log book or a reasonable kilometre basis), travel allowances, laundry above $150, and overtime meal allowances.
What counts as written evidence
A document from the supplier showing the supplier's name, the amount, the nature of the goods or services, the date of the expense and the date of the document. A tax invoice is ideal. Where a receipt is genuinely unavailable, the ATO accepts other evidence in some cases:
- Bank and credit card statements showing the transaction, combined with a diary note of what it was for.
- Supplier statements or subscription records.
- Diary records for small expenses under the specified limits, and for apportionment (work-use percentages, home office hours).
- Employer records — rosters, timesheets, travel logs.
What doesn't work is reconstructing plausible numbers after the fact. The test isn't whether the expense sounds reasonable; it's whether you can show it was incurred.
Records to keep for far longer than five years
- Property purchase documents — contract, stamp duty, legal fees, and every capital improvement invoice. These form the CGT cost base decades later.
- Share and crypto acquisition records — dates, quantities, cost, and every reinvestment or swap.
- Depreciation schedules and asset registers.
- Carried-forward capital and revenue losses, with the returns establishing them.
- Superannuation contribution records, notices of intent and acknowledgements.
- Trust deeds, company constitutions, loan agreements and distribution resolutions — keep permanently.
A record-keeping system that survives contact with reality
The system that works for our clients is unglamorous: a dedicated business bank account and card so private and business spending never mix; receipts photographed into your accounting app the day they arrive; a vehicle log book app rather than a paper book; home-office hours in a running spreadsheet; and one folder per financial year for the annual documents — income statements, health insurance, dividend statements, agent invoices.
Do that and your return becomes a review of organised data rather than an archaeological dig. It also means an ATO query years later is a matter of forwarding what you already hold — which is the whole point.
Frequently asked questions
Are photos of receipts acceptable?
Yes. Digital copies are acceptable provided they're a true and clear reproduction of the original and remain readable for the retention period. Photograph them promptly — thermal receipts fade to blank within months.
What if I lost my receipts?
Use what you have: bank statements plus a contemporaneous diary note, supplier reissues, or subscription records. Some claims can be substantiated this way and some can't. We'll tell you plainly which is which rather than claiming and hoping.
Do I need to keep records if the ATO already has the data?
Prefill covers income, not deductions — and prefill is regularly incomplete for interest, dividends and disposals. You remain responsible for the accuracy of your return, so your own records still matter.
How long should a business keep records?
Five years generally, seven years for employee records including payroll and superannuation, and permanently for constituent documents, trust deeds, loan agreements and asset cost bases. Company records also carry Corporations Act obligations.
What records do I need for a rental property?
The purchase contract and settlement statement, loan documents and annual interest statements, agent statements, all expense invoices, the depreciation schedule, and every capital improvement invoice. Keep the purchase and improvement records until five years after you sell.
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