How long to keep tax records in Canada: 6 years after year end

How long does each kind of record have to be kept?

The base rule is subsection 230(4): keep records and the supporting accounts and vouchers for six years from the end of the last taxation year they relate to, unless the regulations prescribe another period laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The tax year is the calendar year for an individual and the fiscal period for a corporation canada.ca.

The prescribed periods in the table come from Regulation 5800 laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. For objections, the CRA's own page reads it a little wider: keep the records until the latest of the date the matter is resolved, the date the further appeal period expires, or the end of the normal six years canada.ca.

Records about long term property, the share registry and history that would matter on a sale, liquidation or windup are kept indefinitely, in the CRA's words canada.ca. For a corporation, that ties back to Regulation 5800(1)(a): those records run until two years after dissolution.

Worked example: 2026 receipts can go on December 31, 2032, but older files can outlast them

The clock runs from the last year a record could matter, not the year it was created. IC78-10 uses capital property as the example: keep the cost records six years past the last tax year in which the transaction could affect an income tax calculation canada.ca.

The building invoice is eleven years old when your client sells, and it still has six years to run, because it supports the adjusted cost base and any recapture in 2026. The loss row follows the same logic: the 2020 records back a deduction claimed in 2026, so a non capital loss carryforward keeps old files alive.

The late return row comes from 230(5): where a return wasn't filed for a year, the records run six years from the day it is filed laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. A client who catches up on several years at once restarts the clock on each of them.

Why keep records six years when the CRA reassesses in three?

The normal reassessment period is three years from the original notice of assessment for individuals and CCPCs, and four years for other corporations, under ITA 152(3.1) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The six year retention rule outlasts it on purpose. The full timeline, with the extended cases, is on the CRA reassessment period page.

Three things keep a year reachable after the normal period. Paragraph 152(4)(b) adds three years for listed cases such as a loss carryback or a transaction with a nonresident your client doesn't deal with at arm's length. A misrepresentation attributable to neglect, carelessness or wilful default, or fraud, removes the limit for the matter involved. And a signed waiver keeps the named matter open laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

It also cuts the other way. An individual (other than a trust) can ask the CRA for a refund or a reduction on any year within ten calendar years after its end, under 152(4.2) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. A client who shreds at six years can't support a request for years seven to ten.

Some records run longer by design. A vehicle base year log supports every later sample year, so it stays six years past the last year it's used; see CRA vehicle logbook.

Can your client scan paper receipts and shred the originals?

Yes, if the imaging meets the Canadian General Standards Board standard (CAN/CGSB 72.34). Then the image becomes the permanent record and the paper can go. A business that can't meet the standard has to keep the original paper canada.ca.

IC78-10 lists what an acceptable imaging program looks like: written confirmation from a person in authority, documented systems, a log of dates, signatures, descriptions and disposal of the source documents, an index that allows immediate retrieval, commercial quality images, quality control, and equipment available on reasonable notice. If a third party does the scanning, your client is still responsible canada.ca.

Records that start out electronic stay electronic. Subsection 230(4.1) requires them to be kept in an electronically readable format for the whole retention period laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, and printing them doesn't change that canada.ca.

Location matters too. Records belong at a place of business or residence in Canada unless the CRA gives written permission otherwise, and records on a server outside Canada that are accessed from Canada are not considered kept in Canada canada.ca.

How does your client get permission to destroy records early?

Records can be disposed of before the period ends only with the Minister's written permission, under 230(8) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Your client, or an authorized representative, files Form T137, Request for Destruction of Records, or writes to the tax services office canada.ca. The form itself is on canada.ca canada.ca.

IC78-10 says the request has to be signed and should identify the books and records, the tax years they cover, the special circumstances that justify early destruction, and anything else relevant canada.ca.

Two limits. The permission covers only records kept for laws the CRA administers, not records another federal, provincial or municipal law requires, and destroying records without permission can lead to prosecution canada.ca.

For an estate, the cleaner route is the clearance certificate: once it covers all the property, Regulation 5800(1)(g) ends the retention period. See estate clearance certificate. For a corporation being wound up, the two year rule runs from dissolution, and the final return timing is on the T2 filing deadline after dissolution page.

Do GST/HST records follow the same clock?

Yes. Under ETA 286(3), GST/HST records are kept six years after the end of the year they relate to, electronic records stay readable under 286(3.1), records under objection or appeal stay until it is finally resolved under 286(4), and early disposal needs the Minister's written permission under 286(6) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

The CRA adds two GST/HST specifics. A registrant who never filed a return still has to file and keep the supporting records, and records for an adjustment note issued to a pension entity run six years from the day the note is issued canada.ca.

The same six year approach applies to payroll records under the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Pension Plan, per the CRA canada.ca. Return due dates are on the GST/HST filing deadline page.