Does the CRA accept a photo of a receipt?

Short answer: yes. A clear photo of a receipt, captured properly, can legally stand in for the paper original, and the CRA says the image can become the permanent record. The conditions are simple and worth getting right, because a faded or missing paper receipt is worth nothing in an audit, and a good photo is worth everything.

Does the CRA accept a photo of a receipt?

Yes. The CRA's electronic record-keeping guidance states that paper documents imaged in line with the national imaging standard become the permanent records, after which you may destroy the paper originals (CRA: acceptable format and imaging paper documents; the governing publication is IC05-1, Electronic Record Keeping). In other words, a faithful image doesn't just supplement the paper. It can replace it.

What makes a receipt image acceptable?

The practical test is that the image is a faithful, legible reproduction of the original: the same information, nothing significant obscured, still readable if someone asks to see it years later. In practice that means:

• The vendor, date, and total are clearly visible.
• For GST/HST, the tax and the supplier's registration number are legible (more on that below).
• The image is stored somewhere it will still exist, and still open, six years later.

Format matters less than legibility: a sharp JPEG or PDF is fine. What fails is a blurry, cropped, or half-faded capture. Frame the whole receipt and check it's readable before you move on.

Can you throw out the paper receipt after taking a photo?

Once a paper document is imaged to the standard, the CRA treats the image as the record, so the paper can go. Most small businesses photograph first and recycle the slip. The one caution: capture it well the first time. Thermal receipts fade, often within months to a few years, so the photo you take at the counter is usually the most legible version that will ever exist.

Does a photo satisfy GST/HST input tax credit records?

Yes, if the image shows the prescribed details. Claiming an input tax credit requires specific information, and for purchases of $100 or more that includes the supplier's GST/HST registration number, along with the date, the amount, and a description (CRA: records you need to support an input tax credit). A photo that clearly shows all of that satisfies the requirement exactly as the paper would. A photo that cuts off the tax line or the registration number does not, so capture the whole receipt, not just the total.

How long do you need to keep the image?

The same six years as the paper: keep records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to. The advantage of an image is that it actually survives that long. A well-stored photo is still readable in year six; a thermal receipt in a shoebox usually isn't.

The takeaway

• A properly captured photo can legally replace the paper receipt, and the CRA treats it as the permanent record.
• The bar is a faithful, legible reproduction: whole receipt, in focus, readable years later.
• For GST/HST, make sure the tax and the supplier's registration number are in the shot.
• Capture at the counter, while the receipt is at its most legible, and keep the image for six years.