Does the IRS require receipts for expenses under $75?

Generally no — except for lodging, which always requires documentation. But you must still record the expense's date, amount, place and business purpose in a log or expense system. And note this is the IRS floor: most employers set stricter receipt thresholds, commonly $25.

Can I use a credit card statement instead of a receipt?

As a fallback, sometimes. A statement proves the merchant, date and amount but not what was purchased, so it fails the itemization requirement most policies have. Pair it with a written explanation or a missing-receipt affidavit where your company allows substitutes.

Why do companies require itemized hotel receipts?

Because a hotel charge bundles room, taxes, meals, minibar and incidentals into one number. The folio separates reimbursable costs from personal ones, applies the right tax treatment, and shows the nightly rate against travel policy caps. Request folios from the front desk or the hotel's website — they can re-send them months later.

What happens if I submit an expense report without receipts?

Below your company's threshold, usually nothing — the report processes on the recorded details. Above it, expect rejection or a request for a missing-receipt affidavit. Repeated missing receipts trigger audits of your reports, and fabricating receipts for expenses that never happened is fraud with career-ending consequences.

What Receipts Do You Need for an Expense Report?

For an expense report you generally need itemized receipts — documents showing what was purchased line by line, not just the total. Most US companies set a receipt threshold between $25 and $75 (mirroring the IRS rule that lodging always needs a receipt but other expenses under $75 technically do not), and require receipts for every expense above it.

The practical standard is simple: if finance cannot tell what you bought, when, from whom and for how much, expect the report to bounce.

What makes a receipt acceptable to finance?

An expense-ready receipt shows five things:

The merchant's name and location
The transaction date
Itemized purchases — each line, not just a total
Taxes and tip broken out
The payment amount and method

The most common rejection is the credit-card slip problem: the little signature slip from a restaurant shows the total but not what was ordered. Finance wants the itemized receipt that lists the meals. The same applies to hotel stays — the card charge is not enough; you need the folio listing room, taxes and incidentals night by night. Hotels will re-send folios long after checkout, and our receipt help center covers how for the major chains.

What is the IRS $75 receipt rule?

For business tax records, the IRS does not require receipts for most expenses under $75 — with important exceptions: lodging always requires documentation regardless of amount, and you still must record the expense (date, amount, place, business purpose) even when no receipt is needed. Two warnings before you rely on it:

The rule applies to IRS substantiation, not your employer. Company policy can (and usually does) demand receipts at a lower threshold.
The record-keeping duty never goes away. A contemporaneous log entry replaces the receipt, not the documentation itself.

What should you do if you lost a receipt for an expense report?

Follow the recovery chain in our lost receipt guide: email search, store app or loyalty account, merchant reprint, then card statement. For expense reports specifically, add these:

Check the vendor portal — airlines, hotels and rideshare apps all re-issue receipts (Uber and Lyft store every trip receipt in the app).
Submit a missing-receipt affidavit if your company has one — a signed declaration of the date, vendor, amount and business purpose.
Attach the card statement line plus a short written explanation when policy allows substitutes.
If the purchase was real and no original can be recovered, some situations allow a recreated receipt documenting the actual transaction — always disclosed as a recreation, never passed off as an original. Misrepresenting expenses is fraud and a firing offense everywhere.

Meals, mileage and the special cases

Meals: itemized receipt plus the business context (who attended, purpose). Most US business meals are 50% deductible for the company, which is why finance is strict here.
Mileage: no receipt exists — keep a log with date, distance, origin/destination and purpose. Fuel receipts substantiate fuel costs, not mileage claims.
Per diem: if your employer pays per diem, individual meal receipts are usually unnecessary — the daily rate replaces them. Do not mix per diem and receipt-based claims for the same day.
Tips: cash tips without receipts go in the log; card tips should appear on the itemized receipt.

How to keep receipts from becoming a monthly crisis

Photograph every receipt the moment you get it — thermal paper fades fast. Forward email receipts to a dedicated folder or directly into your expense tool; Expensify, Concur and Ramp all extract data from forwarded receipts automatically. File by trip or by month, not in one giant pile. Five minutes per week beats three hours at month-end.

The bottom line

Itemized receipt above your company's threshold, folio for every hotel night, log for mileage, affidavit or statement as a disclosed fallback. If you spend it, capture it the same day — and if a real receipt is gone for good, rebuild the record honestly rather than leaving a hole in your report.