How Long Should You Keep Receipts?

Keep tax-related receipts for at least 3 years — that's the standard IRS audit window. Keep them 6 years if substantial income underreporting could ever be alleged, 7 for bad-debt or worthless-securities claims, and keep receipts for property, home improvements and investments for as long as you own the asset plus 3 years. Non-tax receipts follow their own clocks: warranty length, return window, or the life of an insurance policy.

This is general information, not tax advice.

The tax retention table

• 3 years — the default: the IRS generally has 3 years from filing to assess. Everyday deduction receipts live here.
• 6 years — if a return omits more than 25% of gross income, the window doubles; cash-heavy businesses and complex-income filers should default to 6.
• 7 years — claims for bad-debt deductions or worthless securities.
• Forever-ish (asset life + 3): home purchase and improvement receipts (they build basis and cut future capital gains), major equipment, investment records. The $12,000 roof receipt from 2016 is a live tax document the year you sell.
• No limit — if a return was never filed or was fraudulent, no statute protects you; the records are your defense.
• Employment tax records: at least 4 years.

State audit windows can run longer than federal — a year or two more in several states — so match your longest applicable clock.

Non-tax clocks people forget

• Warranties: the receipt starts and proves the clock (warranty claims without receipts are possible but harder) — keep it the full warranty term.
• Returns: the store's window, typically 30–90 days.
• Insurance: receipts for insured valuables persist as long as the item and policy do — they're your claim evidence.
• Rent and deposits: the tenancy plus the deposit-return dispute window (deposit receipt rules).
• HSA/FSA: medical receipts until reimbursed plus the tax window — and indefinitely if you defer HSA reimbursement, a strategy that turns old receipts into future tax-free withdrawals.

Digital storage resets the economics

The 3-vs-6-year question mattered when receipts were shoeboxes; scanned, they cost nothing to keep forever. The IRS accepts digital copies (the scanning rules), thermal paper fades within months anyway (why receipts fade), so the practical policy is: scan everything tax-relevant immediately, keep digital copies indefinitely, shred paper freely. Storage habits and folder structures are covered in receipt organization systems.

What you can safely discard now

Paper receipts already scanned and verified; receipts for ordinary purchases past return and warranty windows with no tax role; ATM slips reconciled against statements; grocery receipts (barring insurance-claim relevance or business use). What you never discard: anything establishing basis in property you still own, records for open tax years, and receipts documenting an ongoing dispute or claim.

The bottom line

Three years minimum, six for safety, asset-life-plus-three for property — digitally, keep it all; the cost of storage is zero and the cost of the missing receipt is the deduction. The list of which receipts are worth keeping in the first place is the hub: which receipts should you keep for taxes.