How Long to Keep Business Records in Canada (CRA 6 Years)

How long do I have to keep business records in Canada?

Keep your income tax records and the documents that support them for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to (Income Tax Act s. 230(4); CRA). That covers invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements and cancelled cheques (CRA: Business records). The tax year is the calendar year for an individual, including a sole proprietor, and the fiscal period for a corporation.

That is the default, not the whole rule:

A case is not simple when a return was filed late, a business is closing, being sold or dissolved, an objection is open, an older year is questioned, you are clearing out years of files, or some records are already missing. Records for property you still own, or for a loss you will use later, can also outlast the default. Gather each year's filing dates, the incorporation and dissolution dates, the corporate minute book and share register, and every CRA notice.

When does the 6 years start?

The period starts at the end of the last tax year a record relates to, not on the date of the receipt or the day you filed. A March receipt and a November invoice in the same calendar year expire on the same day (CRA).

A record that relates to several years waits for the last one. The CRA's circular says the period is generally set by the last tax year a record may be required for the purposes of the Act, not the year it was created. Its example is records supporting the cost of investments and other capital property (such as equipment or a rental building), kept until six years after the last tax year the transaction could enter any income tax calculation (IC78-10R5). The same reasoning may apply to a business loss you carry forward to a later return, though the circular does not give that example. The CRA's web page says records on long-term purchases and sales of property, the share registry, and other history that affects a sale, liquidation or wind-up of the business are kept indefinitely (CRA).

Does the 6 years restart if I file late?

The count does not restart, but it moves. If a return is not filed when it was required, the records for that tax year are kept for six years from the day the return is filed, not from the end of the year (s. 230(5); CRA).

For a year you have not filed yet, the period has not begun: keep everything for it. Years you filed on time keep their own dates. See overdue books for catching up.

Can the CRA still audit me after 6 years?

Sometimes. Six years is how long you must keep records. The CRA's time to reassess a year is a separate rule, and the normal one is shorter.

• The time to reassess is usually shorter. For income tax it is three years for an individual, three years for a Canadian-controlled private corporation and four years for another corporation. It counts from the original notice of assessment or no-tax notification (s. 152(3.1)). It can be longer after a misrepresentation attributable to neglect, carelessness or wilful default, fraud, a waiver, or another listed case (s. 152(4)). GST/HST has its own limit, usually 4 years (ETA s. 298).
• Looking is not reassessing. An authorized CRA person may examine any document that may be relevant to a taxpayer's obligations or entitlements, for any purpose related to administering the Act (s. 231.1). On its wording, that section names no cut-off year, so the CRA may ask for an older year's records where they may be relevant. Whether a request reaches records already lawfully destroyed is a question for a professional.

The CRA can also tell you in person or by registered mail to keep records longer (CRA). For the limits year by year, see how far back the CRA can reassess; for a letter in hand, see reviews and audits.

Which corporate records must be kept longer: minutes, share records, general ledger?

A corporation keeps five kinds of record until two years after it is dissolved, so none of them expires while the corporation exists (Reg. 5800(1)(a); CRA). The CRA names the same five on its list:

• minutes of directors' meetings
• minutes of shareholders' meetings
• records of who owns the shares and every transfer
• the general ledger or other book of final entry (the master record of every account)
• special contracts or agreements needed to understand the ledger entries

Ordinary receipts and invoices roll off year by year. These five do not, so keep them in the corporation's permanent file. Stopping business does not dissolve a corporation; the count begins only on dissolution. On an amalgamation, the CRA treats the new corporation as a continuation of each amalgamating one, so these records carry over (IC78-10R5).

How long do I keep records after closing a sole proprietorship or partnership?

When a business that is not incorporated ends, keep its records for six years from the end of the tax year in which it ended (CRA). For the general ledger and the contracts needed to read it, that is Reg. 5800(1)(c). Other records usually end on the same date, but a late-filed final return, an objection, a CRA demand or a later year that relies on them can push it later.

The CRA's wording is "non-incorporated business"; it does not name partnerships or say which year-end counts for one. A partnership with an individual partner generally has a December 31 fiscal period unless its partners elected the alternative method (ITA s. 249.1); if the year-ends differ, the cautious reading is to count from the later date. If you are selling the business, the CRA's indefinite period for records that affect a sale or wind-up can apply as well.

How long do I keep records after dissolving a corporation?

A dissolved corporation keeps all its records and supporting documents for two years after the date of dissolution (CRA; Reg. 5800(1)(a) and (b)). For income tax, this replaces the usual count: the date is set by the dissolution, not each record's year-end, unless a late-filed return, an objection or appeal, or a CRA demand extends it. It does not shorten the GST/HST period: keep invoices and other GST/HST records for the full 6 years under ETA s. 286(3). It is also a minimum, not a reassessment limit; the CRA's time to reassess the final year can outlast it (see how far back the CRA can reassess). Dissolution does not end every claim either: the CRA may assess at any time a person who did not deal at arm's length with the corporation and received its property for less than its value, if the corporation owed tax (s. 160(2)), and directors have their own limits (see closing a corporation).

Another law can ask for more. For a federally incorporated corporation, whoever is given custody of its documents and records remains liable to produce them for six years from dissolution, unless a court order sets a shorter period (CBCA s. 225; Regulations s. 14.1). Provincial and territorial corporate statutes have their own rules, which this page does not cover. Check which law your corporation was formed under.

The tax rule says what to keep, not who keeps it. After dissolution there is no corporation to hold the files, so name the person and the place before the dissolution date. The order of the closing steps is in closing a corporation.

What if I filed an objection or appeal?

Keep every record needed for the objection or appeal until the latest of three dates: the matter is resolved, the time to file any further appeal has passed, and the ordinary period has passed (CRA; s. 230(6)). GST/HST records have a similar rule in ETA s. 286(4). See reviews and audits for the dispute itself.

Is the rule the same for GST/HST records?

GST/HST records follow almost the same rule: they are kept 6 years after the end of the year they relate to, with similar rules for objections, CRA demands and early destruction (ETA s. 286). Two differences matter:

• Location and language. Unless the CRA authorizes otherwise, GST/HST records are kept in Canada, in English or in French (ETA s. 286(1.2)).
• Late and unfiled returns. Section 286 has no counterpart to the income tax rule that counts from the filing date. If you have not filed a GST/HST return for a period that ended more than 6 years ago, you must still file it and keep the records that support it (ETA s. 286(3); CRA).

For payroll records under the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Pension Plan, the circular says the period begins at the end of the calendar year they relate to, with no dissolution or ended-business rules like the income tax ones (IC78-10R5). Confirm the length for payroll files before shredding them. Revenu Québec and provincial sales tax rules are not covered here.

Can I keep records on a computer, scan paper and throw it out, or store them outside Canada?

On a computer: yes. Records you create electronically stay in an electronically readable format for the whole period, even if you also print them (s. 230(4.1); CRA). Keep backups that can be restored in a format the CRA can use, and export your records before you close an accounting account.

Scanned paper: the CRA says paper imaged to the national standard it names, CAN/CGSB-72.34, may then be destroyed. If the imaging falls short, keep the originals; if in doubt, get legal advice first. See scanned receipts.

Outside Canada: only with the CRA's written permission. Records are kept at your place of business or residence in Canada (s. 230(1)). Records stored abroad and reached electronically from Canada are not treated as kept in Canada. For electronic records the CRA may give permission, and may accept true copies available in Canada in a format its software reads. If the records sit on servers outside Canada, you must access them, or have your staff do so, and give the CRA what it requires. An outside provider does not move the duty off you (CRA; IC05-1).

Can I destroy records early?

Only with the CRA's written permission. Send Form T137, Request for Destruction of Records, or a written request to your local CRA tax services office, naming the records, the tax years and any special circumstances (CRA; IC78-10R5). The CRA says that destroying records without permission may lead to prosecution.

Permission is for disposal before the period ends. After it ends, check for an open objection, a CRA demand, a later year that relies on the record, or another law. The CRA's permission covers only records required under laws it administers; it cannot approve destroying records required by other federal, provincial, territorial or municipal laws. A closing corporation should check its corporate statute before shredding.

What if some records are already gone?

List which tax years the missing records cover and whether those years are still open (filing dates, notices of assessment). The CRA's circular says that if required electronic records are lost, destroyed or damaged, the person must report it to the director of the local tax services office and recreate the files within a reasonable period (IC78-10R5). That rule is written for electronic records. For records destroyed in a disaster, the CRA points to CRA support if you're affected by a disaster.

Rebuilding from what survives (bank and card statements, sales platform reports, filed returns and CRA notices) is covered in rebuilding books from bank statements and expenses without receipts.

Example

All dates are illustrative.

A freelancer's 2024 records

A sole proprietor files the 2024 return on April 20, 2025. Every 2024 receipt and invoice is kept to December 31, 2030, six years after the end of the 2024 tax year. Equipment bought in 2024 and sold in 2027 has a purchase invoice that can enter the 2027 gain or loss, so that invoice is kept to at least December 31, 2033, six years after the 2027 tax year. The CRA's web page says records on long-term acquisitions and disposals of property are kept indefinitely.

A late filer

A calendar-year corporation files its 2022 return on March 1, 2026, after the due date. Its ordinary 2022 records are kept to March 1, 2032, six years from the day of filing; counting from the 2022 year-end would have ended in 2028. Its minutes, share records and general ledger are kept at least until two years after dissolution, whatever the filing date. Its 2023 return was filed on time, so the 2023 records keep their own date.

A corporation closing

A calendar-year corporation is dissolved on June 30, 2026. Assume its returns were filed on time and no objection or CRA demand is open. The income tax period for all its records, including minutes and 2024 receipts, ends June 30, 2028, although six years from the 2024 year-end would have run to December 31, 2030. If the corporation is a GST/HST registrant, receipts that also support GST/HST stay on the GST/HST six years. Someone must hold the records. If the corporation is federally incorporated, the person given custody of its documents remains liable to produce them for six years, to June 2032, unless a court sets a shorter period.

Different for you?

• You are closing or selling a business, or dissolving a corporation: which records must survive, until what date and who holds them depends on the entity, the dissolution date and the buyer. See closing a corporation and selling your business; bookkeeping help is the next step if the closing books are not ready.
• You filed years late or not at all: the records for those years are still needed. See unfiled corporate returns, unfiled personal returns and catching up overdue books, with bookkeeping help.
• An older year is questioned, you hold a CRA letter, or records are lost or sit with a former bookkeeper or a closed accounting account: read reviews and audits, then see rebuilding books from bank statements and expenses without receipts; bookkeeping help is the next step if the books for that year are incomplete.
• You are clearing out years of files: what can go depends on the year, the entity and any open matter. See scanned receipts and what a receipt must show, with bookkeeping help.
• Your corporation is provincial, you moved a sole proprietorship into a corporation, or records or owners are outside Canada, or you operate in Quebec: the federal rules above are not the whole answer; Revenu Québec has its own record rules. See books after incorporating a sole proprietorship, with bookkeeping help.