How Long to Keep Records in Canada

How Long to Keep Records in Canada

How long to keep records in Canada

Life generates quite a lot of paperwork. From business records, to personal records, it can be overwhelming to keep track of what you need to keep, and for how long.To help sort it out, we’ve compiled this tip sheet of how long to keep records in Canada!

 

Keep for 1 Month

  • Bank withdrawal and deposit slips: Check your bank statement to make sure the amounts match up and then shred.
  • Receipts: Enter them into your monthly budget and then shred, unless you paid with a credit card. In that case, wait until your monthly statement arrives and double check that the amounts are correct. Then you can shred the receipt.
    Keep your receipt if you purchased something with a warranty (keep it until your warranty expires or you no longer own the item).

Keep for 1 Year

  • Monthly Bank Statements: Keep these for 1 year, unless you have your own business, in which case you should hold on to them for 6 years.
  • Monthly Brokerage/Mutual Fund Statements: Reconcile with your annual statement and then shred.
  • Monthly Credit Card Statements: Keep these for 1 year, unless you have your own business and have purchased items with your credit card, then you would keep the statement for 6 years.
  • Monthly Mortgage Statements: Reconcile with your annual statement and then shred.
  • Pay Stubs: Reconcile with your T4 and then shred.
  • Utility Bills: helpful to compare to your current year
  • Internet, Telephone & Utility Bills: Keeping them for a year allows you to compare rates if needed. If you own your own business and can write off these expenses, then you should keep the bills for 6 years.

Keep for 6 Years

  • Tax Returns: Starting from the end of the tax year relating to the records.
  • All T4 Forms: Starting from the end of the tax year relating to the records.
  • Annual Mortgage Statements
  • Receipts & Statements for Tax Returns, including: donations, RRSP contributions, child care receipts, mortgage interest, medical expenses, property tax payments, alimony/child support paid or received, etc. (Starting from the
    end of the tax year relating to the records.)

Keep Forever

  • Adoption Records
  • Auto/Home/Life Insurance Policy Information: Keep as long as the policy is still active and then shred.
  • Auto Records: Keep as long as you own the vehicle.
  • Birth Certificate
  • Death Certificate(s)
  • Divorce Agreement/Child Custody Orders
  • Estate: Keep your will and power of attorney with a list of your financial contacts
  • Investment Records
  • Marriage Certificate
  • Medical Records
  • Military Records
  • Pension Plan Records
  • Real Estate paperwork and mortgage contracts
  • Receipts for major home improvements: Keep until you no longer own the home.
  • Warranties: For electronics and appliances. Toss when they expire.
  • Will and/or Power of Attorney

Store all of your financial paperwork in a cool, dry place. Some people will recommend keeping your permanent records in a home safe, or in a bank safety deposit box.

Remember that if you do own your own business, you need to keep your business paperwork separate from your personal paperwork, to avoid hassles if you are audited.

We hope these tips will help you determine how long to keep records in Canada! We found the following online resources quite helpful in this subject:

Canada Revenue Agency: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/records/
Mrs. January: http://www.mrsjanuary.com/personal-finance/how-long-to-hold-on-to-financial-records-in-canada/
Fiscal
Agents: http://www.fiscalagents.com/newsletter/4records.shtml

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