This guide shows the exact date you can shred each year’s records, and the situations where you need to keep them longer.

The short answer

Keep your tax returns, supporting receipts and notices of assessment for at least six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. For an individual, the tax year is the calendar year, so records for your 2020 return can go on January 1, 2027.

That is the general rule in the CRA guidance for individuals and in section 230 of the Income Tax Act. It applies even if you filed online and never sent the CRA a single receipt. Late returns, disputes, investments you still own and CRA letters can all stretch the period.

When you can shred each year’s records

The six years start at the end of the tax year, not on the day you filed. A receipt for something you bought in March 2020 and claimed on your 2020 return is counted from December 31, 2020. Here is how that plays out if each return was filed on time and nothing else applies.

Dates worked out by script from the six-year rule, assuming an on-time return, no objection or appeal and no CRA request to keep records longer. The highlighted row is the next year to become eligible.

So as of today, records for 2019 and earlier can usually go. The 2020 box should stay until the new year.

Which year a record “relates to”

The rule counts from the last tax year a record relates to. Most receipts relate to one year only. Some records support a number on a later return, and those follow the later year. A common case is what you paid for shares, a fund or a rental property. You need that cost when you sell, so the purchase record relates to the year of the sale.

Hypothetical example: you bought shares in 2012 and sold them in 2025. You use the 2012 purchase confirmation to work out the gain on your 2025 return. That record should stay until December 31, 2031, which is 19 years after the purchase.

Why six years: the CRA time limits

The six-year rule sits on top of other deadlines in the tax system. Under section 152 of the Income Tax Act, the normal reassessment period for most individuals ends three years after the day the CRA sent your original notice of assessment. The record-keeping period runs longer, and two refund and relief windows run longer still.

Sources: Income Tax Act sections 152 and 230, current to October 19, 2026; CRA pages on changing a return and penalty and interest relief.

The 10-year windows matter in the other direction. The CRA says a refund cannot be issued for an adjustment request made more than 10 calendar years after the end of the tax year. If you find a missed credit for an older year, you can only claim it if you can still back it up. Based on that wording, 2016 is the oldest year that can still produce a refund from a request made in 2026.

After the normal three years, the CRA can still reassess in limited cases listed in the law. These include a misrepresentation due to neglect, carelessness or wilful default, fraud, or a waiver you filed. Even then, the later reassessment is limited to the part tied to that issue.

When you need to keep records longer

• You filed late. The CRA says to keep records for six years from the date you file that return.
• You filed an objection or appeal. Keep the records until the latest of three dates: the day it is resolved, the day the time for any further appeal passes, or the end of the normal six-year period.
• The CRA asked you to. The law lets the CRA require a longer period by registered letter or a demand served in person.
• The records support a later return. Cost records for investments or property follow the year you sell, as in the example above.
• You are settling an estate. The CRA says records of a deceased person can be destroyed after the legal representative receives a clearance certificate.

Worked example: a late return

Hypothetical example: you file your 2021 return on March 3, 2025. Filed on time, the records could have gone on January 1, 2028. Because the return was late, the six years run from the filing date, so you keep them until March 3, 2031. That is 1,158 days, or about 3.2 years, longer than an on-time filer. Filing late has its own costs, covered in our guide to what happens if you file your taxes late.

What to keep

The CRA says you may need more than official receipts. Keep these for each year:

• A copy of your tax return and every notice of assessment or reassessment.
• Receipts for deductions and credits you claimed, such as RRSP contributions, donations, medical or child care expenses.
• Cancelled cheques, bank statements and other proof of payment for those claims.
• Purchase and sale records for investments and property, kept until six years after the year of sale.

A clear record of RRSP contributions also helps you avoid an RRSP over-contribution. If you keep records electronically, the Income Tax Act says they must stay in an electronically readable format for the full retention period. Check that old files still open before you delete the paper.

A simple yearly routine

1. File everything by tax year. One folder or box per year, labelled with the year and the date it can go.
2. Add your notice of assessment. Save it with that year’s return as soon as it arrives.
3. Keep a separate file for property and investments. These records follow the sale year, not the purchase year.
4. Each January, review the oldest year. On January 1, 2027, the 2020 records become eligible if no exception applies.
5. Shred securely. Old returns hold your SIN, income and bank details, so use a cross-cut shredder or a secure shredding service.

Frequently asked questions

• Sources, checked November 9, 2026: CRA: How long should you keep your income tax records? (modified 2026-01-20); CRA: Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request permission to destroy them early (modified 2026-08-03); Income Tax Act, section 230 and section 152 (current to 2026-10-19); CRA: Changing a tax return (modified 2026-10-30); CRA: Penalty and interest relief, who can apply (modified 2026-10-01).
• Method: Shred dates and the late-filing example were calculated in Python from the six-year rule and re-checked by adding six calendar years to each start date by a second method. Examples are hypothetical.

Important: This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Businesses, charities and corporations have extra record-keeping rules. Provincial or other laws may require you to keep some records longer. See our affiliate disclosure.