Tip 37 - How long should you keep tax records?

Keeping personal income tax returns and supporting documentation for seven years is a common practice. CCRA can review your personal income tax returns for the previous three years and, under certain circumstances, even farther back. CCRA can arbitrarily assess your income if you have not kept all returns and supporting documentation. As a result, you could owe additional taxes and be charged interest and penalties.

To defend yourself against such reassessments, keep your family’s personal income tax returns and supporting documentation for the previous seven years, including all

$image\BULLET.gif$ T-slips,

$image\BULLET.gif$ RRSP contribution slips,

$image\BULLET.gif$ medical receipts,

$image\BULLET.gif$ charitable donation receipts,

$image\BULLET.gif$ support for self-employed revenue and expenses; and

$image\BULLET.gif$ all other source documents you and your family used to prepare your returns.

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