Record retention
Record retention refers to the practices of maintaining personal financial records, particularly tax related documents. This article focuses on tax related documents which must be kept for a period of six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate,[1] but also includes information for other types of documents.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) allows for electronic record keeping[2] provided that the records are maintained in a electronically readable format. If you maintain the electronic records yourself you should be aware of the media's likely lifetime.[3]
Many financial institutions, utilities and communications companies have fees for sending paper statements, with the fee waived if the statements are received electronically. When providing electronic statements, the general trend is for organizations to commit to allowing access for a seven year period[4] as long as the relationship is maintained. When an account is closed, generally access to the electronic statements is lost.
What to retain and for how long
| What to retain | When to dispose |
|---|---|
| Sales slips and receipts | When reconciled with bank statement or credit card statement. For valuable items with a warranty, keep at least until warranty period ends. |
| Paystubs | When reconciled with T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid (slip) |
| Monthly bank and credit card statements | One year[5] |
| Utility, phone, internet bills | One year |
| Tax slips (T3, T4, T5 etc.) and tax-related related-information | Keep with tax return for 6 years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate[1] |
| Annual mortgage statements | 6 years[5] |
| Insurance policy information | Keep as long as the policy is valid |
| Birth certificate and similar | Never |
How to dispose
Care must be taken when disposing of records that contain personal information as identity theft and fraud is a significant and growing problem.[6]
Buy a cross-cut shredder. Scan incoming paper statements to Portable Document Format (PDF) files, then shred them. Back up the PDFs on several devices, e.g. HD -> external HD -> USB drive. If you're really paranoid, store the PDFs in password-protected and/or encrypted directories.
Business owners
If you formally employ a domestic worker as a nanny, you should be aware of the reporting and record retention required by the provincial (or territorial) and federal governments.
For business owners, the details of record retention or record keeping is beyond the scope of this article.
See also
References
- ^ a b Canada Revenue Agency, RC188 Keeping Records, viewed October 26, 2021.
- ^ IC05-1R1 Electronic Record Keeping, viewed October 26, 2021.
- ^ Canadian Conservation Institute, Electronic Media Collections Care for Small Museums and Archives, viewed October 26, 2021.
- ^ eStatements - RBC Royal Bank, viewed October 26, 2021.
- ^ a b How Long to Keep Records in Canada, Black Tulip Inc., viewed October 26, 2021.
- ^ Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Protect yourself from scams and fraud, viewed October 26, 2021.
Further reading
- Financial Wisdom Forum topic: "Paperless record keeping"
- Financial Wisdom Forum topic: "Who keeps a paper trail?"
- Financial Wisdom Forum topic: "disposing old bank statements, pay stubs and identity theft"
- Financial Wisdom Forum topic: "$2 to receive TDW paper statements as of September"
- Financial Wisdom Forum topic: "Proof of payment when going chequeless?"