RBizz Corporate Accountants - Resources #CGT record keepingRBizz Corporate Accountants - Resources #CGT record keepinghttps://www.rbizz.com.au/blogs/tag/cgt-record-keepingSun, 08 Nov 2026 09:23:07 +1100http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[You Can Probably Throw Out Your Paper Receipts. But Only If You Do This First.]]>https://www.rbizz.com.au/blogs/post/you-can-probably-throw-out-your-paper-receipts.-but-only-if-you-do-this-first.The ATO generally accepts electronic records, but only if the copy is legible, complete and retrievable, which is why a blurry phone photo is no better than a lost receipt.]]>
You Can Probably Throw Out Your Paper Receipts. But Only If You Do This First.

You Can Probably Throw Out Your Paper Receipts. But Only If You Do This First.

The shoebox of receipts is one of the most common reasons small business records fall apart. The good news is that you generally do not have to keep paper. The ATO accepts electronic records. The catch is that a poor digital copy is not much better than a lost one.

What Makes a Digital Record Acceptable

A digital copy generally needs to be:

  • Legible. If you cannot read the supplier, date, amount and what was bought, it will not support a claim.
  • A complete copy of the original, showing all of the information that was on it.
  • Kept in a form you can retrieve and produce if asked, and for the required period, which is generally five years.

A blurry phone photo that cuts off the total fails that test, even if it feels like a record.

Where Digital Records Go Wrong

  • Poor quality scans. Faded thermal paper is the classic problem. Receipts printed on it can become unreadable within months, so capture them early.
  • Receipts saved to a personal phone or inbox, with no connection to the transaction in your accounting software.
  • No link to the payment. A receipt on its own does not show that you paid. Matching it to the bank transaction closes the loop.
  • Records tied to a single service. If the app or subscription ends, so can access to your records.

A Practical System

  1. Capture receipts at the time of purchase using an app that attaches them to the transaction.
  2. Check the image is readable before you discard the paper.
  3. Back up your records somewhere you control, not only inside one provider.
  4. Keep the records for the required retention period.


RBizz sets up simple receipt capture and bookkeeping systems that make the shoebox obsolete. Get in touch if your records still live in a drawer.


Contact Us


]]>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:42:39 +1100<![CDATA[How Long Do You Actually Need to Keep Business Records? The 5-Year Rule Explained]]>https://www.rbizz.com.au/blogs/post/how-long-do-you-actually-need-to-keep-business-records-the-5-year-rule-explainedThe 5-year record retention rule sounds simple, but the clock starts from when you lodge the relevant return — not the transaction date — and some records (depreciating assets, CGT) need to be kept well beyond 5 years.]]>
How Long Do You Actually Need to Keep Business Records? The 5-Year Rule Explained


How Long Do You Actually Need to Keep Business Records? The 5-Year Rule Explained

The general rule is straightforward: keep business records for 5 years. The part that catches people out is knowing exactly when that 5-year clock starts, because it isn't always "5 years from today" — and getting it wrong means either keeping records far longer than necessary or, more riskily, discarding something you still need.

When the Clock Actually Starts

For most records, the 5-year period runs from whichever of these is later:

  • The date you prepared or obtained the record, or
  • The date the transaction or acts the record relates to were completed

For records supporting a tax return, this generally means 5 years from the date you lodge that return — not 5 years from the date of the underlying transaction itself. A supplier invoice from March doesn't need to be kept for 5 years from March; it needs to be kept for 5 years from when the return relying on that invoice was lodged.

What Actually Needs to Be Kept

  • Sales and purchase invoices
  • Bank statements and reconciliation records
  • Payroll records, including superannuation contribution records
  • BAS and GST records, including calculation worksheets
  • Asset purchase and disposal records, including depreciation schedules
  • Any records substantiating a claimed deduction

    • Where the 5 Years Can Actually Be Longer

    Depreciating assets




    Depreciating assets: records need to be kept for 5 years from the date of the last claim involving that asset — meaning for an asset depreciated over 10 years, the effective retention period is closer to 15 years once you add the standard 5-year tail.

    Capital Gains Tax Records




    Capital gains tax records: records relating to an asset subject to CGT should generally be kept until at least 5 years after you're sure no CGT event can occur — which for a long-held asset can mean retention periods well beyond the standard 5 years, potentially decades if the asset is held for a very long time before disposal.

    Records relevant to a dispute or ongoing review




    Records relevant to a dispute or ongoing review: if the ATO is actively reviewing a period, the standard clock doesn't apply the same way — retain records related to that period until the review is fully resolved, regardless of what the standard 5-year calculation would otherwise suggest.

    What Happens If You Can't Produce a Record

    If the ATO reviews a return and you can't substantiate a claimed deduction or a reported figure, the claim can be disallowed — meaning you retroactively owe tax on an amount you may have genuinely spent, simply because you can no longer prove it. This is a real financial cost, not just a compliance inconvenience.

    A Practical Retention System

    1. Tag records by financial year lodged, not just the date on the document itself — this makes the 5-year calculation straightforward rather than requiring you to work it out retrospectively.
    2. Keep a separate, longer-retention folder for depreciating assets and CGT-relevant records, since these don't follow the standard 5-year rule.
    3. Digitise records where possible — physical storage for a decade-plus retention period (for depreciating assets or CGT records) becomes impractical quickly, while digital storage doesn't.
    4. Don't destroy anything currently under ATO review, even if the standard 5-year period has technically passed.

    Check Your Retention System Before You Clean House

    If you're about to do an end-of-financial-year clean-out of old records, it's worth checking which ones are genuinely past their retention period and which ones (depreciating assets, CGT-relevant records) need to stay well beyond the standard 5 years.


    RBizz can review your record-keeping practices to confirm you're retaining what you need and safely clearing what you don't — get in touch before your next clean-out.

    Contact Us


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