Most receipts are finished the moment the charge shows up correctly on your statement and you're sure you're keeping the thing. There's no official rule for a coffee receipt, and the FTC's long-standing shredding advice is to shred sales receipts "unless related to warranties, taxes, or insurance."
Those three exceptions, plus charitable donations, are where receipts start to matter. Each one runs on its own clock. Here's the US picture, generally; for taxes, the IRS has the final word.
How long to keep each kind of receipt
| Receipt | Keep for | Why / source |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday purchases (groceries, gas, coffee) | No official rule; common practice is until the charge posts correctly | FTC shredding guide: shred unless tied to warranties, taxes or insurance |
| Anything you might return | Until the return window closes | The window is set by the store's policy or state law, not a federal rule |
| Major appliances and other big purchases | While you own the item | FTC (2025): appliance receipts and warranty info are "keep while you own" |
| Anything under warranty | As long as the warranty lasts, kept with the warranty | FTC: the receipt proves the purchase date and that you're the original owner |
| Receipts behind a tax deduction or credit | Generally at least 3 years after you file; longer in some cases | IRS period of limitations; FTC (2025): at least three years |
| Charitable donations | With that year's tax records | IRS Publication 526: cash gifts of any amount need written proof |
| Home improvements | While you own the home, then until 3 years after the due date of the return for the year you sell | IRS Publication 523: these records set your home's basis |
Everyday receipts: done when the charge posts
For ordinary spending, a receipt has one job: letting you check the charge. Once your statement shows the right amount, that job is over. If you track a budget, a quick scan is plenty; otherwise, toss it. Receipts that show part of a card number are better shredded than thrown out whole.
The exception is anything you might take back. The FTC doesn't set a return period; stores set their own, and some states have rules about it. Keep the receipt until you're past the store's window and sure you're happy with the purchase.
Returns, disputes and refunds
If something goes wrong with a purchase, the receipt becomes evidence. The FTC's advice for sorting out a problem with a business is to gather your receipts, warranties, canceled checks, credit card statements and contracts, then "make copies of documents to give the business and keep the originals."
That's a good reason to hold on to receipts for anything pricey until it has clearly worked out, even past the return window.
Warranties and big purchases
The FTC's current list (June 2025) puts "sales receipts and warranty information for major appliances" under keep while you own. Its warranty guidance explains why: "Save your product receipt with the warranty. The receipt proves the date you bought the product and that you're the original product owner." Without the receipt, a warranty can be hard to use.
Big-purchase receipts also help with insurance. State insurance regulators suggest keeping receipts with a home inventory, so that after a fire or a burglary you can show what things cost and how old they were. One receipt can quietly back up a warranty claim, an insurance claim and a resale, so these are the ones worth scanning the day you buy.
Receipts for tax deductions
If a receipt supports a deduction or credit on your return, it becomes a tax record. Publication 17 says to keep "all receipts, canceled checks or other proof of payment" behind anything you claim, and adds a catch worth knowing: proof of payment alone doesn't prove the expense is allowable. Keep whatever shows what the payment was for, too. If you pay in cash, get a dated, signed receipt showing the amount and the reason.
How long? In the US, generally until the IRS period of limitations for that return ends: three years after filing in most cases, longer in a few. The FTC currently groups tax-related receipts under "keep for at least three years." An older FTC guide said to wait seven years before shredding tax-related receipts; that's a cautious rule of thumb, not an IRS rule. The master retention chart shows how this fits with the rest of your tax records.
Donations: the strictest receipt rules
Charitable gifts have the most specific rules of any receipt, all in IRS Publication 526:
- Any cash gift, of any amount, needs either a bank record (a canceled check, a bank or card statement) or a written receipt from the charity.
- A single gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment from the charity, and you must have it by the earlier of the day you file or the due date of the return, extensions included. Separate gifts aren't added together to reach $250.
- If you paid more than $75 for something that was partly a gift (a charity dinner, say), the charity generally must give you a written statement. Keep it.
Then keep all of it with that year's tax records.
Where to keep them
Paper receipts are a poor long-term home for anything. Many are printed on thermal paper that fades, sometimes within months, and a warranty can outlast the ink. A scan made on the day of purchase doesn't fade.
On an iPhone, the Files app works with no extra app: open Files, tap the More button, choose Scan Documents, hold the receipt in view, then tap Save and pick a folder such as "Receipts – warranties" or "Taxes 2026." How to scan receipts covers this step by step, and the best way to store receipts digitally compares the options once you have more than a handful.
Folders make you do the naming. If you'd rather skip that, Paperlock reads each receipt you save, including the store, the date and the amount, and lets you ask things like "do I still have the dishwasher receipt?" with the receipt attached to the answer. Whatever you use, the rule stays short: keep the receipts tied to a promise, a deduction or a donation, and let the rest go.