How do you scan receipts for taxes?

How to scan receipts on iPhone, step by step

You can scan receipts on iPhone without installing anything. Apple's support page (February 2026) shows the scanner in two built-in apps: Notes, through the Attachment button, and Files, through the More button. Both use the same steps, and a scanner app works the same way.

• Flatten it. Smooth out the folds and lay the receipt on a plain, darker surface in even light, with no shadow across the print.
• Open the scanner. In Notes, open a note, tap the Attachment button (a paperclip), then Scan Documents. In Files, tap More, then Scan Documents.
• Capture it. In Auto mode the iPhone scans by itself when the page is in view. Otherwise press the shutter, drag the corners to fit the receipt and tap Keep Scan.
• Check it. Zoom in before you save. The payee, date, total and items must be readable. If a digit is blurred, scan it again.
• Save it. In Notes, tap Done and the scan stays in the note. In Files, choose a location, such as a folder for the tax year, then tap Save.
• Long receipts. Scan a long receipt in overlapping parts, as pages of the same document. One shot of the whole strip shrinks the text until the numbers are hard to read.

Will the IRS accept scanned receipts?

Yes, if the scan is legible and complete. On its page about what records to keep, the IRS writes that all requirements that apply to hard copy books and records also apply to electronic records. A scan is a record like the paper, and it has to show the same details.

Publication 583 (revised December 2024) adds that an electronic storage system must index, store, preserve, retrieve and reproduce records in legible format. For details it points to Rev. Proc. 97-22, an IRS revenue procedure from 1997.

Rev. Proc. 97-22 defines legibility: the observer must be able to identify all letters and numerals positively and quickly. A blurred photo of a faded receipt fails that test, and a sharp scan where every digit reads clearly passes it. None of these IRS pages mentions phones, so the test is the result on screen, not the device that made it.

What does a receipt need to show for the IRS?

The IRS lists the details that supporting documents should identify, on its page What kind of records should I keep. Till roll receipts, credit card receipts and statements, and invoices all count, and a combination of documents may be needed to cover every detail. Your scan has to keep each of them readable.

Sources: IRS, What kind of records should I keep, updated 3 August 2026; IRS, Publication 463, 2025 edition.

Which receipts do you need to keep for taxes?

Receipts matter when they support a figure on your return: a business cost, business travel or a donation. For travel, gift and car expenses, Publication 463 (2025) calls a receipt or paid bill documentary evidence. It says you can't deduct amounts that you approximate or estimate.

Example from Publication 463's rules: on a business trip paid without a per diem allowance, a $60 hotel bill needs a receipt, because lodging has no dollar threshold. A $60 taxi ride needs no documentary evidence, because it is under $75 and not lodging. You still keep a written record of the ride: amount, date, place and business purpose.

Sources: IRS, What kind of records should I keep; IRS, Publication 463, 2025 edition; IRS, Topic no. 506, updated 24 September 2026.

Can you throw away the paper after scanning?

The IRS allows it only under conditions. Publication 583 says original hard copy records may be destroyed provided the electronic storage system has been tested and procedures keep it compliant. Rev. Proc. 97-22 sets the same two conditions: the taxpayer has tested the system and set up procedures for continued compliance.

Neither text says whether a phone scan meets that test. For a few receipts a year, the careful choice is simple: keep the originals that matter, and treat the scan as a copy you can find. If you run a business with many receipts, the person who prepares your return can tell you what your records need.

How long should you keep scanned receipts?

Keep a scan as long as you would keep the paper, because the IRS applies the same requirements to electronic records. On its page How long should I keep records? (updated 30 June 2026), the IRS gives 3 years in general.

The period is longer in the cases the IRS lists: 6 years if you leave out income that is more than 25% of the gross income on your return, 7 years for a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction, and indefinitely if you file no return or a fraudulent one. Our list of how long to keep documents covers bills, statements and other papers.

How should you name and file receipt scans?

A receipt helps only if you can find it years later. A simple method: one folder per tax year, and a name with the payee, the date and the amount, such as Hardware shop, 3 March 2026, $48.20. For business travel and meals, add the business purpose to the name or a note, since Publication 463 asks for it.

PaginaScan is a document scanner for iPhone and iPad. When you scan a receipt, it suggests a name and a folder, and shows the total and any due dates as cards you can copy or add to your calendar. Search finds a receipt by the words printed on it, and you can copy text from a scan.

Keep this year's receipts in one folder

Make one folder for this tax year and scan each receipt the day you get it, before the print fades or the paper gets lost. The free version of PaginaScan includes up to 3 folders of your own, with no account. Start with how to scan a document in PaginaScan. Suggestions and cards need a device with Apple Intelligence.

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