How long do you need to keep receipts and records for SARS?

The short answer: five years. SARS requires you to keep the records that support a tax return for at least five years from the date you submit that return. If you are a freelancer, sole proprietor, or small business in South Africa, that rule covers your receipts, invoices, bank statements, and anything else you used to work out the numbers.

The longer answer has a few wrinkles that catch people out, especially around when the five years actually starts and what happens if SARS opens an audit. This guide covers both.

What does the five-year rule actually say?

The legal source is the Tax Administration Act (TAA). The headline:

• You must retain records for five years from the date of submission of the return they relate to.
• The records must be kept in their original form, or in a form that lets SARS reconstruct the transaction. A clear photo or scan is acceptable.
• Records must be readily accessible if SARS asks for them.

So if you submit your 2026 tax return in October 2026, you keep the receipts behind it until at least October 2031.

When does the clock reset or extend?

This is the part people miss. The five years is not always a clean five years.

• If you are late filing, the clock starts from the date you actually submit, not the due date. File three years late and you are keeping records for eight years in practice.
• If SARS audits you or you lodge an objection, you must keep the records until that audit, objection, or appeal is fully resolved, even if that runs past the five-year mark.
• If you have not submitted a return you were required to submit, the obligation to keep the underlying records does not lapse.

What counts as a record?

A "record" is anything that substantiates a figure on your return. For a typical SA freelancer or small business that means:

• Receipts and tax invoices for expenses you deducted
• Invoices you issued to clients
• Bank and credit card statements
• Contracts and agreements
• A logbook, if you claimed vehicle expenses
• VAT records, if you are registered for VAT

A bank statement on its own is usually not enough. It shows that money moved, not what was bought or whether VAT was charged. The receipt or tax invoice is what closes that gap. For more on what SARS expects from a freelancer specifically, see how to track receipts for SARS.

The real problem: thermal slips fade

Most South African till slips are printed on thermal paper. Left in a wallet or a shoebox, they fade to blank within months, well inside the five-year window you are obliged to keep them. A faded slip that nobody can read is, for audit purposes, the same as no slip at all.

This is why "keep your receipts for five years" quietly fails for so many people. They keep the paper. The paper just stops being readable.

The fix is to capture each slip as a clear digital copy the moment you get it. SARS accepts a photograph of a receipt as long as it is legible and unaltered, and a photo taken on the day is usually far more readable than the original thermal slip a year later.

How to store receipts so they survive

1. Photograph each slip the day you get it, before it fades or goes through the wash.
2. Store the image somewhere durable, with the date and merchant attached, so you can find it five years later.
3. Keep the structured data too: merchant, date, total, and the 15% VAT, so you are not re-reading photos at year-end.
4. Export a backup (a CSV or a ZIP of the images) at the end of each tax year and keep it with your filed return.

This is exactly what Snap-a-Slip is built to do. You photograph a slip on WhatsApp, it stores the image and pulls out the merchant, total, date, and 15% VAT, and you can download a CSV or a ZIP of every original photo for any period. When SARS asks for proof of a deduction from three years ago, it is one export away.

The bottom line

Keep your tax records for five years from the date you file, longer if SARS is auditing or you are under objection. The obligation is on the paper, but the paper fades, so the practical answer is to keep clear digital copies from day one. Do that and the five-year rule stops being a risk and becomes a non-event.

Ready to stop losing slips to the shoebox? Start on WhatsApp and snap your first receipt free.