How to keep receipts for Self Assessment.

What does HMRC actually expect you to keep?

HMRC does not prescribe a folder structure. It asks that your return be supported by records that show what you earned and what you spent, so the figures can be checked. In practice that means, for every expense you claim: who you paid, when, how much, and what it was for. For the self-employed that also covers sales invoices, bank and card statements, mileage, and anything you have claimed capital allowances on.

The precise list depends on whether you are self-employed, a partner, a landlord, or filing for another reason. The authoritative source is HMRC's own page on Self Assessment tax returns — read it for your situation rather than trusting any app, including this one.

How long do you have to keep them?

Two different answers, and which one applies to you matters:

• Self-employed or in a partnership — at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for that tax year.
• Not in business (employed, or filing for another reason) — at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the return is for.

Either way you are storing paper for years. That is the specific reason thermal receipts are a problem: the print fades, and a blank slip is not a record. Whatever else you do, get the image taken while the ink is still there.

Which Self Assessment dates matter?

The UK tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. Three dates follow it:

• 5 October — register for Self Assessment if this is your first year filing.
• 31 October — deadline for a paper return.
• 31 January — deadline to file online and to pay what you owe.

Receipts are a January problem only if you leave them to January. Collected as they happen, the January job is reading a total, not excavating a drawer. Confirm current dates on GOV.UK.

Do you need to keep the original paper?

Generally, no — HMRC accepts records kept digitally, provided the copy is legible and shows the same information as the original. A few categories have their own rules, so check GOV.UK before you shred anything unusual. For an ordinary expense receipt, a clear photograph plus the extracted figures is a record you can still read in five years, which is more than can be said for the paper.

A method that survives a real year

Every system that fails, fails for the same reason: it asks you to do admin later. The one that works has four properties.

• Capture at the till, not at the desk. One photograph, three seconds, while the receipt is in your hand.
• Keep the detail, not just the total. "Tesco £47.10" tells you nothing in eleven months. The line items tell you what was actually bought.
• Make it searchable. By merchant, by category, by date range — so the accountant's question takes a minute.
• Set the year boundary correctly. A UK financial year starts 6 April, not 1 January, and a tool that assumes January will hand you the wrong figures.

How Receiply does it

Receiply is built for exactly this loop. You photograph the receipt; the text is read on your device, and only that extracted text is sent to be interpreted into a merchant, date, total, category and every line item with quantities. The photo itself never leaves your phone, and there is no bank login — Receiply has no connection to your bank and never asks for one.

For a UK return, four things carry the weight. The financial year setting has a 6 April preset, so periods line up with the tax year instead of the calendar. The Vault makes every receipt searchable by merchant and category, with a filter for entries missing a photo. Projects group receipts by property, client or trip — useful if you let a flat or bill several clients. And the accountant pack exports a PDF with every receipt photo appended, which is usually the entire handover.

The free plan covers 10 scans a month and unlimited manual entries; reports, exports, projects and the accountant pack are part of Pro. Read exactly what is stored and where on the privacy page — it is written in plain English on purpose.

One thing Receiply deliberately does not do: it does not file your return, work out your tax, or decide what is allowable. It gets the evidence in order. The judgement stays with you and your accountant.

01

Does HMRC accept photos of receipts instead of the paper?

Records may be kept digitally as long as the copy is readable and shows the same information as the original. Keep the image legible and keep the figures with it. Check GOV.UK for anything unusual.

02

How long do I need to keep receipts for Self Assessment?

At least 5 years after the 31 January deadline if you are self-employed or in a partnership; at least 22 months after the end of the tax year if you are not in business.

03

What if a receipt has faded or been lost?

Recreate the record from a bank or card statement, a supplier duplicate, or an email confirmation. Better: photograph thermal receipts on the day, because the ink fades long before the retention period ends.

04

Does Receiply file my tax return?

No. Receiply organises receipts and expenses so the figures are ready when you or your accountant need them. It does not file returns, calculate tax, or decide what is allowable.