ATO Invoice Record-Keeping Requirements

The general rule: 5 years

The ATO's general record-keeping requirement is 5 years. Most business records — including tax invoices, adjustment notes, receipts and business financial records — must be kept for at least 5 years from:

The date the record was prepared or obtained, or
The date the transaction was completed (whichever is later)

The 5-year rule comes from section 262A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and from the GST legislation for tax invoices and adjustment notes. See the ATO: Records you need to keep for official guidance.

Record-keeping requirements by type

GST records (tax invoices, adjustment notes, import documents): 5 years from the date the record was prepared, obtained or the transaction was completed. This includes both the invoices you issue and the tax invoices you receive from suppliers (which you need to claim GST input tax credits).
Income tax records: 5 years from the date you lodged your income tax return for the relevant year. If you lodge late, the period runs from your actual lodgement date.
Payroll and employment records: 7 years from the date the record was created. This is longer than the general rule because payroll records can be relevant to superannuation, leave entitlements and Fair Work audits, which have their own limitation periods.
Capital gains tax (CGT) records: 5 years from the date you dispose of the asset (not the date you acquired it). For assets held for many years, this can mean records going back decades. The acquisition cost is critical for calculating a capital gain or loss.
Superannuation records: For employers: records of superannuation contributions must be kept for 5 years. For SMSF trustees, the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act requires records to be kept for 10 years in some cases.

Electronic records

The ATO accepts electronic records. You are not required to keep original paper invoices if you have a legible digital copy. The ATO's requirements for electronic records are:

The digital record must be a true and clear copy of the original
It must be legible and readable without special equipment
It must be accessible within a reasonable time if requested
Your record system must be able to produce the records in a usable format

Accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks) stores invoice records electronically in the cloud. If you use accounting software, your invoice records are generally retained automatically — confirm the retention period with your software provider.

What to do if you lose records

If you lose records due to circumstances outside your control (such as a fire, flood, hardware failure or theft), contact the ATO promptly. Under section 262A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, the ATO has the discretion to accept alternative evidence — such as bank statements, copies from suppliers or your own reconstructed records — in cases of genuine loss. Proactively engaging with the ATO when records are lost is essential; waiting until an audit is underway significantly worsens your position.

To prevent record loss:

Store electronic records in cloud storage with automatic backups
Ensure your accounting software account has a secure, accessible login
Consider a secondary backup (e.g. cloud plus an annual local backup to an external drive)

Penalties for not keeping records

Failure to keep required records is an offence under the Tax Administration Act 1953. The penalty can be up to $900 per offence (one penalty unit per offence under the current penalty unit rate — confirm the current rate with the ATO as penalty units are indexed periodically). Each missing record is a separate offence. In practice, the ATO typically issues a notice to produce records before applying penalties, but the obligation exists regardless.

Record-keeping for invoices you receive

It is not just the invoices you issue that matter. As a business, you also need to retain the tax invoices you receive from suppliers if you want to claim the GST input tax credit on those purchases. A supplier's tax invoice is your entitlement to the credit — without it, the ATO can disallow the credit on audit.

Practical record-keeping tips

Use accounting software that archives all invoices issued and received automatically
If you receive paper invoices, scan them promptly and store digitally — do not rely on paper filing systems
Name digital files consistently: [Date]-[Supplier]-[InvoiceNumber] makes retrieval straightforward
Review your record-keeping system annually — a short audit of your own records once a year prevents nasty surprises
For the invoices you issue, our invoice generator allows you to save invoices as PDFs for your records

Frequently asked questions

Can I throw away paper invoices if I've scanned them?

Generally yes. The ATO accepts electronic records, including scanned copies of paper documents, as long as the digital copy is a true and clear reproduction of the original and can be retrieved quickly if requested. You do not need to keep the original paper document once it is scanned. However, make sure your scanning process produces a legible, complete copy — blurry or incomplete scans may not be accepted.

What counts as a legible record?

A legible record is one that can be read and understood without special equipment or processes, and that clearly shows all the required information. For invoices, this means all fields are visible and readable: business name, ABN, date, description, amounts and GST. The ATO may request records at any time during an audit — records that cannot be retrieved quickly or are not legible may be treated as if they do not exist.

How do I store records securely?

For electronic records, use a reputable cloud storage provider with automatic backups (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) or accounting software that stores records in the cloud. For sensitive financial records, ensure access is restricted to authorised personnel and that the provider has appropriate security certifications. Keep at least one offsite or cloud backup — storing records only on a local hard drive risks loss in case of hardware failure, fire or theft.

What happens if I lose records?

Contact the ATO as soon as you discover the loss. Under section 262A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, the ATO may accept alternative evidence (such as bank statements or your own reconstructed records) if the original records are lost due to circumstances outside your control (fire, flood, theft). You should also contact your accountant. Proactively engaging with the ATO is always better than hoping the issue is never discovered.