Updated November 7, 2026. Quick answer: A folder of scanned receipts can be a compliant system under Rev. Proc. 97-22, but the work is in the habits: a folder per year, a file name that carries the date and payee, a line in your books that points to each file, a copy kept somewhere else, and a regular check that the files still open. The revenue procedure’s own list of recommended practices names labeling, secure storage, backup copies, off-site storage and testing.
What the revenue procedure expects of any system
This page reads the primary sources linked under Sources, as retrieved on November 6 and 7, 2026. Revenue Procedure 97-22 is the 1997 procedure; Publication 583 is the December 2024 revision.
The full requirements are on scanned receipts and Rev. Proc. 97-22. Three of them shape a home system. Controls: “reasonable controls to ensure the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the electronic storage system”. Cross-reference: “must be cross-referenced in a manner that provides an audit trail between the general ledger and the source document(s)”. Retrieval: “The requirement to maintain an indexing system will be satisfied if the indexing system is functionally comparable to a reasonable hardcopy filing system.” The rest of this page turns those into habits.
The folder structure
The IRS advice is plain: “You should keep them in an orderly fashion and in a safe place. For instance, organize them by year and type of income or expense.” One structure that follows it is one folder per tax year, with a subfolder per month or per expense type. Pick one, write it down in a short README in the top folder, and do not change it mid-year, because a changed structure is a retrieval problem the next time you look for a receipt.
The file name
A name that sorts by date and says what the file is saves a search. This page’s pattern puts the date first in year-month-day order, then the payee, then the kind of expense, then a short note if needed. The file name is also the link back to your books.
| Example | Parts | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-14_staples_office-supplies.pdf | Date, payee, expense type | Sorts by date; the payee and type are readable without opening it |
| 2026-03-14_staples_office-supplies_printer.pdf | Adds a note | Use when two receipts share a day and payee |
| 2026-Q1_statement_checking.pdf | Period, kind, account | For statements and other period documents |
Put the same file name in a column of your spreadsheet beside the entry. That is the cross-reference the revenue procedure describes: “the information maintained in an electronic storage system and the taxpayer’s books and records must be cross-referenced in a manner that provides an audit trail between the general ledger and the source document(s)”.
Backups and the legibility check
The revenue procedure treats these as business decisions and lists them: “The implementation of records management practices is a business decision that is solely within the discretion of the taxpayer.” Its list is “Records management practices may include the labeling of electronically stored books and records, providing a secure storage environment, creating back-up copies, selecting an off-site storage location, retaining hardcopies of books or records that are illegible or that cannot be accurately or completely transferred to an electronic storage system, and testing to confirm records integrity.” For a one-person business that is a second copy in a different place, such as an external drive kept elsewhere or a second cloud folder, and a look at a few files each month. On legibility: “All books and records reproduced by the electronic storage system must exhibit a high degree of legibility and readability when displayed on a video display terminal and when reproduced in hardcopy.” Open the scan after you take it, and retake it if a number is not clear.
Keeping the files readable for years
Publication 583 carries the obligation forward: “When you replace hard copy books and records, you must maintain the electronic storage systems for as long as they are material to the administration of tax law.” The revenue procedure says what happens if the ability to read the files lapses: “Electronically stored books and records that are contained in an electronic storage system with respect to which the taxpayer ceases to maintain the hardware and the software necessary to satisfy the conditions of this revenue procedure will be deemed destroyed by the taxpayer, unless the electronically stored books and records remain available to the Service in conformity with this revenue procedure.” This page’s reading: choose a file format you can open without a particular subscription, and export what you hold in any online service to a folder you control before you stop using it.
How long to keep the files
A scan carries the same retention as the paper it replaced. The IRS default is “Keep records for 3 years if situations (4), (5), and (6) below do not apply to you.” Records for property run longer: “Keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property in a taxable disposition.” Name the folders by year so an old year can be retired on a date you can defend, and do not delete a year’s folder until its retention period is over.
A monthly routine
This is the routine as a checklist; the schedule is this page’s suggestion, and the items come from the passages above.
| Task | How often | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Scan or photograph each receipt | When you get it | Legibility |
| Name and file it, and add the name to the entry in your books | Same day or weekly | Cross-reference |
| Open three files at random | Each month | Testing, readability |
| Copy the month’s folder to the second location | Each month | Backup, off-site |
| Keep paper for anything unclear or faded | As needed | Hardcopy retention |
Common mistakes
- Scanning receipts into a phone gallery with no folder structure and no link to the books.
- Keeping the only copy on one device or one account.
- Throwing away a faded thermal receipt after a scan you did not look at.
- Changing the folder or naming scheme part-way through a year.
Related: scanned receipts and Rev. Proc. 97-22, IRS receipt rules for business expenses, and Receipts and Expense Records for a One-Person Business.
Sources
- Rev. Proc. 97-22, Retention of books and records (electronic storage systems)
- IRS Publication 583 (Rev. December 2024), Starting a Business and Keeping Records
- IRS, What kind of records should I keep
- IRS, How long should I keep records
Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.