The IRS technically doesn’t require receipts for business expenses under $75, with one exception. Lodging expenses always need a receipt regardless of the amount. For anything $75 or more, you need to keep the receipt.

But here’s the catch. Even for expenses under $75, you still need adequate records. The IRS wants documentation showing the amount, date, place of purchase, and business purpose. A receipt covers all of that automatically. Without a receipt, you need some other record that proves the expense was real and business-related.

For meals and entertainment expenses, the documentation requirements are stricter. You need to record who attended, their business relationship to you, and what business was discussed. A restaurant receipt alone doesn’t cover it. You need notes about the meeting itself.

The IRS accepts digital copies of receipts. You don’t need to keep paper originals in a shoebox. Take a photo with your phone or use an app that captures and stores receipt images. The digital version is just as valid as the original and much easier to organize and retrieve later.

Keep your records for at least three years from when you filed the return claiming the deduction. If you underreported income by more than 25%, the IRS can go back six years. Seven years is safer if you want to avoid any questions.

The practical advice is to keep receipts for everything regardless of amount. Trying to remember which purchases hit the $75 threshold creates opportunities for mistakes. It takes less effort to photograph every receipt than to sort through which ones you technically need. Monthly bookkeeping runs smoother when all documentation exists from the start.

What gets business owners in trouble during audits isn’t usually missing receipts for small purchases. It’s missing receipts for the larger expenses combined with no clear business purpose documented anywhere. A $3,000 charge on your credit card statement with no receipt and no notes about what it was for raises questions you don’t want to answer.

If you’re behind on organizing your expense documentation, a Mid-Missouri bookkeeper can help you set up systems that make tracking easier going forward. The goal is capturing receipts and business purpose at the time of purchase, not reconstructing records months later when the details have faded.