The IRS accepts digital copies. Keep them organized and the how-long question mostly answers itself.
The rules
- 3 years from filing: the default for returns and the records behind them.
- 6 years: if you underreported income by more than 25%.
- 7 years: records for a bad-debt or worthless-security deduction.
- 4 years: employment tax records after the tax is due or paid.
- Indefinitely: records of property and equipment until the limitation period ends for the year you dispose of it; and everything, if you never filed.
Digital is fine
Scanned receipts and downloaded statements satisfy the IRS as long as they are legible and retrievable. Documents uploaded to ProfitBooks are stored with the transaction they support, which is the retrieval the IRS means.
Practical rule
Keep everything for seven years, in the app. Storage is free and the shoebox is not.