Lost Receipts? Your Survival Guide for the 4-Year Retention Rule
The dog ate your fuel receipts? Here is what to do. We cover the strict 4-year retention rule and why credit card statements aren't enough.
The 4-Year Mountain of Paper
IFTA regulations require you to maintain your fuel and mileage records for four years from the filing date. For a single truck, that's thousands of receipts. If you are keeping them in a shoebox, you are playing with fire.
What Counts as Valid Proof?
If you lose a receipt, you can't just download your credit card statement. Auditors generally reject credit card statements because they lack detail. A valid IFTA record must show:
- Date of purchase
- Seller's name and address
- Number of gallons purchased
- Fuel type
- Price per gallon
- Unit number of the vehicle
The Consequence of Lost Records
If you claim a fuel purchase but can't produce the receipt during an audit, the auditor will disallow the tax credit.
This means you effectively pay tax twice: once at the pump, and again to the state because you couldn't prove you paid it the first time.
Scan It, Trash It, Forget It: FastIFTA's AI Receipt Scanner isn't just for convenience—it's your digital vault. We extract the data and store the image securely in the cloud. Even if you lose the paper copy, you have a digital original that satisfies the 4-year rule.