A tax return takes an afternoon. The records behind it have to survive for years. KRA can query a return long after you filed it, and when it does, your explanation depends entirely on what you can produce. Records that were thrown away, faded or lost with a phone are a common reason taxpayers lose arguments they should have won. This guide covers how to keep what you need, in paper and digital form, without turning your home into an archive. Check current retention requirements with KRA; five years is the usual minimum.

What to keep

Keep anything that supports a figure on a return or a claim:

  • payslips, P9 forms and employment contracts;
  • invoices, receipts and credit notes, issued and received;
  • bank and M-Pesa statements;
  • rent agreements, rent receipts and expense records for rental property;
  • insurance, pension and mortgage statements that support reliefs;
  • tax returns, acknowledgements and payment slips;
  • correspondence with KRA;
  • purchase and sale documents for property, vehicles and shares.

How to keep business records for KRA and records every landlord should keep give fuller lists for businesses and landlords.

How long

Treat five years from the end of the year to which the record relates as the minimum. Keep records of assets, such as property and equipment, for as long as you own them, plus the retention period after you sell, because the purchase cost matters for gains and allowances. Keep anything under dispute until the matter is closed.

Paper records: what works

Paper is easy to understand and does not need a battery, but it fades, gets wet and takes space. Thermal receipts, the kind printed by till machines, fade within months, so photograph or scan them as soon as you can. Keep paper in labelled folders, one for each year, in a dry place. Store important originals such as title deeds and certificates separately and safely.

Digital records: what works

Digital copies are searchable and easy to back up, but they depend on you being organised. Scan or photograph documents at a good resolution, save them as PDF or image files and name them consistently, with the date first, such as "2026-10-12 fuel receipt 4,200". Use a folder for each year and sub-folders for income, expenses, reliefs and tax payments. How to organise your tax documents through the year describes a structure.

Use an index

An index lists each document with its date, type, amount and where it is stored. When KRA asks for a particular invoice, an index lets you find it in a minute. The receipts and invoices filing index is a ready-made layout, and the tax records checklist and document log tracks the main documents for each year.

Back up, twice

A single copy is no copy. Keep at least two backups of digital records in different places: for example, a cloud service and an external drive. Test restoring a file occasionally to be sure the backup works. A phone that is your only store of records is a risk; sync it to somewhere else.

Keep records secure

Tax records contain your PIN, your income and your account numbers. Protect devices with passwords, enable two-step verification on cloud accounts, and avoid sending sensitive documents through unsecured channels. Do not leave paper records where others can see them. If a device is lost or stolen, change your passwords and tell the relevant institutions.

Will digital copies be accepted?

Generally, clear digital copies of documents are acceptable as supporting evidence, but for some purposes original or certified copies may be needed. Keep originals of important documents where practical, and follow any specific requirements stated by KRA for your tax. For electronic invoices issued through the official system, keep the digital copy as the record; see bookkeeping in the eTIMS era.

Review once a year

At the start of each year, archive the previous year's records, check that the backups are complete and discard anything beyond the retention period that you no longer need. Shred paper that shows personal details. A yearly tidy keeps the system light.

Make it routine

The easiest habit is to file documents the same week you receive them. Ten minutes a week avoids a weekend of sorting. Records kept this way make filing your return simple, as described in a year-end compliance checklist for individuals, and they protect you if a query arrives years later.

See also tax mistakes Kenyans make and how to avoid them, what to expect in a KRA audit and separating business and personal money, which all depend on good records.