Many newly arrived Ukrainians in Edmonton often struggle with understanding how to organize and store their tax documents. Some think, “If I've paid everything and filed my return, I can throw the documents away.” Others keep folders full of papers without understanding what is necessary and what can be safely discarded. In fact, proper organization of documents is not just about neatness, it is about protecting yourself from shortcomings and misunderstandings with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in the event of an audit or reassessment. If the CRA decides to conduct an audit, check your expenses, or review certain aspects of your return, the absence of the necessary documents may result in you losing your supplementary income, being unable to prove your expenses, and finding yourself in a worse position than if you had the evidence on hand. In this article, we will discuss what documents you need to keep, how long you need to keep them, how to organize them, and the safest ways to do so.
Six years is the golden rule, but not always
When people talk about tax documents, you often hear the number six. This is indeed the basic rule in Canada, established by law. According to CRA requirements, you must keep all records and supporting documents necessary to determine your tax obligations and entitlement to benefits for six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate. For example, if you filed your 2024 return in April 2025, the six years start from December 31, 2024, not from the date of filing. This means that you must keep all documents relating to 2024 until the end of 2030 inclusive.
However, it is important to understand that this figure is not set in stone. The CRA has the right to require you to keep documents for longer than six years if there are reasons to do so. If they initiate an audit, they will officially notify you of how long you need to keep the materials for that particular case. Some documents are required by law to be kept for much longer. For example, if you had any shareholder loan agreements or purchased real estate, you must keep the documents for these assets for life, or at least as long as you own them, plus six years after their sale. Capital assets, such as real estate in Ukraine that you have sold, must be kept for at least six years after the sale, as the CRA needs to verify the calculation of capital gains.
What exactly do you need to keep?
Back to basics: The CRA requires documents that allow you to show how you calculated your income, expenses, and all tax credits you are claiming. For someone who receives a salary from an employer, this means T4 slips, bank statements, and withholding receipts. For someone who is self-employed as a sole proprietor in Ukraine from Edmonton, this means all invoices from clients, receipts for everything you spent on running your business, bank statements, records of sea voyages, licenses, and any contracts.
More specifically, the list of documents to keep includes T4s, T5s, RRSP slips, and any other income slips; bank and credit card statements; all receipts and invoices; checks and payment documents; contracts and agreements with counterparties; documents relating to capital assets (so-called “capital cost allowance” records for businesses, documents on the purchase and sale of real estate); records of contributions to RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs; documents on charitable contributions and donations with receipts; certificates of paid education expenses; payroll records and tax withholding records if you are an employer; all letters from the CRA, including assessment notices, reassessment letters, and requests for information; records of foreign property ownership if its value exceeds $100,000; documents related to business expenses, including travel expenses, food and entertainment expenses, car expenses (here you need special records of total mileage and mileage for business purposes); records of rent and utilities if you are claiming “home office” expenses.
Newly arrived Ukrainians often have questions about documents relating to income earned in Ukraine before arriving in Edmonton. Here's the complication: if you earned income from self-employment in Ukraine before becoming a Canadian tax resident (i.e., before establishing “close ties” with the country), these documents are less critical. However, if you received income from Ukraine while you were already in Canada as a tax resident, the CRA will consider this income as part of your worldwide income. In this case, you must have proof of these receipts, including statements from a Ukrainian bank, invoices from clients, records of completed projects, and payments.
Organization: simplicity over complexity
There is no need for a complex or overly sophisticated document organization system. In fact, the simplest plan is often the most practical. Choose years or tax quarters as your basic unit of organization. For each tax year (or for self-employed individuals, for each quarter), create a separate folder or box. Inside that folder, create subfolders by category: income slips, expenses, bank documents, donations, RRSP contributions, other evidence. If you run a business or are self-employed, accurate organization of business expenses is critical. Divide your expenses into categories, such as equipment expenses, material expenses, telephone and internet expenses, travel expenses, food and entertainment expenses, and rental expenses. This not only makes auditing easier, but also helps you understand where your money is going and plan your expenses for the next year.
Paper vs. electronic: electronic wins
In the twenty-fifth century, there's no point in storing heavy boxes of paper documents in a small apartment in Edmonton, especially when you have children, couches, kitchens, and small bedrooms. Digital tax document organization systems are much more practical, much safer, and in fact, the CRA recognizes them as completely legitimate.
The CRA allows you to store documents in electronic format, but there are a few requirements. First, the documents must be readable and accessible. If you have scanned your paper receipts into PDFs, that's great, but make sure the scans are high quality and clear. Second, the documents must remain in Canada, accessible to an auditor. This means that the documents must be stored on a Canadian server or at least on a device that is physically located in Canada. Cloud solutions such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive with a Canadian account are perfectly fine. Third, if you have electronic files, you need to keep backups. If your computer or external hard drive crashes and you don't have a backup, you'll have a problem.
Practical system: Scan important documents on the day you receive them. For receipts from stores or invoices from suppliers, this ensures that you don't have to hunt for documents when they start to fall apart from age. Name files sequentially, including the date, document type, and description. For example: “2025-03-15_Receipt_Staples_Office_Supplies_CAN45.pdf.” Organize your folders on your hard drive by year, then by category. Don't forget to back up your files: set up automatic backups via Google Backup and Sync, Time Machine (if you have a Mac), or simply copy your folders to an external hard drive once a month.
Documents that can be deleted earlier (but with permission)
If you have an unusual situation where you really need to delete documents earlier than six years, you can request written permission from the CRA. To do this, you need to fill out form T137 “Request for Destruction of Books and Records” and send it to your local tax office. It is important to note that if you delete documents without this permission, it can have serious consequences, including criminal prosecution for deleting records that the CRA requests. However, if you have received a clearance certificate from the CRA as the representative of a deceased taxpayer, you may destroy the documents after receiving this certificate. The form for this is called TX19 “Asking for a Clearance Certificate”.
Special documents for new Ukrainian arrivals
For people arriving from Ukraine, there are some specific documents that should be kept with special care. If you received a one-time benefit from the CRA upon arrival ($3,000 for adults, $1,500 for children), the most important thing is to keep all documents that show the date of your arrival in Canada. This could be a copy of your passport stamp, work permit approval letter, or letters from IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) showing your date of arrival. These documents are critical if the CRA ever asks whether you were actually a tax resident of Canada during the period when you received the assistance.
If you owned property in Ukraine before arriving in Edmonton or have property that you rent out, organize and keep all documents related to this property separately. This includes: the purchase and sale agreement, property registration documents, lease agreements (if you are renting it out), rent receipt statements, documents about repairs made, and property maintenance expenses. If the value of this property exceeds $100,000 CAD, you have an additional requirement: to submit Form T1135 (Foreign Income Verification Statement) to the CRA. Without documents showing the value of this property and the calculated rent, it will be very difficult for you to complete this form correctly.
If you sold real estate in Ukraine while living in Canada, this creates an opportunity for capital gains. Keep the original purchase agreement, sales agreement, documents on capital expenditures on real estate (extensions, repairs that increased the value), and statements of taxes paid in Ukraine from this sale. Documents must be kept for at least six years after the year of sale.
Protection against loss and risk
Many Ukrainians in Edmonton are concerned about the safety of their physical documents, especially given the temperature fluctuations and humidity in some storage facilities. If you still keep paper documents, store them in a dry place, in fireproof boxes or portable files. However, it is better to invest time in scanning these documents and creating digital backups. If scanning seems difficult, you can outsource it to specialized services that can scan large volumes of documents for a reasonable fee.
For digital files, set a strong password on your computer and enforce two-step authentication for cloud service accounts. If you have confidential information, do not share your Google Drive or other cloud account password with family members unless necessary.
Conclusion
Properly storing tax documents is not rocket science, but it does require discipline and planning. Six years of storage for most documents is the standard, with some exceptions for long-term assets. Digital organization systems, with good folder structure and backups, are much more practical than accumulating paper boxes in a closet. If the CRA ever inquires about your expenses or income, well-organized documents will show that you are a conscientious taxpayer who takes your affairs seriously. This not only protects you from penalties or reassessments, but also allows you to respond quickly and confidently to inquiries. For new Ukrainian immigrants in Edmonton who are still adapting to the Canadian system, this is another area where following the rules and being organized will give you peace of mind.