Digitize Your Receipts!
- andyroed
- May 18
- 2 min read
When it comes to IRS audits, one of the most common reasons taxpayers lose deductions is the lack of proper documentation.
While your credit card or bank statements prove you spent money, they don’t show what you purchased. Without supporting receipts or invoices, these records are considered “naked”—and during an audit, that’s a problem.
To fully protect your deductions, especially for business-related expenses such as meals, travel, vehicle use, and gifts, you need to keep receipts that document five key facts:
The Date,
The Amount,
The Place,
The Business Purpose
The Business Relationship.
The best way to do this is by capturing digital copies of your receipts. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever. Using your smartphone, you can snap a photo of your receipt and store it securely using apps such as Shoeboxed, Expensify, Zoho Expense, Google Drive and many others. These tools often let you add notes, categorize expenses, and sync directly with accounting software.
Why go digital? Paper receipts fade—especially those printed on thermal paper. Digitizing them ensures they’re legible and accessible when needed, whether for year-end tax preparation or an unexpected audit.
Taking a few seconds now to scan or photograph each receipt can save you time, stress, and potential lost deductions later.
Resources
I hope you found this article helpful. If you are looking for a great resource regarding the tax and finance side of your business I recommend you check out the Taxes for Travel Agent Digital Course as well as wealth of other resources at the Taxes for Travel Agents website.
Also feel free to join our Facebook community Taxes for Travel Agents.
Andrew Roed, EA
Taxes for Travel Agents, LLC
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