When you operate a business or are required to deduct, withhold or collect an amount under tax legislation, you have to keep registers and documents supporting the information in them. The supporting documents must be kept at your establishment, your residence or any other location designated and authorized by us. The registers and documents must contain all the information required to enable us to verify the amounts you pay employees (that is, the amounts on which your source deductions and employer contributions are based). We must also be able to access these documents if we audit you.

How long registers and supporting documents must be kept

As a rule, registers and supporting documents must be kept for six years after the last year to which they relate. 

Registers and supporting documents kept on an electronic or computer medium must be kept in an intelligible form on the same medium for six years after the last year to which they relate. You must take the necessary steps to ensure and maintain their integrity throughout this period.

Authorization to destroy registers and supporting documents

We can authorize you to destroy documents before the six-year period has expired if you send us a signed, written request containing the following information:

• a precise description of the documents to be destroyed
• the period(s) covered by the request
• any other pertinent information