Receipts are the normal proof for a deduction, and both the IRS and the CRA can disallow a claim you can't support. But a receipt isn't the only record they accept. Some deductions are flat amounts that need no expense receipts at all, some accept a log instead, and a lost receipt can sometimes be replaced by other evidence. None of these rules lets you claim an amount you can't show you spent or are entitled to.
US deductions that need no expense receipts
- The standard deduction. Most individual filers take it instead of itemizing. It is a set amount based on filing status, and there are no expenses to prove.
- The standard mileage rate. Instead of keeping receipts for gas, repairs and insurance, a business owner can multiply business miles by the IRS rate: 70 cents a mile for 2025 (our IRS mileage rate page has the current figure). You still need a record of the business miles for each use and the total miles for the year. The mileage log replaces the receipts, not the records.
- The simplified home office method. You claim $5 per square foot of the area used regularly and exclusively for business, up to 300 square feet. The IRS describes it as an alternative to calculating and substantiating actual expenses. You still need to be able to show that the space qualifies and how big it is.
- Standard meal allowance. A self-employed person travelling away from home overnight can deduct the federal meal and incidental rate for each day instead of keeping meal receipts, and someone with no meal costs on a day can claim $5 a day for incidental expenses. Meals are still generally limited to 50%. There is no standard amount for lodging: the hotel is deducted at its actual cost, with the bill. You still need to prove the time, place and business purpose of the trip.
The IRS $75 rule
IRS Publication 463 says you generally need documentary evidence, such as receipts, canceled checks or bills, to support travel, gift and car expenses. It makes three exceptions. You don't need documentary evidence for:
- an expense, other than lodging, of less than $75;
- a transportation expense for which a receipt isn't readily available;
- meals or lodging covered by a per diem allowance when you account to your employer under an accountable plan.
The exception covers the receipt, not the record. You still need to write down the amount, date, place and business purpose, usually in a log or diary kept at or near the time. And the publication is explicit that you can't deduct amounts that you approximate or estimate.
Canada: the simplified method and allowances
The CRA's general rule is that you keep records, with supporting documents such as receipts and invoices, for what you claim, and claims your records don't back up could be disallowed. The flat-rate options are narrower than in the US.
- The simplified method for meals and vehicle costs. For the travel costs you claim as moving expenses, medical expenses or northern residents deductions, you can claim a flat $23 per meal, up to $69 a day, for the 2025 tax year, without receipts. Vehicle costs for the same claims can be calculated at a flat per-kilometre rate. The CRA notes that it may still ask for some documentation to support the claim.
- Reasonable allowances from your employer. When an employer pays a reasonable, non-taxable travel allowance, the allowance covers the costs, and the employee generally doesn't claim them on their own return.
Self-employed people have no flat-rate method for business expenses on Form T2125. The CRA says you can deduct motor vehicle expenses only when they are reasonable and you have receipts to support them, and it calls an accurate logbook of business travel kept for the entire year the best evidence of business use. Home office costs are claimed as the business share of actual expenses.
If you lost the receipt
A missing receipt doesn't automatically cost you the deduction, but something has to take its place.
- Get a copy. Many merchants can reprint or resend a receipt, online orders keep it in your account, and suppliers can reissue an invoice. Our receipt guides show where to find the common ones.
- Combine other evidence. A bank or card statement proves that you paid and how much, but not what you bought. Together with an order confirmation, a contract or a calendar entry, it can show the rest. When records are incomplete, Publication 463 accepts your own written statement with specific information about the expense, together with other supporting evidence.
- Reconstruct after a disaster. If records were lost through circumstances beyond your control, such as a fire or flood, the IRS lets you prove a deduction by reconstructing your records or expenses.
What doesn't exist
There is no general amount of small expenses you can claim without proof, on either side of the border. The $75 rule removes the receipt, not the record, and the Canadian simplified method only covers the claims it names. Sales tax credits are stricter still: a GST/HST input tax credit needs supporting documents with the information the CRA requires, such as the supplier's GST/HST number on purchases of $100 or more, and a card statement doesn't show it.
Keep the receipt when you pay
Almost every exception above still asks for some record, and the easiest record to defend is the original receipt, kept when you paid. Smartbills keeps them in one place without extra filing: email receipt capture picks up receipts and invoices from your inbox, bill fetching downloads bills from supplier portals, the Smartbills app photographs paper receipts before they fade, and expense reports work out mileage for each trip.