Sales Receipts: What to Put on Them, How to Show Sales Tax and How Long to Keep Them

Every sale your business makes should leave a paper or digital trail, and for most counter, online and on-the-spot sales that trail starts with the sales receipt. It's proof for the customer that they paid, and proof for you, the IRS and your state tax agency of what you sold and what tax you collected. This guide is for US shop owners, restaurants, market vendors, service businesses and online sellers. It covers what a receipt should show, how a receipt differs from an invoice, how Texas, New York and California want sales tax displayed, the federal card-number rule, digital and emailed receipts, and how long to keep the records, with worked examples in dollars.

Quick answer

A sales receipt confirms a sale was paid for. Show your business name and address, the date, a receipt number, each item with quantity and price, the subtotal, sales tax (separately, in most states), the total, and the payment method, masking card numbers to the last the last 5 digits at most. Keep your copies or register records for at least 3 years for the IRS, and longer if your state's sales tax audit period requires it.

• Receipt = proof of payment; invoice = request for payment

• New York: tax must be separately stated on any receipt you give

• Texas: separate the tax, or give a tax-included statement and post a sign

• Printed card receipts: no more than the last 5 digits and no expiration date

• Emailed receipts are fine; keep marketing out of them to stay a transactional message

What a sales receipt is and why it matters

A sales receipt records a completed, paid sale. The customer hands over cash, taps a card or pays online, and the receipt shows what they bought and what they paid. That makes it different from an invoice, which asks a customer to pay an amount that's still owed, and from a quote or proforma invoice, which describe a sale that hasn't happened yet. If a customer later pays an invoice, you can issue a separate payment receipt referencing the invoice number; our guide on how to make an invoice covers that side.

For the customer, a receipt is proof of purchase for returns, warranties and expense claims. For your business, the receipt and the register or point-of-sale record behind it are core tax records. IRS Publication 583 lists cash register tapes, bank deposit slips, receipt books, invoices and credit card charge slips among the documents that show the amounts and sources of your gross receipts. If you're ever examined, those records are how you prove that the income on your return is complete and that the sales tax you collected matches what you remitted.

No federal law requires a business to hand every customer a receipt, and practices vary by industry. But many states require sellers to show sales tax on the receipts they do give, card networks and payment processors set their own receipt requirements for card transactions, and customers increasingly expect one. In practice, offering a receipt on every sale, printed or digital, is the default.

Sales receipt vs invoice vs payment receipt

	Sales receipt	Invoice	Payment receipt
When issued	At the time of a paid sale	After delivery, before payment	When an invoice is paid
Says	You bought this and paid	You owe this by the due date	We received your payment for invoice #
Typical users	Retail, restaurants, online checkout, market stalls	B2B, contractors, professional services	Any business that invoices
Tax role	Supports gross receipts and sales tax collected	Supports accounts receivable and sales	Links cash to the invoice

When issued

Sales receipt

At the time of a paid sale

Invoice

After delivery, before payment

Payment receipt

When an invoice is paid

Says

Sales receipt

You bought this and paid

Invoice

You owe this by the due date

Payment receipt

We received your payment for invoice #

Typical users

Sales receipt

Retail, restaurants, online checkout, market stalls

Invoice

B2B, contractors, professional services

Payment receipt

Any business that invoices

Tax role

Sales receipt

Supports gross receipts and sales tax collected

Invoice

Supports accounts receivable and sales

Payment receipt

Links cash to the invoice

What to put on a sales receipt

A complete receipt answers the questions a customer, an auditor or a returns clerk will ask: who sold it, what was sold, when, for how much, with what tax, and how it was paid. Most point-of-sale systems print these fields automatically, but check yours, especially the tax lines and card masking. If you write receipts by hand or from a template, our receipt generator lays them out for you.

Put these on every sales receipt

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• Business legal name or DBA, address and phone or website
• Sales tax permit number if your state expects it on receipts
• Date and time of the sale
• Unique receipt or transaction number
• Each item or service: description, quantity, unit price and line total
• Discounts and coupons as separate lines
• Subtotal of taxable and non-taxable items
• Sales tax amount (and rate), unless you use a permitted tax-included method
• Total paid
• Payment method: cash (with tendered and change), card (last digits only), check or app
• Return or refund policy, or where to find it
• Cashier or register ID for internal tracking

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A few fields deserve a closer look. Receipt numbers should be unique and sequential, like invoice numbers, so gaps show up and voids are traceable. If you void a transaction, keep the voided record rather than deleting it. Discounts should appear as their own lines, because sales tax is generally calculated on the price after a store discount, and a separate line makes the tax math checkable. Payment details matter for reconciliations: a cash receipt that shows the amount tendered and the change given helps you prove your cash drawer at the end of the day, which is exactly the daily cash summary Publication 583 uses in its sample records.

How to show sales tax on a receipt

Sales tax is set by states and local governments, so the receipt rules differ by state. The safest default everywhere is to show the tax as a separate line with the rate. Three large states illustrate the range of rules you'll meet.

New York is strict. Tax Bulletin ST-860 says you must separately state the total amount of sales tax due on any receipt or invoice you give a customer. The state rate is 4%, and local rates are added on top, so the line on the receipt should reflect the combined rate for the place of sale.

Texas requires a separate statement too, but offers an alternative. According to the Texas Comptroller, you must separately state the sales tax you charge unless you both give the customer a written statement that "Texas state and local sales and use tax is included in the sales price" and prominently display a sign saying the same thing. The state rate is 6.25%, and combined state and local rates reach 8.25%. Our Texas sales tax guide covers local rates and permits.

California handles it through presumptions. Under CDTFA Regulation 1700, when sales tax reimbursement is shown on the sales check or other proof of sale, the parties are presumed to have agreed to add tax to the price. If a retailer instead wants to price tax-inclusive, the regulation presumes the price includes tax when a notice is posted on the premises, on the price tag or in advertising, such as "All prices of taxable items include sales tax reimbursement computed to the nearest mill." The state rate is 7.25% before district taxes; see our California sales tax guide.

Other states have their own rules, so check your state revenue department's guidance before you switch to tax-inclusive prices. Tax-included pricing is popular at farmers markets, food trucks and events because round numbers speed up cash handling, but it only works if you follow the state's statement or signage rules and still report the tax correctly. The sales tax calculator and our guide to how to calculate sales tax help with the arithmetic.

Worked examples

A taxable sale with a separate tax line. A gift shop in Austin, Texas sells a soy candle at $24.00 and a stoneware mug at $16.00. The combined state and local rate at the shop is 8.25%. The receipt shows a subtotal of $40.00, sales tax at 8.25% of $3.30 and a total of $43.30. The customer pays $50.00 cash, and the receipt shows $6.70 change. At the end of the day, this receipt is one line in the register's daily summary: $40.00 of taxable sales and $3.30 of tax collected, which feed the shop's sales tax return and its gross receipts.

Tax-included pricing at a market stall. A Texas vendor at a weekend market prices every jar of salsa at $10.00, tax included, and displays the required sign and statement. The vendor still owes tax on each sale, worked out by backing it out of the price: $10.00 ÷ 1.0825 = $9.24 of sales price and $0.76 of tax. If the vendor sells 150 jars in a weekend, $1,500.00 of takings is $1,385.68 of sales and $114.32 of tax to report. Many prepared foods have special tax rules, so a real food vendor should confirm which of its products are taxable at all; the arithmetic here shows how backing out tax works for an item that is.

A mixed sale. A hardware store sells a taxable item and a delivery charge on one receipt. Whether delivery is taxable depends on the state and on how it's billed, so the receipt should show the delivery charge as its own line, apply tax only where the state requires it, and show separate taxable and non-taxable subtotals. That way the customer, and an auditor, can see exactly what the tax was calculated on.

Receipt numbers to know (2026)

the last 5 digits

Most card digits allowed on a printed customer receipt

and no expiration date

3 years

General IRS record retention

from filing the return

four years

Texas sales tax record retention

$75

Buyer's travel, gift and transport expenses below this need no receipt

except lodging; IRS Pub. 463

Card payments and the truncation rule

If you accept credit or debit cards, federal law limits what your printed receipts can show. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g), a business that accepts cards may not print more than the last 5 digits of the card number, or the expiration date, on any receipt it provides to the cardholder at the point of sale or transaction. The rule applies to electronically printed receipts; it doesn't apply when the card number is recorded only by handwriting or by an imprint or copy of the card. The phase-in periods for older equipment ended years ago, so every card terminal in service today must comply.

Most modern point-of-sale systems mask card numbers automatically, but older terminals, custom-built systems and some receipt reprints have been known to print too much. Check a printed receipt from each register and each reprint function. Violations can lead to private lawsuits as well as government enforcement, so this is worth five minutes of testing. Even where the statute doesn't strictly apply, for example on a handwritten receipt or an emailed one, the practical rule is the same: never show more than the last four or five digits, and never show the expiration date or security code.

Digital and emailed receipts

There's no federal requirement that receipts be on paper, and many customers now prefer an emailed or texted receipt. Digital receipts raise two questions: whether they're good enough as tax records, and whether they're governed by email marketing law.

On the records side, the IRS accepts electronic records. Publication 583 says businesses can keep records in an electronic storage system, by imaging paper or transferring records to electronic media, if the system can index, store, preserve, retrieve and reproduce them in legible form, and that the original paper may be destroyed once the system has been tested to show it reproduces records accurately. The detailed requirements are in Revenue Procedure 97-22. For a small business, that means a POS or accounting system that keeps every transaction, exports cleanly and is backed up, plus a policy for scanning any paper receipts you still issue or receive.

On the email side, the Federal Trade Commission's CAN-SPAM guide treats messages whose primary purpose is transactional or relationship content, such as receipts and order confirmations, as largely exempt from the Act. The main rule that still applies is that routing information, including the From, To and Reply-To fields and the originating domain, must not be false or misleading. If you add marketing to a receipt email, the message can be treated as commercial, and then it must meet all of CAN-SPAM's requirements, including an opt-out mechanism. The FTC says penalties can reach $53,088 per violation. Keep promotions to a small, clearly secondary section, or send them separately.

Ask before collecting an email or phone number for a receipt, keep the digital receipt identical to the printed one, including the tax line, and link refund receipts to the original receipt number.

How long to keep sales receipts and register records

The IRS's general rule is to keep records that support items on your return for 3 years from the date you filed it. The period is 6 years if you don't report income that you should have and it's more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return, 7 years if you claim a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction, and indefinitely if you don't file or file a fraudulent return. Employment tax records must be kept for at least 4 years.

State sales tax rules can push the period longer. Texas, for example, expects sales tax records, including resale certificates, to be kept for four years, and New York requires exemption certificates to be kept for three years after the due date of the last return the certificate relates to. Because a state audit can reach back further than the IRS's general period, many small businesses keep all sales records, including daily register summaries, card settlement reports and receipt copies, for seven years. Electronic storage makes that cheap.

What you keep matters as much as how long. The receipt itself is only part of the record. Keep the register's daily summary or Z-report, the card processor's settlement statements, bank deposit records and any void or refund logs. Together they show that every sale was recorded and every dollar banked. If your card and app payments are reported to the IRS on Form 1099-K, which payment platforms issue once you pass $20,000 and more than 200 transactions in a year, your own sales records are how you reconcile those figures; our Form 1099-K guide explains the reporting.

Receipts you receive as a buyer

Your business also collects receipts from suppliers, restaurants, hotels and stores. IRS Publication 463 says you generally need documentary evidence such as receipts, canceled checks or bills to support travel, gift and car expenses, but not for an expense, other than lodging, that's less than $75, or for a transportation expense where a receipt isn't readily available. You still need a written record of those smaller expenses showing the amount, date, place and business purpose. Adequate evidence generally shows the amount, date, place and essential character of the expense, so a good sales receipt from your supplier ticks most of those boxes on its own.

Common sales receipt mistakes

Avoid these receipt mistakes

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• No tax line where the state requires one — In New York, a receipt that bundles tax into the price without stating it doesn't meet the separate-statement rule. Configure your POS to print the tax amount.
• Tax-included pricing without the sign — In Texas and California, tax-included pricing depends on the prescribed statement or notice. Without it, customers and auditors may treat your prices as tax-exclusive, leaving you short.
• Printing full card numbers — Check each terminal and reprint function for compliance with the five-digit limit.
• Deleting voids and refunds — Gaps in receipt numbers invite questions in an audit. Keep voided transactions and link refunds to the original receipt.
• Mixing marketing into receipt emails — Keep receipts transactional or meet CAN-SPAM's full requirements.
• Keeping only the receipts — Without the daily summaries, card settlements and bank deposits, a pile of receipts doesn't prove your sales were complete.

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Official references

• IRS Publication 583Gross receipts records and electronic storage
• IRS — How long should I keep records?Retention periods
• IRS Publication 463Receipt rules for travel, gift and car expenses
• NY DTF — Tax Bulletin ST-860Separately stated tax
• Texas Comptroller — Collection FAQsTax-included statement and sign
• CDTFA — Regulation 1700Tax reimbursement presumptions
• FTC — CAN-SPAM compliance guideTransactional messages

What to do next

Check one printed and one emailed receipt from your system against the checklist above, especially the tax line and card masking, and set a retention policy for your POS data. If you write receipts by hand or need one for an individual payment, the free receipt generator produces a numbered PDF with tax and payment details. For credit sales, use the invoice generator instead, and issue a receipt when the payment arrives. To get the rate right for each location, use the sales tax calculator.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is a sales receipt?

A sales receipt is the document a seller gives a customer to confirm a sale has been paid for at the time of purchase. It shows who sold what, when, for how much, the sales tax and how the customer paid. For the seller, the receipt copy or register record supports the gross receipts reported to the IRS and the sales tax reported to the state.

What is the difference between a sales receipt and an invoice?

An invoice asks for payment that is still owed, usually with a due date. A sales receipt confirms payment has already been made, usually at the moment of sale. If a customer pays an invoice later, you can issue a payment receipt referencing the invoice number. Retail counters, restaurants and online checkouts normally issue sales receipts rather than invoices.

Does a sales receipt have to show sales tax separately?

In many states, yes. New York says you must separately state the sales tax on any receipt or invoice you give a customer. Texas requires a separate statement unless you give a written statement that tax is included and post a sign. California presumes prices include tax when you post a prescribed notice. Check your own state's rule before using tax-included pricing.

How long should a business keep sales receipts?

For federal tax purposes, keep sales records at least 3 years from the date you file the return they support, 6 years if you underreported income by more than 25%, and longer in some situations. State sales tax audit periods can be longer; Texas, for example, expects sales tax records to be kept for four years. Many businesses simply keep everything for seven years.

Are digital or emailed receipts legal?

Yes. No federal law requires paper receipts, and the IRS accepts electronic records if your system stores and reproduces them accurately and legibly. Emailed receipts that confirm a transaction are transactional messages under the CAN-SPAM Act, so they're largely exempt from its rules as long as routing information is accurate. Adding marketing content can change that.

Can a receipt show the full credit card number?

No. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, an electronically printed receipt given to a customer at the point of sale may show no more than the last 5 digits of the card number and must not show the expiration date. Handwritten receipts and card imprints aren't covered, but masking the number is good practice everywhere, including on emailed receipts.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records — IRS · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.How long should I keep records? — IRS · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses — IRS · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Tax Bulletin ST-860, Taxable Receipt — New York State Department of Taxation and Finance · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Texas sales and use tax FAQs — collection — Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Regulation 1700, Reimbursement for Sales Tax — California Department of Tax and Fee Administration · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g) — Truncation of credit card and debit card numbers — Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School) · accessed 12 October 2026
8. 8.CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business — Federal Trade Commission · accessed 12 October 2026