Under the new rules, now when we submit authorization request form to CRA, do we still need to keep this form for 6 years. I am asking because we submitted signed form to CRA and they have in their record. Do we need to save the confirmation or signed documents for any future verification? what practice others are doing?
We plan to keep 6 years as per normal until we see or hear otherwise.
I don’t know if CRA has changed their requirements (under EFILE license?), but even if they haven’t, I’d say it’s wise to keep that proof as long as possible - just for the legal CYA. That is, it might not be CRA disputing your access - it might be the client (if they cease to be your client and a couple years later dispute something you did), or their heirs (after the client dies).
However, at some point you have to get rid of old stuff, and recognize what time frame the courts would consider “too remote” to hold you accountable. So…6 years? 10 years? Every few years I go through my old records and discard a few years worth, so I might accumulate up to 8 years worth and then chuck the oldest 3 years (for example).
Efile specifies 6 years worth of records to be kept. Normal practice in most businesses that I have been involved is 6 years. That is what is required for CRA. Most of us don’t anticipate being sued for something more than 6 years ago. i generally recommend keeping records of capital acquisitions forever or until disposed of.
In the olden days, used to keep hard copy signed T183’s, which CRA never asked for in hard copy. In today’s computer environment, where hard disk space is cheap, I keep everything forever, as it is easier than picking and choosing what files to delete. As I organize all my data by client, when a client is no longer active, I just move that whole client to the ‘inactive’ disk drive.
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My process exactly