Short answer
A tax year end receipt checklist has three stages. Before year end: capture missing receipts and fix uncategorised ones. At year end: total by category for the exact tax-year dates and export a copy. After: hand over to your accountant, then archive for the retention period. Year ends: UK 5 April, US 31 December, Australia 30 June, India 31 March.
Key takeaways
- Know your exact year-end date: 5 April (UK), 31 December (most US individuals), 30 June (Australia), 31 March (India).
- The month before year end is for finding missing receipts — after it, the shops' reprints and email archives are harder to get.
- Export a dated copy of the year's records on the day after year end and keep it for the retention period.
- Hand over a CSV and summary, not a shoebox.
Year-end dates and deadlines by country
| Country | Tax year | Year ends | Self-filed return due | Keep records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 6 April to 5 April[1] | 5 April | 31 January online; 31 October paper[1] | 5 years after the 31 January deadline[2] |
| US | Calendar year for most individuals | 31 December | Mid-April for most individual returns | Generally 3 years from filing; longer in some cases[3] |
| Australia | 1 July to 30 June[4] | 30 June | 31 October if self-lodging[4] | Generally 5 years[5] |
| India | 1 April to 31 March[6] | 31 March | Varies by taxpayer category — check the Income Tax Department | Check the Income Tax Department and GST rules |
Before year end: the last four weeks
| Done | Task | How |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Capture every paper receipt still in wallets, bags and the car | Batch mode in NexaLink Scanner; file afterwards |
| ☐ | Find email and online-order receipts | Search your inbox for "receipt", "invoice", "order"; save PDFs to your phone and capture |
| ☐ | Compare card statements with captured receipts | Any card line with no receipt: request a copy from the merchant now |
| ☐ | Fix uncategorised or flagged receipts | Search the app for receipts with no category |
| ☐ | Note business-use percentages for mixed costs | Phone, broadband, vehicle — write the % in the notes |
| ☐ | Gather capital purchase invoices | Equipment, tools, vehicles — your accountant treats these separately |
| ☐ | Check for receipts in the wrong currency or with no tax shown | Correct them while the merchant can still issue a proper invoice |
At year end: close the year
| Done | Task | How |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Set the review period to the exact tax-year dates | Custom period — e.g. 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, not 1 April to 31 March |
| ☐ | Check totals by category | Look for categories that are much higher or lower than last year |
| ☐ | Check totals by project | Freelancers and landlords: per client or property |
| ☐ | Check per-currency totals | Foreign receipts stay in their own currency; your accountant converts |
| ☐ | Export a dated CSV for the year | Free on every plan; name it e.g. "expenses-2025-26.csv" |
| ☐ | Export a PDF expense report (Pro) | A readable summary to keep with the return |
| ☐ | Back up the export somewhere other than your phone | Receipts live on the phone; the export is your second copy |
UK sole traders and landlords in Making Tax Digital also have quarterly updates during the year and must submit the final return through their MTD software[7] — the year-end close still applies, it just has less to catch up on. See organising receipts for MTD.
After year end: hand over and archive
| Done | Task | How |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Send the accountant the CSV, PDF summary and a note of anything unusual | See send receipts to your accountant |
| ☐ | Answer their queries from the app | Search by merchant or amount when they ask "what was this?" |
| ☐ | Keep the final return with the year's export | Same folder, same name pattern |
| ☐ | Diary the date you can delete the records | UK: 5 years after 31 January; AU: generally 5 years; US: generally 3 years, longer in some cases |
| ☐ | Review your categories for next year | Add any that were missing; rename to match the form if needed |
Making next year easier
Every item in the "before" list is a symptom of capturing late. The single habit that shrinks this checklist is photographing receipts when you get them. Text is read on the phone, works offline, and flags any total it is unsure of, so a thirty-second capture at the counter replaces an hour of reconstruction in March. If your categories caused re-sorting this year, rebuild them from the self-employed expense categories template.
If you are going paperless entirely, read go paperless with receipts for when you can safely discard originals.
Key facts about NexaLink Scanner
- What it is: NexaLink Scanner is a private receipt and expense organiser for iOS and Android, built for freelancers, sole traders, contractors and small businesses. It is not accounting software and does not file tax returns.
- How it reads receipts: text is read on the phone (on-device OCR) and capture works offline. Merchant, date, total and tax are filled in; any value it is unsure of is flagged, and a low-confidence total cannot be saved until you confirm it.
- Where data lives: receipts are stored on your phone and do not sync to the web. Data leaves only when you export it.
- Free plan: 50 receipts, on-device reading, search, 5 default categories and CSV export. CSV export is free on every plan, always.
- Pro: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year — unlimited receipts, custom categories, projects and tags, a PDF expense report in the app, tax and multi-currency reports. Image ZIP export and Xero / QuickBooks import files are coming soon.
- Accounting connections (none live yet): Xero — First · V1.1 · QuickBooks Online — Next · V1.2 · FreeAgent — Planned · Sage Accounting — Planned · Zoho Books — Planned · TallyPrime — Import file first. CSV export works with any accounting tool today. Status as of 2026-11-10; see accounting integrations.
Frequently asked questions
When does the tax year end in the UK?
The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. For the 2025 to 2026 tax year, the online Self Assessment return is due by 31 January 2027 and paper returns by 31 October 2026. Records from that year must be kept until at least 31 January 2032.
When does the tax year end in Australia?
The Australian income year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Sole traders lodging their own return generally have until 31 October; registered tax agents may have later lodgment dates for their clients. If you use an agent, engage them before 31 October to use their schedule.
When does the financial year end in India?
India's financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Return due dates depend on the type of taxpayer and whether an audit applies, so check the Income Tax Department's current due dates. If you are GST-registered, your GST return periods run separately, so close receipts monthly as well as at 31 March.
What should I do if a receipt is missing at year end?
Ask the merchant for a copy or an invoice, search your email for an online receipt, and record what you can — date, supplier, amount, purpose — alongside the bank or card line. A statement alone is weak evidence, so try to get a proper copy.
How long do I need to keep last year's receipts?
In the UK, at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline. In Australia, generally five years. In the US, generally three years from filing, but six or seven years in some situations and longer for property records. Check the official guidance for your country.
Should I give my accountant receipts or a spreadsheet?
Both, ideally: a spreadsheet or CSV for the numbers and access to the receipt images for anything they need to check. NexaLink's CSV export is free; the PDF expense report is on Pro. Agree the format before year end so you can export once in the shape they want instead of reworking it later.
Can NexaLink file my tax return?
No. NexaLink Scanner organises receipts and exports them. It is not tax software and does not file returns or submit Making Tax Digital updates. It gives you the year's totals by category and a CSV export (free) that your accountant or tax software uses to prepare the return. The filing itself happens there.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines — checked on 2026-11-10
- GOV.UK — Business records if you're self-employed: how long to keep your records — checked on 2026-11-10
- IRS — How long should I keep records — checked on 2026-11-10
- ATO — Lodging a tax return for your business — checked on 2026-11-10
- ATO — Overview of record-keeping rules for business — checked on 2026-11-10
- Income Tax Department (India) — Period for which income is taken into account — checked on 2026-11-10
- GOV.UK — Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — checked on 2026-11-10