You rarely send bank statements with a tax return, but you need them to work out your income, interest and expenses, and to keep as records in case the tax office asks. Getting bank statements for a tax return ready means downloading every statement for the tax year, collecting the bank's interest documents and sorting the transactions into categories.
Quick answer: Download PDF statements covering the whole tax year for each account, plus your bank's year-end interest form or statement. Convert them to a spreadsheet, tag each transaction (income, interest, deductible expense, personal), then total each category. Keep the PDFs: 3 years for most IRS cases, 6 for the CRA, 5 for the ATO.
What tax offices expect you to keep, and for how long
Each tax office sets its own record-keeping period, and the clock starts at a different point in each country. The table gives the general rule from each tax office's own pages; special cases, such as capital losses or late returns, can make the period longer. Chase customers can check how far back Chase statements go before the oldest months drop off.
| Country | Tax office | Keep records for | What it says about bank statements |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | IRS | 3 years in most cases. 6 years if you leave out income worth more than 25% of the gross income on your return. 7 years if you claim a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction. | For small businesses, the IRS lists deposit information and account statements among the supporting documents to keep. |
| United Kingdom | HMRC | At least 22 months after the end of the tax year if your Self Assessment return is on time. Sole traders: at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline. | Keep bank or building society statements and passbooks, statements of interest, and tax deduction certificates from your bank. |
| Canada | CRA | At least six years, in case your return is selected for review. | The CRA may ask for bank statements or cancelled cheques as proof of a deduction or credit you claimed. |
| Australia | ATO | 5 years from the date you lodge your tax return. | A bank or credit card statement is not an acceptable record on its own. Keep the receipt or invoice too. |
In Australia, a statement shows you paid, but the ATO wants the supplier's receipt or invoice that says what you bought. Use the statement to find the transaction, then keep the receipt that goes with it.
In the UK, a late return changes the rule: HMRC says to keep records for at least 15 months after you sent it. The ATO accepts paper copies, electronic copies or a clear photo of the original record.
Year-end interest documents from your bank
Banks report the interest they paid you, either on a form sent to you, directly to the tax office, or both. Whichever route your bank uses, check its figure against the interest shown on your statements before you file.
United States: Form 1099-INT
Your bank sends Form 1099-INT when it paid you $10 or more in interest during the year. The IRS says you must report all taxable interest even if you don't receive a 1099-INT. Chase, for example, mails its 1099-INT forms by January 31; see our Chase statement guide for where to find statements online.
United Kingdom: interest statements
Your bank or building society tells HMRC about the interest it paid you after 5 April each year. If you owe tax on it, HMRC sends you a tax calculation. If you fill in a Self Assessment return, keep the statements of interest your bank provides. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, so you may need two calendar years of statements.
Canada: T5 slips
Banks issue a T5 slip for investment income, including interest. The CRA says you may not get a T5 if the total is under $50, but you must still report the income. Your chequing and savings statements show the interest credited each month, which helps you find any amount with no slip.
Australia: pre-filled interest
Banks report interest to the ATO, and it appears pre-filled in myTax. The ATO tells you to check the pre-filled figures and add any interest paid or credited to you that hasn't pre-filled. Australia's income year runs from 1 July to 30 June.
How to get statements for the whole tax year
Download one PDF for each month of the tax year, for every account that had income or deductible spending. Match the months to your country's tax year, not the calendar year, if you're in the UK or Australia.
- Sign in to online banking and open the statements section for each account.
- Download every statement that covers part of the tax year, including the month the tax year starts and ends in.
- Find the year-end documents: tax forms in the US, interest statements in the UK, T5 slips in Canada.
- Store everything in one folder per tax year, so you can find it if the tax office asks during the retention period.
Many banks keep several years online. Barclays, RBC and CommBank each keep up to 7 years of statements; our guides for HSBC, TD Canada Trust, Westpac and the other banks on our banks page give the exact steps.
Sorting bank statements for a tax return in a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet turns a year of statements into totals you can enter on a return or hand to an accountant. You add one category column, tag each row and let the spreadsheet add them up.
Start by converting the PDFs. Our bank statement converter turns each statement into Excel or CSV with date, description, amount (money out as a negative number) and balance. It checks the running balance against the statement and flags rows that don't add up, so you know no transaction was dropped. You can convert 3 pages a day free without an account, or 15 with a free account.
Then add a column called Category and use a short, fixed list:
- Income: salary, freelance payments, rent received
- Interest earned
- Deductible expenses, split the way your return asks (for example, office costs or vehicle costs)
- Transfers between your own accounts
- Personal spending
Sort by description to tag repeat payees in one go, then use a SUMIF formula or a pivot table to total each category. Mark transfers between your own accounts so they aren't counted as income twice.
If you keep books, import the converted file instead of tagging it by hand: see our guides for QuickBooks and Xero. If an accountant prepares your return, send them the PDFs and the spreadsheet; our page for accountants covers the converter from their side.
Common mistakes with tax-year statements
Most problems with a return built from statements come from the date range, a forgotten account or a missing receipt. Check these before you file.
Using the calendar year when your tax year is different
UK and Australian tax years don't start in January. Statements for January to December will miss months at one end and include months that belong to another year.
Missing a month or an account
A savings account that paid a small amount of interest is easy to forget. List every account you held during the year and check you have a statement for each month.
Counting transfers as income
Money moved from savings to your current or checking account appears as a deposit. Tag it as a transfer, or your income total will be too high.
Relying on the statement alone
In Australia, a bank statement on its own is not an acceptable record for a claim, and other tax offices may ask what an expense was for. Keep receipts and invoices with your statements.
Editing a statement
Never change a bank statement. If a transaction needs explaining, write a note in your spreadsheet and keep the original PDF unchanged.
Tax statement questions
Do I need to send bank statements with my tax return?
Usually not. You use them to prepare the return and keep them as records. The CRA, for example, may ask for bank statements later as proof of a deduction or credit you claimed.
How long should I keep bank statements for taxes?
The IRS says 3 years in most cases, the CRA says at least six years and the ATO says 5 years from lodging. In the UK, HMRC says at least 22 months after the end of the tax year for an on-time return, and at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for sole traders.
Do I have to report interest if I didn't get a 1099-INT or T5?
Yes. The IRS says to report all taxable interest even without a 1099-INT, and the CRA says to report interest even if you didn't receive a T5. Your statements show the interest your bank paid each month.
Is a bank statement enough proof for a deduction?
Not in Australia, where the ATO says a bank or credit card statement isn't an acceptable record on its own. Keep the receipt or invoice that shows what you bought, and use the statement to show you paid.
Can I keep digital copies instead of paper?
The ATO accepts electronic copies and clear photos of original records. PDF statements downloaded from your bank are the bank's own copies, so keep the original files rather than screenshots.
Download the bank statements for your tax return, then convert them with our bank statement converter to total your income, interest and expenses. Applying for a home loan as well? See bank statements for a mortgage.