Lost a receipt? What to do and what counts as a replacement

In short: A lost receipt is rarely a disaster. Acceptable replacements, in this order, are a copy or duplicate from the shop, your bank or credit card statement showing date and amount, and as a last resort a self-written receipt (called an Eigenbeleg in German-speaking countries). For warranty claims and returns, the card statement or an order confirmation by email is often enough.

The receipt for the office chair is gone, and the invoice for that training course is probably in a jacket pocket that went through the washing machine weeks ago. Almost everyone has been there. The good news: neither the tax office nor the shop insists on the original paper in every case. What matters is that you can show credibly what happened: who, when, what and how much.

This article explains which replacement receipts are accepted in practice, how to get a copy, when a self-written receipt is allowed and how to stop losing receipts in the first place.

Why a lost receipt is rarely a disaster

A receipt is evidence, not an end in itself. The tax authority wants to know whether an expense really happened, whether the amount is correct and whether it is deductible. The shop wants to see, when you complain about a faulty product, that you bought it there and when. Both can often be proven without the original slip.

It helps to separate three situations:

• Tax return as a private person: receipts are usually requested only on demand. The worst case for a missing receipt is that the deduction is refused, not a fine.
• Bookkeeping as a self-employed person or company: the rule "no entry without a receipt" applies. A replacement receipt is mandatory, otherwise the expense is not recognised and the input VAT deduction is lost.
• Warranty and returns: what counts is proof of purchase, not the paper itself.

Which replacement receipts does the tax office accept?

Anything that makes the date, amount, recipient and purpose of a payment traceable can serve as a replacement. In practice, these forms of evidence are accepted roughly in this order:

1. A duplicate or copy of the original from the shop or service provider.
2. An invoice copy by email, for example from an online order (order confirmation plus payment confirmation).
3. A bank or credit card statement showing the merchant name, date and amount.
4. A self-written receipt as the last option when nothing else can be obtained.

A card statement on its own has one weakness: it shows that you paid CHF 87.40 at a DIY store, but not what you bought. For a tax deduction you need to make the purpose plausible, for example with a note saying "shelf for home office" and, if available, a photo of the product. For VAT, the statement is not enough: the input tax deduction in Switzerland requires a document with the details set out in Art. 26 of the VAT Act (MWSTG), including the tax amount or rate. VAT-compliant receipts in Switzerland lists exactly what such a receipt must show.

How do I get a copy from the shop?

The fastest route to a replacement receipt almost always runs through the shop. Larger retailers can find the transaction in their till system using the date, time, branch and the last four digits of your card number, and print the receipt again. For online purchases, the invoice sits in your customer account or can be requested by email. Tradespeople, medical practices and course providers will issue an invoice copy on request, usually free of charge.

Here is how to go about it:

• Look up the date and approximate amount on your bank statement.
• Contact the shop, ideally quoting the card transaction as a reference.
• Ask for the copy as a PDF rather than a photo, so it files cleanly.
• Add a note to the copy ("replacement for lost original").

The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Till systems store transactions for a long time, but the person at the counter will not remember anything after three months, and customer accounts are eventually deleted.

When am I allowed to write my own receipt?

A self-written receipt is acceptable when you have made a reasonable effort to obtain an original and the amount is small. You write down yourself what you paid, when, to whom and for what, and you sign it. Typical cases: parking meters, tips, small purchases at a market, or a lost receipt where the shop can no longer issue a copy.

A self-written receipt needs at least:

• the date of the expense
• the recipient (name of the shop or person)
• the amount, ideally stating whether VAT is included
• the purpose of the expense
• the reason why no original receipt exists
• date and signature

Self-written receipts should remain the exception. Anyone with dozens of them in their books looks unconvincing in an audit. In Germany the Eigenbeleg is a well-established fallback, and our guide to the Eigenbeleg covers rules and a template. In Switzerland it is second-class evidence: no input VAT can be claimed on it, but for plausible small amounts it is generally tolerated. When in doubt, ask your Treuhänder (the Swiss term for a trustee or accountant).

Lost the receipt for a warranty claim or return: what applies?

For warranty claims, proof of purchase is what counts, and that proof is not tied to the paper. In Switzerland the seller is liable for defects for two years under Art. 210 of the Code of Obligations (OR), and you do not lose that right just because the slip is gone. You do, however, need to show that you bought the item from that seller at that time. Usually one of these is enough:

• the card statement with merchant, date and amount
• the order confirmation or invoice by email
• a customer account or loyalty card on which the purchase is registered
• the manufacturer's warranty card, if it was stamped at purchase

For a voluntary return (you simply do not like the item), the shop can be stricter and insist on the original receipt, because it is not legally obliged to take the item back at all. Receipts for warranty and returns goes into the details.

How to make sure it does not happen again

The most reliable protection against lost receipts is to photograph them on the day of purchase. Paper gets lost, fades or ends up in the washing machine; a PDF on your phone does not. With Belego you photograph the slip right at the till or in the car, the app crops it, saves it as a PDF and reads the amount, date and merchant. The original can then go into a box or, if there is no retention obligation, into the recycling.

Three habits prevent most of the trouble:

1. Scan immediately, not "later". The 5-minute receipt routine shows how this works in everyday life.
2. Add a short note about the purpose with every scan ("bookkeeping basics course"), so the expense still makes sense two years from now.
3. Capture thermal paper receipts especially quickly, because they fade within months.

Frequently asked questions

Will my tax deduction be refused if a receipt is missing?

Not automatically. The tax office usually requests receipts on a sample basis or when a deduction looks unusual. If you then cannot produce an original or a replacement, the deduction in question is normally refused. There is no fine as long as you did not declare anything false. A card statement with an explanatory note is often accepted for plausible amounts.

Is a photo of the receipt enough instead of the original?

Yes, for tax returns and most bookkeeping purposes in Switzerland a clearly legible photo or scan is sufficient. Under Art. 958f of the Code of Obligations, records may be kept electronically as long as they remain readable and unaltered. Make sure the date, amount, merchant and VAT details are fully visible, and keep the file in an organised place.

Can I get a lost receipt from my bank?

Your bank can provide account statements and, for credit cards, detailed transaction lists, including retroactively for several years. This partly replaces the receipt: date, amount and merchant are documented, the content of the purchase is not. It is not sufficient for claiming input VAT, but it usually works for private tax deductions and warranty cases.

What if the receipt has become unreadable?

A faded or smudged receipt legally still exists; its content is just hard to make out. First try to rescue it with good light or a contrast filter, and save the result as a scan. Faded receipt? How to recover it explains what still works. If that fails, the same route applies as for a lost receipt: copy from the shop, card statement, self-written receipt.