A good receipt scanner should offer fast scanning speeds, superior image quality, and OCR functionality

Every year on April 15, Tax Day rolls around in the United States. And, every year, millions of busy Americans scramble to get their documents together at the last possible second. A good receipt scanner can address this issue. With the right equipment, you can itemize, analyze, and store your receipts digitally, making life much easier when it’s time to file. Depending on the software you use, you can even upload information directly from a scanner into your tax preparation program.

Scanning receipts is vital for self-employed workers, as they may be able to claim a variety of goods and services as business expenses. However, full-time and part-time employees can benefit from digitizing their receipts, too. Medical care, childcare, charitable donations, student loan interest, IRA investments, and bad debts — among other things — are often tax-deductible.

To find a receipt scanner for taxes, you’ll want to look for a model with fast scanning speeds, high-quality image resolution, and varied storage options. Whether you scan receipts all year long or digitize a whole batch in early April, the right model can make your tax preparation a whole lot easier.

Need more help with tax prep? Check out our guide, How to Make the Most of a Tax Scanner. Also, check out our Receipt Scanner page to learn more about our best receipt scanners.

Why buy a receipt scanner?

Before you research the best receipt scanner for taxes, it’s worth considering why you might need one. After all, not every receipt may be tax-deductible, and you can send the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) physical receipts. However, digitizing your receipts can be incredibly useful if you make a lot of tax-deductible purchases — particularly if they’re for your job.

Suppose, for example, that you work for yourself or run a small business. According to the IRS, you may be able to claim tax credits for working from home, purchasing health insurance, taking educational courses, driving to appointments, buying office supplies, or paying a monthly smartphone bill. Think about how many individual receipts you’d rack up this way over the course of an average year. Just keeping them all organized would take some effort, to say nothing of typing up all the relevant information when it’s time to prepare your taxes.

Receipt scanners can also be useful for people who make frequent, substantial payments for medical expenses, childcare, or student loan interest. These expenses are often tax-deductible.

Did You Know?:The ScanSnap iX1600 can scan up to 40 double-sided pages per minute with a 50-page automatic document feeder (ADF). An intuitive touchscreen makes it easy to scan, process, and store your files.

3 features to look for in a receipt scanner

Fast scanning speed

If you have enough receipts to merit buying a receipt scanner, then you won’t want to scan a handful at a time. Instead, you should look for a high speed scanner that can handle dozens of pages each minute. A suitable device should be able to handle at least 20 pages per minute, but many models can handle up to 40 pages per minute or more.

High image quality

One problem with receipts is that they’re often hard to read. Retail stores, for example, usually print receipts on inexpensive thermal paper. Even if you get them home unscathed, they may degrade as they sit in a filing cabinet for a few months.

That’s why it’s important to scan receipts as soon as you can — and to use a scanner with high-quality image resolution. Manufacturers measure scanner resolution in dots per inch (DPI) or pixels per inch (PPI), and the higher the number, the better the quality. Text should scan reasonably well at 300 DPI, but you may want to scan at 600 DPI for small or faded receipts.

Did You Know?:PC Mag gave the ScanSnap iX1600 4.5/5 stars and an Editors’ Choice award. The review cited the scanner’s intuitive interface, robust software, fast scanning, and accurate OCR.

Reliable paper handling

Receipts aren’t like standard sheets of office paper. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are sturdy, while others tear with the slightest pressure. On top of that, they tend to attract dirt, dust, and other detritus from being jammed in pockets and bags. As such, a suitable receipt scanner should offer a robust paper feeder that won’t damage sensitive documents. Some devices can alert you to the presence of dust, allowing you to clean the system before you scan. Finally, you may want to look for a model with dedicated receipt scanning tools, such as the Receipt Guide on the ScanSnap iX1600. This attachment prevents receipts from curling or crumpling as you scan them.1

OCR technology and why it matters for tax-related receipts

If you’re scanning papers with a lot of words, then you need a scanner with optical character recognition (OCR) features. When you initially scan a document, your device recognizes it as an image file rather than a text document. OCR “translates” the image back into text, allowing you to categorize and search your scanned documents. When it’s time to sort through your receipts and claim specific deductions, you can easily find the information you need just by typing in the name of a vendor or product. Some scanners can even automatically import this data directly into tax preparation software, such as QuickBooks®.

Cloud storage vs. local storage: What’s best for receipt management?

Once you've digitized your receipts, storing them in the cloud presents several advantages over local storage. Chief among them is collaboration: Documents in the cloud are instantly available to teammates, speeding up work and making important information more accessible. Locally stored documents, meanwhile, must be shared one at a time.

Although local storage allows for more hands-on security controls, it’s often less secure than the cloud. That’s because public cloud providers must meet stringent security standards before they handle your data. The controls they implement tend to be more robust than those protecting your hard drive. Finally, the cloud is flexible. Where a local drive has a fixed capacity, the cloud allows you to scale your storage up or down as needed, which can help you save money.

How to organize and categorize receipts after scanning

The sooner you digitize your receipts, the sooner you can start to organize them. Start by making a folder for the tax year. Within that folder, consider filing receipts according to the type of expense. For instance, you might make subfolders for travel expenses, payroll, or inventory. Use standardized naming rules for folders and receipts to keep the system legible.

As you save each receipt to its proper folder, use metatags to note key information, such as when the transaction took place and which vendors were involved. These tags can make it easier to find specific receipts using search functions. They can also allow you to sort receipts by date, transaction value, and so on. Keeping your receipts orderly makes it easier to file your taxes, manage your cash flow, reimburse employees, and more.

Our recommendation: ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition

We know you have no shortage of options when it comes to choosing a home document scanner. We pride ourselves on having spent the last 50+ years designing and developing some of the most beloved electronics in the world, including our line of award-winning, easy-to-use, one-touch ScanSnap scanners.

If you’re in the market for a receipt scanner, the ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition has the features you need. This device can scan up to 40 double-sided pages per minute with an ADF capacity of 50 sheets. With its powerful OCR capabilities, it can convert scanned files into searchable PDF or Microsoft Office documents, then upload them to a dedicated folder or a cloud storage server. The ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition also includes a receipt guide, which helps you feed receipts into the scanner, and a long receipt scanning function for receipts from your biggest shopping trips. Click here to learn more and shop the full line of ScanSnap scanners.

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