What to do when you lost the receipts for work on your house before selling
Lost receipts are common, and they don't sink a sale. Buyers want a date, an installer name, and some proof of these facts. You can rebuild most of that in a week.
Start with the big items: roof, furnace, AC, water heater, windows, plumbing, electrical. Skip the small stuff.
Where to look, in order
- Your email. Search the trade ("roof", "HVAC", "plumber", "electrician"), then "invoice", "estimate", "receipt", "paid" and "warranty". Check spam and old accounts too.
- Bank and card statements. They show the date, the amount and the company name. Search back to the year of the work. Most banks keep statements online for several years; if yours doesn't, ask the bank for older ones.
- The contractor. Call or email. Give your name, address and the rough year. Many keep job records and will resend an invoice. Ask for a short signed note if they can't find the invoice: what they did, when, and at what address.
- Store accounts. If you bought materials or an appliance yourself, check the store's online account or loyalty program for purchase history.
- Permit records. Work like a new roof, furnace, water heater, electrical or plumbing often needs a permit. Your city or county building office can usually look up permits by address. See what records buyers want for more on permits.
- Photos. Search your phone for the year of the work. Dated photos of a new roof, an open wall or a delivery truck all help. The date is in the photo's details.
- The equipment itself. A furnace, water heater or AC unit has a label with the model, serial number and often the manufacture date. Photograph it.
- Your old closing papers. The inspection report and seller disclosure from when you bought show what was already there.
A statement alone is thin proof
A card charge shows you paid a company. It doesn't show what for. Pair it with something else: a photo, a permit, an email, or a note from the contractor. The IRS makes the same point when it describes rebuilding records: it suggests asking contractors to confirm their work and cost in writing, and notes that photos and a home improvement loan's paperwork can help. See the IRS guidance on reconstructing records. It was written for disasters, but the ideas carry over.
How to write it up honestly
Be plain about what you have and what you don't. A simple list does the job:
| Item | Year | Who did it | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof | 2017 | Name of roofer | Card statement, permit, photos |
| Water heater | 2020 | Name of plumber | Photo of label, email confirmation |
| Windows | Before we bought in 2014 | Unknown | None |
Three rules:
- Say "receipt not found." Don't recreate an invoice or reconstruct a number you can't back up.
- Say "unknown" when you don't know. A wrong date is worse than a blank.
- Keep it consistent with your seller disclosure. If the two disagree, fix both.
Costs and taxes
You don't have to show buyers what you paid. If you want to count improvement costs when you work out your gain on the sale, talk to a tax professional. Receipts you can't find now are worth rebuilding for that too.
Start keeping them now
Once you've found what you can, file it in one place. Photograph new paperwork the day you get it, and ask each contractor for an emailed invoice.