Do you need a receipt?
It depends on the state.
For a retail sale, the federal rule is a single number: a receipt is required for a cash sale of $75 or more. For rent, the answer is decided state by state, and it ranges from "always, and rent cannot be paid without one" to "only if the tenant asks".
Short answer: for a US retail sale, give a receipt for any cash payment of $75 or more — below that the law does not require one, though keeping one supports your return. For rent, the requirement is state law: New York and Hawaii require one for every payment, Washington DC for everything except a personal check, and a dozen states for cash payments. What every version asks for is the same short list: date, amount, purpose, and who took the money.
Written by the Tool Pantry team on 22 October 2026. The federal rule comes from the IRS record-keeping guidance; the state rules come from the statutes themselves, and the table cites the requirement in each. State law changes — check the current text for your state before relying on any summary, including this one. This is a reference, not legal advice.
Do I need to give a receipt?
For a retail sale in the United States, the federal rule is a number: you must give a receipt for a cash sale of $75 or more. Below that, no receipt is required by federal law, though giving one is good practice and costs you a printout.
For services there is no federal receipt requirement at all. What the IRS does ask for is records that support what you report: for a cash sale, that means keeping the receipt, and for a sale on credit or by card, keeping the invoice, the deposit slip and the credit card receipt or statement. A receipt book is the simplest way to have a pre-numbered record you can hand over and keep a copy of.
State and local rules are a separate layer, and for rent they are the layer that matters.
Rent receipts: the rules differ by state
If you rent out a property, the receipt question is decided by your state, and the answer ranges from "always" to "only if the tenant asks".
| State | When a receipt is required | What it must include |
|---|---|---|
| New York | Always — no rent may be paid unless the landlord tenders a receipt | Date, amount, the premises and the period paid for, and the signature and title of the person receiving the rent |
| Hawaii | Always, whatever the method | — |
| Washington DC | All payments except by personal check | Exact amount, date, purpose, and any outstanding late fees or court costs |
| Colorado | Cash or money order, in person; otherwise within seven days on request | Amount and date of payment |
| Connecticut | Cash payments | Date, amount and purpose |
| Delaware | Cash — within 15 days, and keep the record for three years | — |
| Maine | Cash payments, or a security deposit | Date, amount, the party paid for, the period, whether it is rent or deposit, the signature and the printed name of the person receiving it |
| Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin | Cash payments | Amount and purpose (Texas also requires a separate ledger entry) |
| Maryland | Cash, or on request outside Anne Arundel County | Amount and the period the receipt covers |
| California, Oregon, Nevada | On request (Nevada: always, in mobile homes) | Nevada issues within five days, with amount and date |
| Virginia | Cash or money order, on request | — |
| Massachusetts | Only for the last month's rent paid in advance | — |
Two things the table does not show. First, local rules can be stricter than state rules — Ohio requires no receipt at the state level, but Columbus and Cincinnati do. Second, these statutes change: check the current text for your state before you rely on a summary, including a summary like this one.
What a receipt has to show
Put together, the state requirements above ask for a small, specific set of fields. Any receipt that carries all of them satisfies the strictest common version:
- The date of the payment.
- The amount received.
- The purpose — what the payment is for, and for rent, the period it covers.
- Who received it — the name, and in Maine and New York the signature and title of the person taking the money.
- Which premises the payment is for, if it is rent.
- What is still owed, where the law asks for it — Washington DC requires outstanding late fees and court costs on the receipt.
For a business sale rather than rent, the same fields work: date, amount, what was bought, how it was paid, and your business name. Adding a receipt or invoice number makes your own bookkeeping easier, which is the other half of why people bother.
Receipt or invoice? They are not the same
An invoice asks for money; a receipt says money was received. Sending an invoice as a receipt leaves the question of payment open, and a tenant who pays a receipt-shaped invoice is a dispute waiting to happen. If the money has not moved yet, it is an invoice.
For a cash payment, a receipt is the document that closes the loop — and in the states above, it is the document the law expects you to hand over.
Make one in a page
The receipt generator fills in the fields above: your business, the customer, a receipt number, the date, the method, and the line items, then prints a clean PDF. It runs in your browser, so the payment details never reach a server.
Before you hand it over, check three things: the amount matches what actually changed hands, the date is the date of payment rather than the date you typed the document, and the purpose is specific enough to be useful later — "rent for October", not "payment".
Keep a copy. The IRS lists receipts, sales slips, deposit slips, cancelled checks and credit card statements among the records that support your return, and if a return is ever selected for audit, the records are what answer it.
Do I have to give a receipt for a cash sale?
In the United States, yes, for a cash sale of $75 or more. Below that no receipt is required by federal law, though keeping one is sensible and the IRS lists receipts among the records that support your return. For services there is no federal receipt requirement at all.
Does my state require a rent receipt?
It depends. New York and Hawaii require one for every payment, and in New York rent cannot be paid unless the landlord tenders a receipt. Washington DC requires one for everything except personal checks. A dozen or so states require them for cash, and several only on request. Ohio requires nothing at the state level, but Columbus and Cincinnati do — local rules can be stricter.
What does a rent receipt have to show?
At minimum the date, the amount, the purpose and the period it covers, and the name of the person who received it. Maine and New York also want that person's signature and title, and Washington DC wants any outstanding late fees and court costs listed too.
Is a receipt the same as an invoice?
No. An invoice asks for money; a receipt says money was received. For a cash payment the receipt is what closes the loop, and in several states it is the document the law expects you to hand over.
How long should I keep receipts?
The IRS asks you to keep records that support your return. Delaware's rent rule is explicit: keep cash rent receipts for three years. Delaware also allows up to 15 days to issue the receipt after a cash payment; Maine and New Jersey ask for it at the time, and New York for anything other than a personal check.
Does the receipt generator upload anything?
No. It builds the document in your browser and prints it from there, so the payment details stay on your device.