Do I need to have receipts in order to deduct for books and materials required for school?

[ThomasM · Accepted solution]

If the IRS asks you to prove those education expenses, then you'll need something showing that you paid them.

It doesn't necessarily have to be an actual receipt from a store; it could be a cancelled check, a college account statement printout (showing bookstore amounts), a credit card (or bank) statement showing the place & amount of purchase (coupled with some breakdown of purchases), or an invoice along with any of these things.

You'll need something to show that you actually paid the amounts claimed.