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How to download your PayPal transactions as CSV

PayPal builds CSV files as reports from your History page. These are the steps and limits from PayPal's US help page.

Steps (on the website)

1. Go to History.
2. Click the Download icon.
3. Click Custom.
4. Select the report that is most suitable for you. PayPal does not name one "best" report, so read the descriptions and pick one that lists individual transactions.
5. Follow the prompts to create the report, choosing CSV as the format.
6. When the report is ready, click Download.

Limits and waiting

• PayPal says you can download activity from up to the past seven years, and each request can cover up to 12 months.
• Small logs download immediately. Large History Logs can take up to 5 business days, depending on server load. PayPal emails you when the file is ready.
• PayPal keeps only the last 3 completed large log files.
• Formats listed on the page: PDF, Quicken, QuickBooks, CSV, TAB. Use CSV.

Good to know

• This is PayPal's US help page. Menus and wording can differ by country and account type.
• Which columns each report contains is not described on that page. UNKNOWN to us. PayPal reports may include more than one line per payment, so check the totals the categorizer gives you against your PayPal balance.

Have we tested a PayPal file?

Source

Steps taken from PayPal's help article "How do I view and download statements and reports?", read on 18 October 2026: https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/how-do-i-view-and-download-statements-and-reports-help145. Menus change; if your screen differs, follow PayPal's current page. This site is not affiliated with PayPal.

Then categorize it free, offline

Open the categorizer, drop the CSV on the page, and it sorts every line into categories with monthly totals. The file is read inside your browser tab and is not uploaded.

Free: one file at a time, latest 3 months of it. Categories are automatic guesses; check them before using the numbers for tax. CSV only, no PDF.