When it comes time to ante up to Uncle Sam, how do you know what papers you should keep and what you should throw away? The following guidelines can help you get organized for taxes.
For more information or when in doubt on what to keep or what to discard, visit the IRS website, www.irs.gov, or speak with a financial expert.
Documents to keep permanently
- Annual tax returns
- Year-end summaries from financial service companies
- Stock and bond certificates
- Deeds of property and ownership, auto titles, and insurance policies
- Home improvement records
- Health records, wills, and powers of attorney
- Birth certificates, adoption and custody records, and death certificates
Documents to keep temporarily
- Paycheck stubs until reconciled with W-2 or 1099 forms
- Phone and utility bills for one year (or seven years if business-related)
- Monthly bank and credit card statements for one year
- Monthly mortgage statements for one year
- Brokerage or mutual fund statements until they’ve been reconciled at year’s end
- Year-end statements from credit card companies for seven years
- W-2 and 1099 forms for seven years
- Cancelled checks and receipts for all tax-deductible expenses for seven years
Discard or shred
- ATM, bank-deposit slips, and credit card receipts after they are cleared on a statement
- Non-tax-deductible receipts for minor purchases
- Old magazines and articles not read within the past six months
- Receipts, instructions, and warranties for items you no longer own (or warranties that have expired)
