We often hear the question “How long should I hold onto this document?” To find the answer we enlisted the help of personal financial assistant Suze Orman. Click here
Record Keeping
Keep till warranty expires or can no longer return or exchange
- Sales Receipts (Unless needed for tax purposes and then keep for 3 years)
What to keep for 1 month
- ATM Printouts (When you balance your checkbook each month throw out the ATM receipts)
What to keep for 1 year
- Paycheck Stubs (You can get rid of once you have compared to your W2 & annual social security statement)
- Utility Bills (You can throw out after one year, unless you’re using these as a deduction like a home office –then you need to keep them for 3 years after you’ve filed that tax return)
- Cancelled Checks (Unless needed for tax purposes and then you need to keep for 3 years)
- Credit Card Receipts (Unless needed for tax purposes and then you need to keep for 3 years)
- Bank Statements (Unless needed for tax purposes and then you need to keep for 3 years)
- Quarterly Investment Statements (Hold on to until you get your annual statement)
What to keep for 3 years
- Medical Bills and Cancelled Insurance Policies
What to keep for 7 years
- Income Tax Returns (Please keep in mind that you can be audited by the IRS for no reason up to three years after you filed a tax return. If you omit 25% of your gross income that goes up to 6 years and if you don’t file a tax return at all, there is no statute of limitations.)
- Records of Selling a House (Documentation for Capital Gains Tax)
- Records of Selling a Stock (Documentation for Capital Gains Tax)
- Receipts, Cancelled Checks and other Documents that Support Income or a Deduction on your Tax Return (Keep 7 years from the date the return was filed or 6 years from the date the tax was paid — whichever is later)
- Annual Investment Statement (Hold onto 7 years after you sell your investment)
- Medical Bills (For tax purposes)
- Records of Satisfied Loans
What to hold while active
- Contracts
- Insurance Documents
- Stock Certificates
- Property Records
- Stock Records
- Records of Pensions and Retirement Plans
- Property Tax Records
- Disputed Bills (Keep the bill until the dispute is resolved)
- Home Improvement Records (Hold for at least 3 years after the due date for the tax return that includes the income or loss on the asset when it’s sold)
Keep Forever*
- Marriage Licenses
- Birth Certificates
- Wills
- Adoption Papers
- Death Certificates
- Records of Paid Mortgages* These documents should be kept in a very safe place, like a safety deposit box.