By Suze Orman |
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
- 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.)
- Medical Bills and Cancelled Insurance Policies
- 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 3 years from the date the return was filed or 2 years from the date the tax was paid -- which ever is later)
- Annual Investment Statement (Hold onto 3 years after you sell your investment.)
What to keep for 7 years
- 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.
Team Ghery
