5/7/2023 0 Comments Checklist list of bills to payYou can toss most monthly bills after you pay them, or after the payments have credited to your bank statement. If you end up needing to go back to verify anything, see if you can access past bills through online account access. For example, don’t worry about keeping receipts unless they pertain to: Some documents don’t need to take up valuable space in your home for very long. If keeping other documents around longer term makes you anxious, you can opt to scan them to create electronic copies and then dispose of the original paper documents. Many banks and credit card issuers offer electronic statements now, so you may not need to keep paper copies on hand, which will cut down on excess clutter. Medical bills are confusing, and having records on hand to dispute payments or errors is wise. The Federal Trade Commission suggests holding on to your paid medical bills for a year before tossing them-unless you have an unresolved insurance dispute, in which case you would retain the medical bills until the dispute is resolved. Keep these records on hand for a year if you need them to support your current-year tax preparation or as proof of income when making a large purchase. One Yearĭocuments that fall into this category include non-tax-related bank and credit card statements, investment statements, pay stubs and receipts for large purchases. If you have receipts related to assets, like receipts for home remodeling projects, keep these for as long as you are the owner. You also should consider saving documents that verify the information on your returns for at least seven years, like W- forms, receipts and payments. If you ever face a tax audit, then you’ll have all the information you need. Your best bet is to hang on to your tax returns as long as possible. State statutes of limitations can vary, so check with a tax professional on the limitations in your state. However, there are circumstances where they can go back as far as six or seven years, for example, if you underreported income by 25% or more. The IRS statute of limitations for auditing is three years. When it comes to taxes, it’s best to keep any tax records for at least seven years. Here’s a breakdown of documents to save, based on the time they should be kept. Some financial documents should be kept for the long term. How Long Should You Keep Financial Documents? Here’s a quick guide to what to do with your financial documents: how long you need to save the important ones, how to store the documents you do retain and how to safely dispose of the rest. The main reason for filing away financial documents is to be able to defend your annual tax returns if needed, but there are other reasons to save certain types of paperwork. What should you save, and what’s okay to toss in this week’s trash collection-by which we mean, what needs to be shredded and disposed of properly? And after tax time every year, there’s another stack of documents to add to your files. The same is true when you buy, sell or insure something. While many businesses are moving toward paperless systems, it doesn’t feel that way when you look at the piles of financial papers in your home.Īs you make life and financial decisions, there’s usually a paper trail. From mail to receipts to documents, it’s a challenge to keep it all organized. If you’re like many of us, the amount of paper that enters your home is hard to handle at times.
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