Decluttering – What Documents You Can and Can’t Throw Away

During the regular clean-up we should all be doing for our finances, you are sure to come across a lot of documents that you’re unsure of the status of.  Many of us have been a situation where a vital document gets thrown away – receipts, tax returns lost, copies of bills – and it is never a fun occasion.  What should be kept, and what should be thrown away?

Forever – Keep these in a safety deposit box or some similar secure location.

• Marriage Certificates
• Birth Certificates/Adoption Papers
• Death Certificates
• Wills and Trust Documents
• Mortgage Satisfaction and Deed Documents

One Month – A standard filing cabinet will do for most documents.  I do recommend a lock though!

• ATM Receipts and Bank Deposit Statements.  When you balance your checkbook (which you should be doing at LEAST monthly) you can dispose of these.

One Year

Don't let things get out of hand!

• Credit Card Receipts.  If these aren’t being used for tax reasons/deductions.
• Utility Bills.  Also if not being used for tax reasons/deductions (for example, if you deduct a home office).
• Canceled Checks.
• Quarterly Investment Statements.  But keep your annual reports!

Three Years

• Income Tax Statements and Returns.  You can be audited at any time for any reason for up to three years after a tax return has been filed.  There are two exceptions: if you omit 25% or more of your income, that is six years, and if you don’t file at all, this can happen at any time during your life. So file!
• Tax Supporting Documents.  This includes records of selling real estate and stocks, utility bills, all your receipts, and so on.
• Property Tax Statements and Analysis.
• Home Improvement Records.  These will generally be tax-supporting documentation, but keep them anyway.
• Stock Records and Annual Investment Statements.  This is at a minimum – many people prefer to keep them longer.
• Medical Bills and Insurance Documents.  This includes canceled policies.

Seven Years

• Loan Documents.  This is for any type of loan (except mortgage) – HELOC, student, and so on – all documentation should be kept for at least seven years from the date of loan satisfaction.
• Contract Documents.

Circumstantial

• Pension and Retirement Documentation.  These records should be held for as long as the accounts are active.
• Bank Statements.
• Disputed Bills.  Keep these until the dispute is resolved plus one year.

Obviously, each of these is subject to individual circumstances.  However, this should provide a good basic guideline to what you are able to get rid of!