In my last post, I shared my list of suggested filing categories for your home office. But when it comes to deciding what to keep and what to discard, it can be confusing if not outright overwhelming.

Regarding tax records, the Internal Revenue Service has 3 years in which to audit Federal income tax returns. However, this limit does not apply in unusual cases. If you failed to report more than 25 percent of your gross income, the Government has 6 years to collect the tax or to start legal proceedings. Also, there are no time limitations if you filed a fraudulent return or if you failed to file a return.

When it’s time to start digging through the seemingly endless “to be filed” pile, the checklist below provides some general guidelines. However, always check with your own CPA for his/her personal recommendations.

What to Keep in a Safe Deposit Box or Home Safe:

• Birth certificates
• Citizenship papers
• Marriage certificates
• Adoption papers
• Divorce decrees
• Wills
• Death certificates
• Deeds
• Titles to automobiles
• Household inventory
• Veteran’s papers
• Bonds and stock certificates
• Important contracts

What to Keep in Your Active Office Files:

• Tax receipts
• Unpaid bills
• Paid bill receipts
• Current bank statements
• Current cancelled checks
• Income tax working papers
• Employment records
• Health benefit information
• Credit card nnformation
• Insurance policies
• Copies of wills
• Family health records
• Appliance manuals and warranties
• Receipts of items under warranty
• Education information
• Inventory of safe deposit box (and key)
• Loan statements
• Loan payment books
• Receipts of expensive items

Things to Archive (in labeled Banker Boxes and stored out of the way)

• All active file papers over 3 years old

Items To Discard or Shred

• Salary statements (after checking on W-2 Form)
• Cancelled checks for cash or non-tax-deductible expenses
• Expired warranties
• Coupons after expiration date
• Mortgage interest from 7 years ago and earlier
• Property taxes from 7 years ago and earlier
• Deductible business expenses or other tax-deductible expenses from seven years ago and earlier

Things to Keep Indefinitely:

• Annual tax returns
• Year-end summary statements from financial institutions
• Receipts for the purchase of any investments you own
• Receipts for home-improvement costs or major purchases that may be needed for insurance claims or similar

This brochure is no longer available in print. It is based on a chapter from the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s 1973 Yearbook of Agriculture and has been adapted for use online by the Federal Citizen Information Center of the General Services Administration as a public service. The chapter on which this brochure is based was originally prepared by Constance Burgess, a retired Cooperative Extension consumer education specialist from the University of California. The information is in the public domain and you are welcome to reference or copy it for educational purposes.