Tips on What to Keep and What to Shred for a Clean Office

Below is a handy guide from the Suzy Orman Website.

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.

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How long should you keep your Fidelity Statements?

We recommend you keep the end-of-year statement, but shred the rest of the statements. If you are not receiving online statements, you may want to sign up for this. It reduces clutter, saves trees and can help prevent mail fraud.

Records connected to property?

Generally, keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of the property. You must keep these records to figure any depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction and to figure the gain or loss when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property. So keep records of what you bought your house for originally and any big receipts for large ticket items such as an addition to the house.