How Long Should I Hold On To My Old Bills & Other Documents? (2024)

Thank goodness for electronic billing, bill-pay and account access. The digital world can help you save time, be more organized and cut down significantly on paper… Significantly — but not completely.
No matter how much of your financial life you have online, you still need to save some paper documents. (Okay, maybe you don’t need the actual paper if you scan it all in and back up what you need to save.)
Here’s how to not suck at tossing paperwork.

To hold for a year or less (with some buts):

Monthly utility/cable/phone bills: Once you know the bill is correct, toss it. But if you deduct some of these costs on your tax return, you’ll want to save them with your return (more on that in a moment).
Credit card statements: If you know all the charges are correct, you probably don’t need to keep this. But if you make a big purchase and your lender offers some product protections, consider holding onto that month’s bill. Also, if there’s a deductible purchase on the statement, hold that for your tax return.
Medical bills: Once you know your claim has been paid by your health insurance company, you probably don’t need to save these. But if you’re potentially deducting medical expenses on your tax return, hang on to the bills.
Monthly/quarterly account statements: Hold on to statements from your investment and retirement accounts until you receive the year-end one, which summarizes the previous 12 months. Once you know it’s right, there’s no need to hold on to the monthlies anymore.
Bank statements: Once you know your monthly statement is correct, you can toss the statement at the end of the year. But if you’ve used a check to pay for a large or deductible purchase, hold on to it.
Pay stubs: If you still actually get these, you can toss them after you reconcile them with your W-2 at the end of the year. But if you’re planning to apply for a mortgage, your lender may want to see a few month’s worth.

To hold for longer

Tax Returns: You don’t want to be missing tax-related documents if Uncle Sam has questions about your tax returns. Hold the returns and supporting documents for at least seven years. The IRS can randomly audit you three years after you file — or six years afterward if it thinks you skipped out on reporting your income by at least 25%.
Year-end account statements: These will show the cost basis for your investments, so you want to hold on to them for as long as you have the investment. (And then a bit longer to support your tax return.)
Retirement plan statements: Hold on to your annual statements as long as you have assets in the accounts. This will help ensure your eventual withdrawals are taxed the right way. This is especially important to show if you’ve saved pre-tax or after-tax dollars to your 401(k), and to show your savings to both traditional and Roth options. For your IRAs, be sure to save Form 8606 — the document that shows if your contributions were deductible or nondeductible.
Home-related documents: Keep your purchase documents, and also all home improvement records, which can be used to calculate your cost basis when you sell your home, potentially saving you a bundle in taxes. If you’ve done work that needed a permit or town inspection, hold on to these, too, for as long as you own your home.
Insurance Policies: Hold onto to your policies for home/renters insurance, car insurance and umbrella insurance for the year. When you get a renewal, toss the old one. Keep your life, disability or long-term care policies as long as they’re in force.

To hold indefinitely

Loan paperwork: As long as you’re still paying a loan (car, mortgage, student loan — the works), keep all your docs and contracts. When you pay off the loan, the lender will give you a payoff statement. Keep this forever, just in case some zombie debt comes back to haunt you.
The important stuff: While you can replace the following documents, it will be a major headache. Invest in a firebox or a safety-deposit box for:

Birth certificates
Adoption records
Death certificates
Marriage and divorce papers
Military records
Wills, powers of attorney and health care proxies
Social Security cards
Passports
Appraisals for jewelry, art or other valuable property (unless you sell the item)
A videotape of your home’s contents to help with insurance claims in the event of a home fire. Update this once a year.

A few thoughts on e-documents

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Consumerist.

FAQs

How Long Should I Hold On To My Old Bills & Other Documents? ›

Keep For One Year

How long should you keep old utility bills? ›

Utility Bills: Hold on to them for a maximum of one year. Tax Returns and Tax Receipts: Just like tax-related credit card statements, keep these on file for at least three years. House and Car Insurance Policies: Shred the old ones when you receive new policies.

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How long should you store old bills? ›

Once they've been checked and paid for there's really not much reason to hold on to them any longer, but you may want to hold on to them long enough just in the case of an error that requires you to prove the bill has been paid. The general rule is one year.

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How long should I keep old financial documents? ›

Keep records for 7 years if you file a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction. Keep records for 6 years if you do not report income that you should report, and it is more than 25% of the gross income shown on your return. Keep records indefinitely if you do not file a return.

What to do with old bills and statements? ›

Bank statements and canceled checks. Even if they're old statements, they should be shredded. Your name, address, phone number, and bank account information are in those statements, along with your habits, purchases, and banking history.

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Is there any reason to keep old utility bills? ›

KEEP A MONTH

If you're self-employed, you may need your utility, cable and cell phone bills for tax purposes. Otherwise, you can dispose of them as soon as you verify your payment was processed. You can also dispose of bank withdrawal and deposit slips after verifying them with your monthly statement.

What papers to keep and what to throw away? ›

What to Save

Birth/death certificates.
Social Security cards.
Marriage licenses.
Divorce decrees.
Pension plan documents.
Copies of wills and living trusts.
Military discharge papers.
Copies of burial deeds and plots.

More items...

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How long should you keep utility bills and bank statements? ›

One year is the standard, in case of billing errors or disputes. I'd probably go ahead and make it a little longer. Keep them for one year. Really, I think you should just get the electronic statements where available.

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How long should I keep tax records and bank statements? ›

Your biggest risk of being audited is in the first three years after you file a tax return, although that limit can be extended to six years if you under-report your income by 25 percent or more. You may hear tax experts say to keep paperwork for seven years. What they mean is seven years from the relevant tax year.

Which financial documents are not important to keep? ›

Receipts for everyday purchases: Discard once the purchase appears on your bank or credit card statement and you're sure you won't need to return the item. Bank statements: Plan to keep these for one year. However, if a statement reflects a tax-related expense, hold on to it until tax time (see below).

How to get rid of old bank statements without a shredder? ›

Soaking paper documents in water for one or two days and mixing it around is an effective way to make them unreadable. This dissolves the paper into a pulp that you can break up by hand. However, you'll need the space and patience to leave your documents in buckets of water in a secure place.

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How long should you keep stock statements? ›

It's smart to divide your investment records into those you'll use for short-term reference and those that go into long-term files or storage for three to seven years or longer. Once a year, it's a good idea to overhaul your records, discarding those that you no longer need.

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Should I shred 20 year old bank statements? ›

According to the Federal Trade Commission, all documents with sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and bank account information, should be shredded to protect your identity from theft. Old bank statements and many other types of documents fall under this category.

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What is the best way to get rid of old paperwork? ›

Shredding is a common way to destroy paper documents and is usually quick, easy and cost-effective. Many retailers sell shredders for use within your office or premises, enabling you to shred and dispose of the documents yourself.

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Is it worth keeping old bank statements? ›

You should keep bank statements for at least seven years, in case the IRS needs to verify transactions during an audit. If you have ample storage space, consider keeping them for longer.

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What records should be kept for 7 years? ›

When it comes to taxes, it's best to keep any tax records for at least seven years. The IRS statute of limitations for auditing is three years. However, there are circ*mstances where they can go back as far as six or seven years, for example, if you underreported income by 25% or more.

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How many years of bank statements should you keep? ›

Most financial experts say you should keep your bank statements in either digital or hard copy for at least one year. Once they've been in the filing cabinet (or your computer hard drive) for one year, you can finally shred the paper or press the delete button.

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Do I need to keep credit card statements for 7 years? ›

If you charged business expenses or any other tax deduction to your credit card, keep that billing statement and any other associated receipts for seven years. The IRS can audit your tax return for up to six years. By keeping tax-related documents for seven years, you protect yourself if you're ever audited.

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