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Post by crazycatlady on Oct 4, 2008 11:06:52 GMT -5
I know that Script had a list of how long to keep various paperwork over at SqualorSurvivors. When I try to click on that, it seems to be gone. Does anyone have a list of how long to keep pay stubs, bank statements, and other stuff like that?
Thank you SO MUCH! 
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Post by tiredofthis on Oct 4, 2008 11:20:58 GMT -5
I think the IRS can go back 7 years to audit you. You can probably get that info on the IRS site. I never understood why it was necessary to keep your paystubs, as long as you kept your W-2 from each year.
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Oct 4, 2008 11:30:44 GMT -5
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Post by crazycatlady on Oct 4, 2008 12:19:44 GMT -5
Thanks! I did read through that info from Auntie Script, however it is more general. I know there used to be a specific for how long to keep individual papers.
I will look at the IRS site next. 
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Post by crazycatlady on Oct 4, 2008 12:24:48 GMT -5
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Post by crazycatlady on Oct 4, 2008 12:34:22 GMT -5
Sadly, I think that there is some stinking thinking involved in this for me. I struggle with paperwork anyhow, as does my husband. And it seemed like Script had a very simple list, which I feel I could trust.
Irrational to think I can trust Script more than the IRS? Maybe not. But I know her list covered the kinds of papers that I deal with.
Maybe I can think about this more, and calm myself that I do not need the perfect answer to my question. Maybe I can accept that a "good enough" answer is good enough.
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Post by gifted on Oct 4, 2008 12:58:55 GMT -5
Thanks Lion!
I have never spent the time to read this. But now I have read part of it.
And I thought I was the ONLY person to ever have discovered the principle of "Structured Procrastination." While my career credentials limped along, I still managed to clean my kitchen twice a year, during the weeks before my professional examinations.
My rule was that if I wasn't studying or sleeping, I HAD to clean the kitchen. (Which as some of us know, can be postponed indefinitely.)
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Post by messymimi on Oct 4, 2008 14:22:11 GMT -5
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Oct 4, 2008 16:46:44 GMT -5
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Oct 4, 2008 16:52:44 GMT -5
That website says it was posted in February 2006, so the info should be pretty good.
What a great link! Thanks mimi!-
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Post by 60isolderthanithot on May 6, 2009 22:17:43 GMT -5
There are professionals with schedules that conform to current law. Look around, it might really be worth a consultation fee if you're anxious about legalities. The IRS is heartless. They drive people to suicide without losing any sleep over it. It's a bureaucracy with a whim of iron. Don't take any risks you don't have to. You do not have normal civil rights when you're dealing with them.
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Post by marigold on May 7, 2009 2:34:55 GMT -5
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Jan 18, 2010 19:39:57 GMT -5
-
Bumping forward this old thread from October 2008,
because people in our chatroom were asking this information.
If anyone has updated info, please add.
-
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Post by Evelyn on Jan 18, 2010 23:16:00 GMT -5
Quick off-the-top-of-my-head what I remember from Scripts and other lists
(don't bet the farm on any of this, but it may help give you somewhere to start) -
Keep forever in a secure location (fire-proof strongbox, safe deposit box, etc.):
- Land Deeds, stock & bond certificates, T-Bills & any other pieces of paper directly exchangable for money or property
- Title certificates to any vehicles you own outright
- Birth certificate, passport, social security card, naturalization papers, adoption and/or marriage certifcates, etc.
- Insurance policies (the big sheaf of documents that is the policy itself)
Keep forever in a file drawer:
- Your will
- Tax returns and supporting documents
- Your children's medical records (and your own if you like)
- Title transfer records for any land or vehicles you've sold
Keep for 10 years:
- Documentation of any published articles, research data, or other public claims.
Keep for 7 years:
- Bank statements
- Paystubs
Keep for the life of the loan:
- Loan documents, including payment records. (If you might want to use the paid -off loan to support your credit rating, keep for 3 years beyond paid-off date.)
Keep for the life of cars, appliances & other major purchases:
- Documentation of purchase (cash register receipt, credit slip (photocopy in case ink fades), etc.)
- Service records
- Warranty papers (write down serial & model numbers and keep with warranty)
- Owner's manual (write down serial & model number somewhere on this)
Keep for one year:
- billing statements (utility, medical, etc.)
Some things are less hard & fast -
Keep either for one year, 7 years, or the life of the line of credit:
Credit card statements - depending on how secure you want to feel about it and how likely you would be to actually use them to document your case in a dispute.
Keep for one year, one month, or only as long as it takes to get to a shredder:
ATM reciepts and credit* & debit slips - one year to be super-safe, one month if you want to reconcile them with your bank statement, the time it takes to get to the nearest shredder if you know you're never going to reconcile them anyway.
*Exception to the above: The credit slip (and a photcopy in case it fades) for any major purchase should be kept, along with the cash register reciept & other pertinent papers, for 7 years.
That's all I can remember right now. Hope it helps some.
- Evelyn
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Post by CrimsonKat on Jan 20, 2010 4:36:04 GMT -5
i keep the important stuff as hard copies for the proper amount of time, but anything else i feel like i can't part with, i will scan and keep digitally so i can shred the excess paper clutter.
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