Your 2013 tax return is filed. What tax records can you toss?

Wednesday, 23 April, 2014

The short answer is: none. You need to hold on to all of your 2013 tax records for now. But this is a great time to take a look at your records for previous tax years and determine what you can purge.

At minimum, keep tax records for as long as the IRS has the ability to audit your return or assess additional taxes, which generally is three years after you file your return. This means you likely can shred and toss most records related to tax returns for 2010 and earlier years.

But you’ll need to hang on to certain records beyond the statute of limitations:

  • Keep tax returns themselves forever, so you can prove to the IRS that you actually filed. (There’s no statute of limitations for an audit if you didn’t file a return.)
  • For W-2 forms, consider holding them until you begin receiving Social Security benefits. Why? In case a question arises regarding your work record or earnings for a particular year.
  • For records related to real estate or investments, keep documents as long as you own the asset, plus three years after you sell it and report the sale on your tax return.

This is only a sampling of retention guidelines for tax-related documents. If you have questions about other documents, please contact us.

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The blogs were developed with the understanding that Steiner & Wald,  CPAs, LLC is not rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice or opinions on specific facts or matters and recommends you consult a professional attorney, accountant, tax professional, financial advisor or other appropriate industry professional.  These blogs reflect the tax law in effect as of the date the blogs were written.  Some material may be affected by changes in the laws or in the interpretation of such laws.  Therefore, the services of a legal or tax advisor should be sought before implementing any ideas contained in these blogs.  Feel free to contact us should you wish to discuss any of these blogs in more specific detail.