One of the most prevalent reasons people hang on to documents is that they think they will be important later. Even if there is no imaginable future need for a certain receipt or bill, there’s still the nagging doubt that somehow, years in the future, you’ll regret throwing away the record of some purchase or transaction.
So years go by and those documents stay in boxes and filing cabinets until you start to wonder “when is it safe to throw this stuff out?” We get that question a lot, and we’re here to help. To save you the time, and answer your questions we’ve compiled a list of suggested durations for a few different types of documents.
Tax Related:
7 years is the magic number when it comes to tax documents. Different kinds of tax documents may be thrown out as soon as three years, but 7 years is the max, so that duration will guarantee you have all your bases covered. For more detail on saving tax documents, see our blog post, How long should I save tax documents?
Banking Documents:
Unless they’re tax related, save checks and other banking documents for one year. Checks related to mortgages and business expenses should be saved longer or indefinitely. When in doubt, save it, or better yet, scan it!
Bills:
It’s recommended that you hang on to bills for about one year, or until you’re sure they are no longer relevant. However, bills for high-value purchases should be saved indefinitely for use as proof of value in the case you decide to sell an expensive appliance or jewelry, for example.
Credit Card/Receipts/Statements:
Credit card expenses need only be saved until you receive your monthly statement. If the receipts add up to your bill, shred ‘em. Unless, of course, they are tax-related in which case we recommend the seven year rule.
Paycheck Stubs:
Hang on to paycheck stubs for about a year. Once you compare them to your W-2 form, you can throw them out if they add up.
Hopefully that info can free up some of your attic space from cabinets and boxes. Don’t forget, scanning and storing your documents online with OfficeDrop lets you save documents as long as you like without sacrificing space in your home. This list should give you more confidence to throw out some documents you’re sure you don’t need. As for the rest, send them off to OfficeDrop. We do all the scanning for you and you’ll never have to worry about saving or losing an important document again.
