# Direct Depost Paystubs - Is There Any Reason To Keep These? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312 "2004-08-04T16:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312/1 "2004-08-04T16:39:06Z")
I get paid weekly through direct deposit, and every week I receive a statement containing my paycheck stub. Thus far I have been accumulating these because of some vague notion that all financial records should be filed away and kept, but is there actually any **real** reason I should keep these rather than shred them and toss’em? Even if I got into an argument with my employer over whether or not I’d been paid (which I’m not worried about), my banking records would be the most important evidence. Would the IRS expect you to have them in an audit situation? I am itching to throw these things into the trash. For what reasons are these paycheck stubs actually worth keeping? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312/2 "2004-08-04T16:43:16Z")
I get mine every two weeks. I check the deposit amount, because although I am salary, it varies by a penny every other payday or so. Then I shred it and pitch it. I would examine it to make sure any overtime, vacation time, insurance, etc, is correct. But I don’t see any need to keep it. I think I read somewhere that the only paystub you need to keep is the final one for the year, so you can make sure your W-2s are correct when they arrive at the end of January. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312/3 "2004-08-04T17:13:27Z")
I have always tossed mine. Just verify that the money did, in fact, make it to your bank account. After that, I can’t imagine why you would need it anymore and, if you ever did, there are alternate sources to get it from. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312/4 "2004-08-04T17:14:52Z")
You should always keep three around for credit purposes. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312/5 "2004-08-04T18:02:19Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > You should always keep three around for credit purposes. I think I’ll keep one every two or three months and toss the rest. Into the round file they go! ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/direct-depost-paystubs-is-there-any-reason-to-keep-these/258312/6 "2004-08-04T18:12:50Z")
_Re_ the idea of keeping only the last paycheck stub of the year, and comparing that with the amount on your W-2 form: two problems. One is that pay periods do not necessarily end on Dec. 31, so the amounts may differ. You will have to calculate how much of the last paycheck was earned before January 1. The other is that it is possible for a bookkeeping error to creep into the running total of your year’s income, as reported on your paycheck stub. Only by keeping your individual paycheck stubs during the year — or all your bank statements — could you go back and determine if this is true.