It seems I collect a lot of paper because “I might need it someday.” This mainly applies to bank and credit card statements. However, after several years of filing them away, I realize that I have never had to refer to a saved statement once it has been filed away.
If the IRS needs something, I can get copies from the bank, I suppose. The cost wouldn’t be too bad because I would only need it for a single given tax year. This seems easier than having to go through my files every so often to clean out all the old crap.
Should I just shred this stuff immediately upon verifying its accuracy?
A couple of weeks ago I finally tackled my stash. I’m fairly certain I’ll not be needing my 1986 electric bills again (although it was interesting to see how they’ve changed). I tossed and tossed.
The new plan is to keep 'em for a year. I have, once, actually had to refer to a months old charge. But anything that’s going to come up will likely surface in 90 days or so.
You do need to keep anything that may be relevant to an IRS audit (I was audited for three consecutive years - that might explain the pack-ratism I’ve recently shaken off) for three to six years after the record is no longer part of your tax situation. So records associated with a long term investment may be kept for many years, i.e., until three to six years after divestiture of that investment.