Paper records for taxes: what to toss, what to keep

Excerpted from an article by:
Laura Cohn, Associate Editor

The most important documents to hang on to are your annual tax returns. You should keep the actual returns forever, but you can get rid of the supporting documents after three years. That's how long the IRS has to initiate an audit. Once the time elapses, toss the records -- and shred any that reveal your Social Security number or other personal information.

Other papers to save for at least three years include thank-you letters from charities and year-end investment statements. You don't need to save your monthly mutual fund reports forever. But before you toss them, wait for the year-end statements and make sure they match up. Also be sure to keep records that show the initial purchase price for stocks and mutual funds so you can calculate your basis when you sell them. After that, you can shred the documents once the three- or six-year IRS window draws to a close.

You also need to save records pertaining to your house as long as you live in it. Records showing your purchase price, and what you spent on improvements, may come in handy when you're trying to prove the value of your home to potential buyers. Another reason to keep these papers: If you sell your house at a hefty profit (more than $500,000 for couples filing a joint return or $250,000 for single filers), certain expenses can be used to lower your tax bill. After you sell the house, keep the documents for three years.

Finally, hold on to records showing how much money went into and came out of IRAs and 401(k)s -- especially if you've made any nondeductible contributions -- so you don't overpay taxes when you withdraw the money. Keep any 8606 forms on which you reported nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs.