Income Tax Records: How Long Should You Keep Them?
It’s more complicated than you might think. There are numerous factors involved.
Maybe you’re on one end or the other of the how-long-do-I-keep-my-income- tax-returns spectrum. You might keep them until you file the next year and then shred them. Or you might have boxes of old tax returns stored in a basement closet. Just in case, you might think.
What the IRS recommends is somewhere in the middle. And there’s not a simple, one-size-fits-all rule. According to the IRS, the length of time you should keep a document depends on the action, expense, or event that the document records.
Maybe you’re on one end or the other of the how-long-do-I-keep-my-income- tax-returns spectrum. You might keep them until you file the next year and then shred them. Or you might have boxes of old tax returns stored in a basement closet. Just in case, you might think.
What the IRS recommends is somewhere in the middle. And there’s not a simple, one-size-fits-all rule. According to the IRS, the length of time you should keep a document depends on the action, expense, or event that the document records.
Get a Free Book!
Find out how we can reduce your taxes! Get Thinking Outside the Tax Box* when you schedule a consultation.
Request a ConsultationReach Us
670 Windmiller Dr, Suite A
Pickerington, OH 43147
1900 Polaris Parkway, Suite 450-046
Columbus, OH 43240
4555 Lake Forest Dr., Suite 650
Cincinnati, OH 45242
614-864-0301