Know which papers to toss—and keep

Who does not feel like they are drowning in paper, especially at this time of year? Receipts, bills, deeds, tax returns, paycheck stubs--the list goes on and on.

"Many people have no idea which important documents they should keep and which they shouldn't, so they end up either keeping everything or throwing away documents that they should have kept," maintains CPA and attorney Jim Lange, author of Retire Secure! Pay Taxes Later: The Key to Making Your Money Last as Long as You Do.

"Simply knowing the time frame for retaining certain documents is the first step to getting organized. You really will save yourself a lot of headaches." Lange has compiled a summary of tax and accounting documents with rough guidelines for how long they should be kept:

Documents you never want to part with. Lifetime keepers include birth certificates, marriage licenses, and wills. Then there are others that you know are very important, but are not quite sure what their shelf life should be, particularly those that are tax-related (such as annual returns), the cost basis of investments, and records of nondeductible IRA contributions. Actually, you should keep them all. "These documents may not need to be readily accessible, but you should definitely find a safe place for them, like a safety deposit box at the local bank," Lange recommends.

Records that should go out with the old. This category involves documents such as house deeds and car titles. The general rule is that, as long as you are responsible for the item related to the document, you should keep its papers. "These documents are high on the list of important papers," notes Lange, "but there is no need for you to keep them forever. When you sell your house, chances are you will be buying a new one and will therefore have a new deed to keep up with. Don't let the old one clog your filing cabinet."

Records with a seven-year itch. File them by date to ensure they are not kept longer than the necessary seven years. Documents in this category include canceled checks and receipts with tax implications (alimony, charitable contributions, mortgage interest, retirement plan papers) and credit card statements if tax-related expenses are documented.

Records to toss after the ball drops. Generally, the fastest growing piles of documents are those records that should be purged at the end of every year. These include quarterly statements of retirement plans, bank statements, and bills with no long-term tax importance. "It's silly to keep them indefinitely. After a year, they become trash and that is where they should go," Lange states. Just remember, with the increasing threat of identity theft, shredding, rather than tossing, is best.

Even if you know which papers to keep and which to get rid of, there still are a lot of important documents to manage. What is the best way to keep everything organized? If you have access to a computer and scanner, make electronic back-up copies of all paper documents and save them on a portable memory stick. "The sticks are also a great place to store your information for online accounts," Lange suggests. "Some of the larger capacity memory sticks also come with password protection so you don't have to worry about other people getting access to your information."

COPYRIGHT 2007 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning