[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Proper record retention is essential for tax compliance, business operations, and personal financial protection. The following guidelines outline recommended retention periods for both business and personal records, along with special circumstances to consider.<\/p>\n
Business Records to Keep:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 3 Years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 6 Years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Forever<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Personal Records to Keep:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Year<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 3 Years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n 6 Years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Forever<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Taxpayers are encouraged to create a backup set of important records and store them electronically. Maintaining backup copies of documents such as bank statements, tax returns, and insurance policies is easier than ever due to the availability of electronic statements and online access provided by many financial institutions.<\/p>\n Paper documents can be scanned and converted into digital format. Once converted, records may be saved to a backup storage device such as an external hard drive or burned onto a CD or DVD (be sure to label the media clearly).<\/p>\n Online backup services should also be considered, as they provide the highest level of protection. Online backups store files in geographically separate regions of the country, ensuring records remain safe in the event of hurricanes or other natural disasters.<\/p>\n Identity theft is a serious and ongoing concern. Once tax records, financial statements, or other documents containing personal information are no longer required to be retained, they should be disposed of securely. These records should be shredded<\/strong>, not simply thrown away in the trash.<\/p>\n Correspondence with customers and vendors<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Duplicate deposit slips<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Purchase orders (excluding Purchasing Department copies)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Receiving sheets<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Requisitions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Stenographer\u2019s notebooks<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Stockroom withdrawal forms<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Employee personnel records (after termination)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Employment applications<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Expired insurance policies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n General correspondence<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Internal audit reports<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Internal reports<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Petty cash vouchers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Physical inventory tags<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Savings bond registration records of employees<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Time cards for hourly employees<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Accident reports and claims<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Accounts payable ledgers and schedules<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Bank statements and reconciliations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cancelled checks<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cancelled stock and bond certificates<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Employment tax records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Expense analysis and expense distribution schedules<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Expired contracts and leases<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Expired option records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Inventories of products, materials, and supplies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Invoices to customers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Notes receivable ledgers and schedules<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Payroll records and summaries, including payments to pensioners<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Plant cost ledgers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Purchasing Department copies of purchase orders<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sales records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Subsidiary ledgers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Time books<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Travel and entertainment records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Vouchers for payments to vendors, employees, etc.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Voucher registers and schedules<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n *Records related to a bad debt deduction or a loss claimed for worthless securities should be kept for 7 years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Although federal guidelines do not require records to be retained indefinitely, there are many situations where permanent retention is advisable.<\/p>\n Audit reports from CPAs or accountants<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cancelled checks for important payments (especially tax payments)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cash books and charts of accounts<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Contracts and leases currently in effect<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Corporate documents (incorporation papers, charter, by-laws, etc.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Documents substantiating fixed asset additions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Deeds<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Depreciation schedules<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Year-end financial statements<\/p>\n<\/li>\n General and private ledgers and year-end trial balances<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Insurance records, including current accident reports, claims, and policies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Investment trade confirmations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n IRS revenue agents\u2019 reports<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Journals<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Legal records, correspondence, and other important matters<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Minute books of directors and stockholders<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mortgages and bills of sale<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Property appraisals by outside appraisers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Property records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Retirement and pension records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Tax returns and worksheets<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Trademark and patent registrations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Bank statements<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Paycheck stubs (reconcile with W-2 forms)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Cancelled checks<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Monthly and quarterly mutual fund and retirement contribution statements (reconcile with year-end statement)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Credit card statements<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Medical bills (for potential insurance disputes)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Utility records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Expired insurance policies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Supporting documents for tax returns<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Accident reports and claims<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Medical bills (if tax-related)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Property records and improvement receipts<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sales receipts<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Wage garnishments<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Other tax-related bills<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n *Records related to a bad debt deduction or a loss claimed for worthless securities should be kept for 7 years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n CPA audit reports<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Legal records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Important correspondence<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Income tax returns<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Income tax payment checks<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Investment trade confirmations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Retirement and pension records<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Car records \u2014 keep until the car is sold<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Credit card receipts \u2014 keep with the corresponding credit card statement<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Insurance policies \u2014 keep for the life of the policy<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Mortgages, deeds, and leases \u2014 keep 6 years beyond the agreement<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Pay stubs \u2014 keep until reconciled with the W-2<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Property records and improvement receipts \u2014 keep until the property is sold<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sales receipts \u2014 keep for the life of the warranty<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Stock and bond records \u2014 keep for 6 years after selling<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Warranties and instruction manuals \u2014 keep for the life of the product<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Other bills \u2014 keep until payment is verified on the next bill<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Depreciation schedules and other capital asset records \u2014 keep for 3 years after the tax life of the asset<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Record Retention Guide Storing Tax and Financial Records: How Long Is Long Enough? Proper record retention is essential for tax compliance, business operations, and personal financial protection. The following guidelines outline recommended retention periods for both business and personal records, along with special circumstances to consider. General Retention Timeframes Business Records to Keep: 1 Year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-400","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458,"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/400\/revisions\/458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dobsoncpa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nSpecial Circumstances: Backup and Electronic Storage<\/h2>\n
\n\u26a0\ufe0f Caution: Identity Theft Protection<\/h3>\n
\nBusiness Documents Retention Schedule<\/h2>\n
Business Documents to Keep for One Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nBusiness Documents to Keep for Three Years<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nBusiness Documents to Keep for Six*<\/strong> Years<\/h3>\n
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\nBusiness Records to Keep Forever<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nPersonal Documents Retention Schedule<\/h2>\n
Personal Documents to Keep for One Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nPersonal Documents to Keep for Three Years<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nPersonal Documents to Keep for Six*<\/strong> Years<\/h3>\n
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\nPersonal Records to Keep Forever<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nSpecial Retention Situations<\/h2>\n
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