How Long Should I Keep My Old Paystubs And Tax Info?

saver42 | Nov 28, 2023 | 32 posts since 2019

How long should I keep my yearly folders containing everything I need for my taxes? (paystubs, deductions, receipts etc). I've heard various answers, from 3 years, 5 years, 7 years? What is the max the IRS could ever go back? I have complete folders going back 30 years.

I need to keep my paystubs, as with the kind of work I used to do they are proof that I worked on certain projects (and indeed more than once I've had to submit 30-year-old paystubs as such proof), but other than the paystubs, which I'll keep for non-IRS reasons, how many years back do I need to keep everything else (yearly tax returns, receipts, deductions, investment receipts, everything else tax-related) before I can throw it away? And is there any reason you can think of that I'd want to keep things other than paystubs for longer than that?

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Answers

racecar | Nov 28, 2023 | 616 posts since 2014

If you have an HSA, you may want to keep medical bill receipts or the yearly "end-of-year" statement booklets for your credit card as proof of medical bills, in all the years after you first opened your HSA.

The reason: one benefit of an HSA is that you can reimburse yourself even years later for medical bills you paid in the past with non-HSA funds, as long as it was after you first opened your HSA and you didn't claim those bills on yours taxes. So if you opened an HSA in 2010, and paid $3k in medical bills in 2013, but paid them with non-HSA funds, then at any point in the future (even if you no longer qualify for an HSA) you can withdraw HSA money for yourself by "reimbursing" yourself for those medical bills years ago that you paid with non-HSA money. So if you have an HSA you may want to keep medical bill receipts (or the year-end credit card summary booklets) as proof of those bills, if you ever want to take HSA money out in the future for non-eligible things (it will become eligible if you use it to "reimburse" yourself for those old medical bills).

me1004 | Nov 28, 2023 | 1,379 posts since 2010

It's up to you, and thus the different things you hear. Seven years should be good enough, unless maybe you are big money and can't back up some things the IRS is wondering about, questioning in the more currenty years. They can go back 20 years, but rarely do that, only if they find some serious problems in the more currenty years that suggest ongoing violations. Btut that gener3ally woud be only for major money, cioproations, bi9llionaires. Some typical taxpayer isn't likely to be hit with more than seven years back, and even that is not all that common.

JeffinEasternFL | Nov 28, 2023 | 744 posts since 2020

you only need the supporting documents with the return for the past 3 years (and the current year) as that is the lookback for audits (unless you" hide income", then 7~ years is proper), however keep a copy of the actual return FOREVER.

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