Residential Property Records. All escrow statements (purchase
and sale) plus receipts for improvements should be kept for at least
four years after property is sold. Refinance papers should also be
retained.
Purchase Receipts for Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds. These should
also be kept for at least four years after the asset is sold. This
would include record of stock dividends, splits, and reinvested dividends.
Depreciation Records. For any rental real estate of depreciable
business property you own, keep records of the property's cost, date
acquired, and the schedule of depreciation claimed in previous years.
This record should be kept until four years after the disposition
of the property.
Retirement Plan Contributions. Records of non deductible IRA
deposits, employer-plan stock purchases, rollovers, conversion to
Roth IRAs and Keogh plan deposits should be kept until four years
after the plan assets have been withdrawn.
Personal Records. Important papers such as estate and gift
tax returns, divorce and property settlement agreements, deeds, title
insurance policies, and all trust documents should be kept in a permanent
file, or perhaps a safe deposit box.
Miscellaneous Papers. All other documents to include bank statements,
canceled checks, credit card statements, deposit slips, charitable
contribution receipts, and medical bills can be discarded after four
years.
If you are not sure, please give us a call before you throw your records
out.
