How long should I keep my tax records?

Now that we’re fully into tax season, many have already received refunds and others are starting to worry about reaching the April 18 deadline. Here at EcoShredding, we know how taxes can take over your office with receipts, forms, W-2s, etc.

Everyone wants to clean out old tax returns, de-clutter their office and have a fresh start for spring. So how can you distinguish between what you should keep and what should be destroyed?

The IRS says you must keep your records that support an item of income or deductions on a tax return until the period of limitations for that return runs out. And even then, it is recommended that you keep items that may be needed for other purposes, such as for your insurance company or creditors.

According to the IRS, employment records should be kept for at least four years. Generally speaking, all documents should be kept on file for seven years. But this number increases if you own your own business.

What do you do when you are ready to part ways with these stacks of files?

Give us a call at 770-490-5607 or visit us online, and we’ll safely destroy all your sensitive documents in our mobile shredding truck. You can even watch! Then we’ll recycle the remnants so you can be sure your old files will be put to new use.