Retaining tax documents how long

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Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. Taxpayers should also maintain copies of tax returns and related documents themselves, Curtis says. Keeping your own records prevents any potential problems if your CPA sells their business, retires, loses their records in a fire or flood, or dies.

Deeds, titles, stock and other investment authentications and valuations would be the exception to the scan rule. Ellen Chang is a freelance journalist who is based in Houston and writes articles for U. Chang previously covered investing, retirement and personal finance for TheStreet. She focuses her articles on stocks, personal finance, energy and cybersecurity. She is a proud graduate of Purdue University and a lover of random acts of kindness, volunteering and cats and dogs. Follow her on Twitter at ellenychang and Instagram at ellenyinchang.

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We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You can change your cookie settings at any time. How long you should keep your records depends on whether you send your tax return before or after the deadline.

You should keep your records for at least 22 months after the end of the tax year the tax return is for. If you send your to tax return online by 31 January , keep your records until at least the end of January If you inherit property or receive it as a gift, make sure you keep documents and records that help you establish the property's basis for at least three years after you dispose of the property.

The basis of inherited property is generally the property's fair market value on the date of the decedent's death. For gifted property, your basis is generally the same as the donor's basis. Keep home-purchase documents and receipts for home improvements for three years after you've sold the home. But if you sell the house before then or if your gains are larger, then you'll need to have your home-purchase records to establish your basis.

You can add the cost of significant home improvements to the basis, which will help reduce your tax liability. See IRS Publication for more details. Similar rules apply for any rental properties you own; save records relating to your basis for at least three years after selling the property.

Don't forget to check your state's tax record retention recommendations, too. The tax agency in your state might have more time to audit your state tax return than the IRS has to audit your federal return.

For instance, the California Franchise Tax Board has up to four years to audit state income tax returns, so California residents should save related documents for at least that long. Skip to header Skip to main content Skip to footer.

Home taxes. When Do Monthly Payments Arrive? And Other FAQs. W-2 forms reporting income; forms showing income, capital gains, dividends and interest on investments; forms if you deducted mortgage interest; Canceled checks and receipts for charitable contributions; Records showing eligible expenses for withdrawals from health savings accounts and college-savings plans ; and Records showing contributions to a tax-deductible retirement-savings plan, such as a traditional IRA.