Don’t keep unnecessary paperwork
Experts recommend keeping any financial documents related to your taxes for seven years since the IRS can look back for six years if your income is seriously underreported. The FDIC advises keeping credit card and bank statements that don’t have any tax significance for a year.
ATM deposit slips, withdrawal receipts, and canceled checks unrelated to your taxes can be thrown out (or shredded to prevent identity theft) as long as there’s accurate evidence of the transactions on your bank statements. One other way to eliminate the paperwork is to opt for electronic bills to be sent to your password-protected email.
Make sure you keep receipts like charitable contributions or tax payments that you can deduct. Here are 11 Tax-Related Documents You Should Always Keep in Handy.
