How Long Do You Need To Keep Those Documents?

Bank statements, business machine receipts, credit card statements for your - you're filing them away every month, year after year. Your filing boxes are filled to the gills, but is it really necessary to hang on to some of these items for years? How do you know when it's safe to shred it? Cybertary.com offers these guidelines:

Toss Every Month:

ATM and deposit/withdrawal receipts after recorded in your check register.

Credit card receipts after you've checked them against your statement.

Sales receipts for minor purchases with no warranty attached.

Toss After One Year:

Monthly bank and credit-card Statement (if you don't itemize deductions).

Monthly or quarterly brokerage and mutual-fund statements, after you've reconciled them with your year-end summary.

Monthly mortgage statements, as long as your year-end statement clearly shows the total amount you've paid in interest and property taxes over the course of the year.

Phone and utility bills (as long as you don't have a home office, use your phone for business calls, or anticipate any need to prove long-term residency).

Paycheck stubs, after you've reconciled them with your annual W-2 or 1099 forms.

Toss After Seven Years:

W-2 AND 1099 forms.

Year-end statements from credit-card companies.

Phone and utility bills (only if you deduct any portion for business expenses, have more than one home, or have moved within the past few years).

Canceled checks and receipts/statements for: annual mortgage interest and property taxes, deductible business expenses, child-care bills, out-of-pocket medical costs, or any other tax-deductible expense.

Keep Indefinitely:

Your annual tax returns. Your year-end summaries from financial-services companies.

Confirmation slips that list the purchase price of any investments you own.

Home-improvement records.

Receipts for major purchases. (any item whose replacement cost exceeds the deductible on your homeowners' or renters' insurance policy).

Beneficiary designations.