Tax season is over! 

Know what that means? Time for a quick spring cleaning to get rid of all those old unwanted documents! 

Join us on Saturday April 29th anytime between 9:00am and 12:00pm

We will have a shred truck and refreshments on site. 

Not sure what it is safe to destroy? Check out a list of suggestions below.

If you are already a client we are happy to provide a private space with one of our team members to go through old documents. 

If you plan on coming please register so we can get an accurate head count. 

Shred once the item is sold or the issue is resolved:

In some cases, you’ll want to keep important documents until a specific event has passed. For example, you can shred any car titles for vehicles you no longer own (but should keep them while you’re driving the car).

Here are some other situations where you should keep sensitive documents until a certain time:

• Home titles and deeds. Keep these as long as you own the property, but be sure to store them in a secure location. Criminals with access to your home title can steal your equity, remortgage your home, or even rent or sell it without your knowledge. For peace of mind, consider signing up for a home title monitoring service like Identity Guard.
• Vehicle titles and insurance policies. Keep these as long as you own and are driving the vehicle. Again, keep these secure as there are all sorts of car title scams that you could fall victim to if someone steals your vehicle title.
• Disputed medical bills. Keep these until the issue is resolved and you’ve been refunded (or have a written statement saying you’re no longer responsible for the debt). Make sure to securely store any legal documents related to the dispute as well.
• Home improvement receipts. Keep these until you sell your home and use them to calculate the capital gains taxes you owe.
• Some sales receipts. For major appliances or other similar purchases, keep the receipt for the durations of the extended warranty.
• Rental agreements or leases. Keep these until you move out of the home and have been refunded any deposits you gave to the landlord
  
  

Tax Season Shredding Guide: What To Shred and What To Keep

Tax season is when most people start thinking about shredding documents. And for good reason. They’ve held onto receipts and bills and other documents to file their taxes. But what should you do with them after?

First, let’s talk about audits.

Typically, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has three years after you file your taxes to initiate an audit (or three years after the due date). Plan on keeping any supporting documents for at least those three years before shredding them.

However, there are situations where you might need to keep specific documents for up to six years.

Here’s a basic rundown of your tax-season shredding schedule:

1 year retention time

One year after you file your taxes you should be able to shred:

• Pay stubs
• Monthly brokerage statements

3 year retention time

After three years, it should be safe to shred:

• Tax returns
• W-2 forms
• 1099 and 1098 forms
• Receipts from charitable donations
• Contributions to your ITA and other tax-deductible retirement savings accounts

6 year retention time

If you file your tax return and fail to report more than 25% of your gross income, the IRS can still audit you up to 6 years after you file your taxes.

In this situation, you'll want to wait the full six years before shredding:

• W-2 forms
• 1099 forms
• All receipts and business expenses from the past 6 years

After keeping any tax-related documents for seven years, you can safely shred them.