{"id":45,"date":"2014-11-21T14:43:14","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T19:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.etax.com\/?p=45"},"modified":"2014-12-04T13:25:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T18:25:47","slug":"long-retain-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/21\/long-retain-records\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Should You Retain Your Records?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">Once you\u2019ve filed your taxes, you should maintain all of your records and supporting documents in a safe place in case you need to refer to them or if you get audited. But how long should you keep your records for? The IRS has a few <a href=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/08\/2025-overtime-tip-tax-deduction-schedule-1-a\/\">tips<\/a> that can help you figure out how long you should stash your documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The IRS states that the timeframe of document retention depends on the document, the expense, and what the document supports. In addition to supporting documents, the IRS suggests keeping a record of previously filed tax returns, which can assist in future filings.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Typically, the IRS suggests any records which support income or deductions that were claimed on a tax return should be held until the period of limitation expires. The period of limitation is a specific window of time where it is permissible to amend the return to claim additional credits or refunds. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Certain items and situations have different scenarios for how long you should keep the documents. The IRS recommends the following guidelines:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">You have unreported income that totals more than 25% of the gross income shown on the return. You should keep all related items for 6 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">You have filed a return that is fraudulent. Records should be maintained for life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Records should be kept indefinitely if you did not file a return.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">If you\u2019ve amended your original return to claim a credit, you should keep records for at least 3 years from the date of the original return, or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, depending on which is longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">You claim a loss of worthless securities or bad debt. All records should be kept for 7 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Any records related to tax paid through an employer should be maintained for at least 4 years from the date the tax is due, or the date you paid, whichever is later.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once you\u2019ve filed your taxes, you should maintain all of your records and supporting documents in a safe place in case you need to refer to them or if you get audited. But how long should you keep your records for? The IRS has a few tips that can help you figure out how long [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[76,89,90,27],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-filing","tag-irs","tag-records","tag-supporting-documents","tag-taxes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Long Should You Retain Your Records? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/21\/long-retain-records\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Long Should You Retain Your Records? - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Once you\u2019ve filed your taxes, you should maintain all of your records and supporting documents in a safe place in case you need to refer to them or if you get audited. 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