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How long should I keep tax records?

Managing household records

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The internal Revenue Service in most states has got 3 years in which to audit Federal income tax returns. This limit may not apply in unusual cases for instance if you failed to report more than 25 percentage of your gross income, the Government has 6 years to collect the tax or better still start legal proceedings. There are no specific time limitations if you filed a fraudulent return. Visit http://publications.usa.gov/epublications/keeprecords/keeprecords.htm for more information.

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We keep ours for 7yrs.

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Indefinitely

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They say to keep them for seven years to be safe.

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you are right but for a person who is on the move all thetime in the USA and overseas its CRAZY
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DIGITIZE - Scan your documents as PDFs and password encrypt them. Then if you need to, you can print them later.
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I HAVE KEPT MINE SINCE 1970. I HAVE PLACE THEM ON CD AND HAVE MORE SPACE THEN EVER. IN 2006 I WAS ASK ABOUT MY 1970 TAX WHEN I APPLY FOR MILITARY CONDITIONS.. SO REALY ITS UP TO GOOD I R S

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The Feds can only ask for the past seven years unless they can prove fraud.

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I I ONLY hope that it was 7 years, but when I read jgr0845's I thought "WHOA"! I hope that I've been correct in my "time" guesstimate! :)

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7 years legally

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imaprincess1
yeah body with your mom
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cheeks91

7 years unless you own other property/busimesses

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We save for 5 years.

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You should always keep tax record .

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I say 7 years

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The government (IRS) says at least three years. If you commit or are accused of committing Fraud they can go back as far as they need within the statute of limitations. If one has cheated or is suspected of cheating by the IRS, the Service can go back at least least 6 years but may have to reconstruct income from records as many who cheat do not file returns. Some of the off-shore tax haven banks are starting to cooperate recently with the IRS and are revealing some of their American clients to the U.S. tax authorities so you may not be able to safely hide your income by sending it overseas in the future.

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You could always record a tax, then just throw the tax away.

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6years

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for the past two years. The rest can be shreded

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at least 7 years

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imaprincess1
your mom will sleep on my bed at least 7 years
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7 years

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You are legally required to save documentation of anything used on the tax return for 3 years from the original due date or date of filing (if filed late). After that, the return is considered "closed" except for fraud.

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3 years, per IRS

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I would say, keep it forever in a folder or in a safe place in case you need them in the future.

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