Do you think it is neccessary to save old bills such as elecric, water, car insurence etc. Biils already payed

Question

Or is is best to through the old stuff away? Ex: old bank statements, water, cable bills etc?

Answer 1

I save 2 months of paid utility bills and 1 year of bank statements. Also if you apply for a loan for a house, you will need 3 years of income taxes. Save 1 year of car insurance receipts.

Answer 2

It really depends on the type of bill. Here is a general guide;
Keep Indefinitely
Income tax returns
Home purchase records
Home improvement receipts
Any active insurance policies
401k/Pension/IRA records

Keep at least 3 years
Anything that you need to back up your income tax return, like W-2s, 1099s, receipts, or investment statements.

I believe this is because the statute of limitations for IRS audits is three years from each April 15th or when you file your return, whichever is later. Note that if you underreport your income by 25% or more, then the statute of limitations is extended to 6 years. Finally, if there is fraud involved, then there is no time limit.

Throw away at year-end
Monthly bank statement
Monthly or quarterly investment statements
Pay stubs

Throw away after a month
ATM or credit card receipts
Cancelled checks
Utility bills
Credit card statements

A big caveat to all this is to keep anything that you might need for insurance or warranty purposes, in addition to the tax-related items already mentioned earlier. Saving receipts saved me from replacing a DVD player before, back when they still cost over $100. Also, save anything that you may need to prove your cost-basis for an investment when you eventually sell. Of course, be sure to shred everything you decide to dump.

Answer 3

Monthly bills (credit cards, utility bills, etc.) can be tossed after a month. (Such as toss April's bill now.)

Bank statements you should keep for at least two to five years. Canceled checks can be destroyed after a year.

Anything tax-related needs to be kept for 7-10 years.

Tax returns you need to keep forever.

Answer 4

From organizational perspective, you should keep the past two to three months worth of paid bills and bank statements. Just in case you need them for various reasons (i.e. proof of residency or mortgage applications, etc.) However, find out if you can obtain the same copy of the bills online. Then you don't have to clutter your home. Make sure you shred your statements before you thrown them out.

Answer 5

For utility bills, keep at least the past 2 months for reference.
Taxes keep the last 2 years. And it's best to shred everything.
Bank statement also the past 2 months.

Answer 6

IN terms of taxes, IRS says to keep everything for three years back, because they can audit you three years back. However, they really can audit you ten years back if they find against you within the last three years.

If you've never been audited and also, do not itemize, just keep the past three years tax returns and any applicable statements and bills, or at least, that's what I'd do.

Answer 7

I used to keep everything, now I pay on the Internet and get a confirmation with company name, date, amount paid, and account number. You can print it or save it to a Folder and have much less filing and save storage space and know right where to find it if you need it.

Answer 8

Uhm, yea you should. In case you wanted to sign for a new car insurance or something and they ask you for PROOF OF RESIDENCY, those bills will be what you'll need, so I don't suggest getting rid of them just yet.

Answer 9

you should save them for at least 1 year like the water, elec, insurance. But other bills like credit cards and carpayments you should save until they are paid off.

Answer 10

yes cause one time I payed my elec bill had the receipt and all an my elec got turned off cause they said I didn't pay it but I had what had happened the ladie that had took the bill had keyed in one number wrong on my account number and had put it to someone elses account it was in accident but it can still happen thank god I had saved the recipt and had proff I had payed