Most household bills (utilities, credit cards, phone) should be kept for one year to verify payments, but can be shredded immediately if they are for minor purchases. Tax-related records, bank statements, and medical bills should be kept for three to seven years to cover potential IRS audits.
Documents that define your personal and financial life—like your birth certificate, marriage license and tax returns—should be kept forever. Hold on to records that support information on your tax returns for seven years. Digitizing and shredding your paper documents can cut the risk of fraud and identity theft.
- Credit card statements can be discarded once you review your statement unless there are tax-related expenses on them. - Utility bills should be saved until the following month's bill arrives showing that your prior payment was received. If you track utility usage over time, keep your bills for one to two years.
Keep Forever
Credit card and bank account statements: Save those with no tax return usefulness for about a year, but those with tax significance should be saved for seven years.
You need to keep records related to your personal or business tax returns. The statute of limitations to examine your return and mail a Notice of Proposed Assessment (NPA) adjusting your return is usually 4 years from the due date of the return, or the date the return is filed.
Lauren Saltman, owner at Living. Simplified., tells me that the 5/7 rule is a simple yet powerful guideline she often recommends to help keep countertops clear and clutter-free. "The idea is this that if you use an item five out of seven days in a week, it can stay out on your counter.
Be clear about the sentimental items that should have a place in your home. You only have so much space to store them all. "Family photos, heirlooms, and keepsakes are often decluttered because they feel like clutter, when the real challenge is deciding how to honor the memory," says Hines.
Keep important papers like birth certificates, wills, deeds, titles, insurance policies, and Social Security cards in a safe deposit box or fireproof box that you'll be able to access quickly in an emergency. And set up a simple filing system to keep everything else in its place.
Should I shred utility bills? Yes. After you've paid your bill, you can pretty much shred these unless they contain tax-deductible expenses. In that case, you'll need to keep them with your “tax stuff.”
The 7 year rule
No tax is due on any gifts you give if you live for 7 years after giving them - unless the gift is part of a trust. This is known as the 7 year rule.
Some people recommend keeping checkbook registers for at least 12 months in case “issues” (questions about payment) arise and because some checks may take a while to clear.
At its core, the 3-5-7 rule sets three clear boundaries: 3%: The maximum amount of your trading capital you should risk on any single trade. 5%: The total amount of capital you should have exposed across all open trades at any given time. 7%: The minimum profit you should aim to make on your winning trades.
How to declutter kitchen countertops:
"The fork decluttering method is a streamlined approach that categorises items into four distinct groups: Functional, Optional, Replaceable, and Keep- worthy," says Caroline Caron Dhaouadi, founder of Homefulness.
27 fling boogie: This is another clever tool to help you declutter. Walk through your home with a garbage bag and collect 27 items. Do not stop until you have 27. Then close the garbage bag and throw it away.
Taxes aren't determined by age, so you will never age out of paying taxes. People who are 65 or older at the end of 2025 have to file a return for that tax year (which is due in 2026) if their gross income is $16,550 or higher. If you're married filing jointly and both 65 or older, that amount is $32,300.
Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If we identify a substantial error, we may add additional years. We usually don't go back more than the last six years. The IRS tries to audit tax returns as soon as possible after they are filed.
Yes, it is worth keeping the old bank statements after the death of a loved one. You won't have to hold on to them forever, but you should store them for an appropriate time period. Typically, you're advised to keep financial statements for three to seven years.