Utility bills should generally be kept for one to two months, or until you have verified the payment with your bank statement, after which they can be securely shredded. Keep them for up to one year to track usage or if needed for proof of address, and up to three years if used for tax deductions.
- 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.
After paying credit card or utility bills, shred them immediately. Also, shred sales receipts, unless related to warranties, taxes, or insurance. After one year, shred bank statements, pay stubs, and medical bills (unless you have an unresolved insurance dispute).
Keep for a year or less – unless you are deducting an expense on your tax return: Monthly utility/cable/phone bills: Discard these once you know everything is correct. Credit card statements: Just like your monthly bills, you can discard these once you know everything is correct.
One of the main reasons to shred old utility bills is to prevent identity theft. Utility bills include personal information that can be used by scammers to open fraudulent accounts in your name. Shredding these documents ensures that no one can misuse your details.
Keep Forever
You generally don't need to keep 20-year-old tax returns; the standard IRS recommendation is to keep most tax records for 3 years, but 6 years if you significantly underreported income (25% or more), or even indefinitely if you never filed or filed fraudulently. For most people, keeping records for 3-7 years covers standard audits, but if those returns are from a time you bought/sold property or have complex investments (like worthless securities), you might need them longer, so consider shredding or securely disposing of anything older than 7 years unless it's for property records.
How long should I keep medical records? Hold on to medical bills for a year, unless there's an ongoing insurance dispute or you claim a tax deduction for medical expenses. Keep health insurance policies for as long as the insurance is active.
Of course, there are some important documents you should never shred, such as:
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.
Based on the three-year rule, in late April 2025, you'll generally be able to discard most records associated with your 2021 return if you filed it by the April 2022 due date.
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.
It is U.S. government policy that all designs of Federal Reserve notes remain legal tender, or legally valid for payments, regardless of when they were issued. This policy includes all denominations of Federal Reserve notes, from 1914 to present as per 31 U.S.C. § 5103.
Depositing $2,000 in cash isn't inherently suspicious and is well below the $10,000 reporting threshold for banks, but it can raise flags if it's part of a pattern (structuring), inconsistent with your normal income, or involves other red flags like frequent large cash deposits from others, leading to a potential Suspicious Activity Report (SAR). To avoid issues, have clear records for the cash's source, like invoices or sales receipts, especially if you deal in cash often.
If you deposit cash exceeding the prescribed threshold (₹10 lakh in savings, ₹50 lakh in current account), the bank is obligated to report this under Rule 114E of the Income Tax Rules. Once reported: The transaction reflects in your AIS/Form 26AS.
If your deposits are for the same transaction, they cannot exceed $10,000 per year without reporting. Although the IRS does not regulate how often you can deposit $9,000, separate $9,000 deposits may still be flagged as suspicious transactions and may be reported by your bank.
The IRS $600 rule refers to a change in reporting requirements for third-party payment apps (like Venmo, PayPal) for taxable income from goods and services, where platforms must send a Form 1099-K if you receive over $600 in a year, intended to capture gig economy/side hustle income, though delays and phased implementation have adjusted the timeline, with current rules for 2024 using a higher threshold ($5,000) before fully phasing to $600 for future years, but remember all taxable income, regardless of form, must always be reported.
9 Paper Documents You Should Keep Forever in Their Original Form
At What Age Can You Stop Filing Taxes? 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.
Suze Orman's four must-have legal documents for financial protection are a Will, a Revocable Living Trust, a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, and a Durable Financial Power of Attorney, with an Advance Directive (like Five Wishes) often combined with the healthcare POA to specify medical wishes, ensuring your assets and care are handled according to your wishes, especially if incapacitated, and avoiding family conflict and costly probate.
Crumm, the Michigan tax expert, lists several types of records her clients should never throw away. Among them: Adoption papers, birth certificates, death certificates, divorce decrees, lawsuits, marriage certificates, diplomas and school transcripts, health and immunization records, and Social Security cards.
Declaration of Independence
Of all the documents of American history, this is the most celebrated and its influence stretches far beyond America.