If the IRS audits your tax return, they will only go back 3 years for almost every tax return. The exception is that, if they find that you filed a fraudulent return by hiding income, then they can go back 7 years. But, there are some documents that you may need to keep forever, such as financial statements and other information to prove the cost basis for capital gains income on stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. Also, if you have a cost basis for your traditional IRA or other retirement accounts, you need to keep your most recent Form 8606 to prove the non-taxable basis.
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