Saving Past Documents

[Michael G.]

So much is written about record saving, such as tax records, house sale and buying info,
Insurance payments etc. etc.

What does the IRS say?

Is there a one answer for all??

Cheers!

[retiredguy123]

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.

[Bill14564]

So much is written about record saving, such as tax records, house sale and buying info,
Insurance payments etc. etc.

What does the IRS say?

Is there a one answer for all??

Cheers!

The best place to learn what the IRS says would be the IRS. They have a lot of online information and phone numbers you could call.

There is not one answer for all.

I save tax information for at least seven years, house sale purchase information forever, insurance declaration pages and costs for a couple years, and insurance payment information for about a month (though the bank saves transaction information for longer than that).

[Gpsma]

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.

Actually they can go back forever for a fraudulent return. To reach the level of fraud it would have to be beyond the usual fudging of numbers or simply “forgot” something.

[DAVES]

Actually they can go back forever for a fraudulent return. To reach the level of fraud it would have to be beyond the usual fudging of numbers or simply “forgot” something.

Like so many things, IF, they target you they will find a way to get you. For most it is simply not worth the trouble. The IRS just hired, what was the number 600 new auditors. There is a NEED to prove it is money well spent.

Martha Stewart. I have no relationship to her. She is a public figure. They went after her and the issue was given a lot of coverage. It likely cost more than it was worth. The goal was not to punish her but to make a public example of her.

"Simply forgot something," is NOT an excuse. It is still subject to ALL penalties.

[JMintzer]

Like so many things, IF, they target you they will find a way to get you. For most it is simply not worth the trouble. The IRS just hired, what was the number 600 new auditors. There is a NEED to prove it is money well spent.

Martha Stewart. I have no relationship to her. She is a public figure. They went after her and the issue was given a lot of coverage. It likely cost more than it was worth. The goal was not to punish her but to make a public example of her.

"Simply forgot something," is NOT an excuse. It is still subject to ALL penalties.

600? Try 2500...

"The IRS has hired about 2500 new auditors as part of a $40 billion package passed by Congress. This includes 2,000 agents to the Small Business team and another 500 to the Criminal Enforcement team."