Before You De-clutter, Know Which Documents To Keep, Which To Toss, BBB Advises

When you’re trying to reduce clutter, it’s sometimes hard to know what papers to keep and which to toss. The Better Business Bureau has some tips that can help you sort through sensitive documents and prevent identity theft at the same time.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to let sensitive papers pile up on counters or to keep them where a casual visitor might have access to them.

Experts on identity theft say that people who have access to your home are more likely to defraud you than mysterious scammers online. People who work around your house, friends, or even relatives might be tempted to pick up a credit card bill or bank statement left lying on a table or countertop.

The best way to minimize the risk of ID theft is to keep your records in a locked drawer – or in a secure place online. Some experts recommend that you switch to online access for financial statements rather than getting them in the mail.

However, if you aren’t ready to make that leap, at least make sure you empty your mailbox promptly and file the statements securely.

Documents that aren’t needed long-term should be shredded and disposed of safely. There’s no reason to keep statements from long-closed bank accounts at banks that no longer exist, for example.

The BBB will offer free shredding of up to three bags or boxes of documents next month at a Shred Day co-sponsored with the Consumer Fraud Task Force. Trucks from Shred-It, a Securit company, will be at Saint Louis Galleria’s southeast parking lot from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 20.

So what should you keep and how long should you keep it? The BBB recommends:

1. Tax returns and supporting documents should be kept for eight years. Supporting documents may include charitable donation receipts, medical bills and property tax records, for example.
2. Records on contributions to individual retirement accounts should be kept permanently.
3. Retirement and savings plan statements should be kept from one year to permanently. Keep the monthly or quarterly statements until the end of the year, then keep the year-end statement and shred the others.
4. Brokerage statements should be kept until you sell the securities. Sale and basis records should be kept with tax returns for eight years.
5. Insurance policies should be kept for the life of the policy.
6. Copies of bills should be kept until you have a canceled check or other confirmation that the bill has been paid. If they relate to taxes, they should be kept for eight years.
7. Keep credit card receipts until you get the monthly statement, then shred receipts if the statements match. Statements should be kept for eight years if they include tax-related expenses.
8. Paycheck stubs should be kept until you get your W-2 form. If the form matches your stubs, shred the stubs unless there’s other information you need for taxes, such as union dues paid, health insurance costs or retirement plan contributions. Consider keeping the year’s final stub for seven years or permanently.
9. House records – such as purchase price and the cost of permanent improvements - should be kept permanently, or until seven years after you sell the house.

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