💰what the IRS says to keep, and for how long

Straight from irs.gov's recordkeeping guidance. (not financial advice) Just their own retention periods, restated plainly. checked sep 2026

General rule: keep records 3 years

the default if none of the situations below apply to you

Filed a claim for credit or refund after filing: keep 3 years from your filing date, or 2 years from when you paid the tax, whichever is later

Claiming a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction: keep 7 years

the longest of the 'filed a return' categories

Didn't report income that's more than 25% of your gross income: keep 6 years

Didn't file a return at all: keep records indefinitely

Filed a fraudulent return: keep records indefinitely

hopefully doesn't apply to you

Employment tax records: keep at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later

seperate bucket from your personal income tax records, do the math on both

Property records: keep until the limitations period expires for the year you dispose of the property

so basically years after you sell, not years after you bought

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