With tax season in full swing, you likely have a lot of highly sensitive information on your hands. It’s very important to get your taxes in order, handled, and filed by the looming April deadline. But once that time has passed, what do you do with your tax documents? Ideally, shred them.
Each document is an identity thieves’ dream. But which documents can you safely shred and what needs to be kept? The security specialists at ShredHub are here to help you decide.
What Needs to Be Kept?
Within all your tax information, there are a few things that really should be kept for an extended period of time. Among these are:
- Returns. Because the IRS can audit taxes filed within the past three (personal) or four (business) years, you’ll want to hang onto returns for this duration. Past the 3-4 year marks, however, go ahead and shred them.
- W-2s. Assuming you did not fail to file (in which case the IRS has six years to find out), W-2s, 1099s, and similar forms should be held for the standard three years to support your return.
- Deduction items. Records of business deductions should be kept as well, such as utilities for personal businesses, claimed assets, and similar items.
Since you’re hanging onto these for a while, it is vital that you keep them somewhere safe and secure. In fact, the word safe is rather apt. Don’t leave everything in a run-of-the-mill filing cabinet that any fraudster or irate wrong-doer can easily access and take.
What Can I Shred Now?
We find that many businesses, and even homeowners, hold onto everything related to tax time for years and years (sometimes their entire lives). But not only is this unnecessary, it’s also an easy way to over clutter and get disorganized as well as keep around far too much sensitive material.
Things you can shred now include:
- Tax receipts
- Bank statements
- Pay stubs
- Confidential medical information
Some will argue about the shredding of bank statements and pay stubs. However, both are retrievable online or in person should you need them again. So why keep them in your home or office where they’re vulnerable?
Secure Shredding Services
Need some help getting your out-of-date or unneeded tax information handled safely? Choose the specialists at ShredHub! We offer one-time and on-going shredding services that use a single chain of custody. That means we’re the only hands that handle your sensitive information, and you never need to worry about theft or fraud. We specialize in onsite shredding for businesses and can come up with a custom solution for you!
Send our Shred team a message!