4 ms·

So everybody must keep 7 years of archives? Is that why houses in the US are so big? And does everybody have an archival room? Or does the IRS accept scans? So

So everybody must keep 7 years of archives? Is that why houses in the US are so big? And does everybody have an archival room? Or does the IRS accept scans? So many questions.

nicoburns 4y ago
How many documents do you have??? Surely one smallish box would do for most people?
- bradknowles 4y ago
  Some people, yes. Others, no. As your finances get more complex, and you change employers more often, and you have more 401k plans that are distributed around various companies, and you have multiple credit cards, etc... then your storage requirements will necessarily increase.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    Essentially all such records are available online. In any case, a file cabinet is almost certainly sufficient if you want to save a few years of printed copies.
    - bradknowles 4y ago
      You still need to provide your own copies of that information, which can be verified against other sources. If you can't provide that information, then you're likely to not do well during the audit. So, you do want to make sure you've got your own copies of those files, whether hard copy or scanned. But for 99.99% of US citizens, a single file cabinet is likely to be more than enough.
bradknowles 4y ago
In theory, yes. In practice, I think most people probably don't. I think scans would be acceptable, but you'd probably have to verify those claims with the bill sender. Houses in the US being so big has less to do with storage requirements for tax filing documents than everyone wanting to stay above average for everything, including house size, and home builders and real estate agents profiting greatly from the general FOMO.
pseingatl 4y ago
You can always "reconstruct the file" in order to replace lost physical documents, assuming there are digital copies elsewhere. The IRS and the courts may lose files occasionally. Then there are fires, like the government records Missouri fire: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 It happens.

So everybody must keep 7 years of archives? Is that why houses in the US are so big? And does everybody have an archival room? Or does the IRS accept scans? So many questions.

nicoburns 4y ago

How many documents do you have??? Surely one smallish box would do for most people?

bradknowles 4y ago
Some people, yes. Others, no. As your finances get more complex, and you change employers more often, and you have more 401k plans that are distributed around various companies, and you have multiple credit cards, etc... then your storage requirements will necessarily increase.
- ghaff 4y ago
  Essentially all such records are available online. In any case, a file cabinet is almost certainly sufficient if you want to save a few years of printed copies.
  - bradknowles 4y ago
    You still need to provide your own copies of that information, which can be verified against other sources. If you can't provide that information, then you're likely to not do well during the audit. So, you do want to make sure you've got your own copies of those files, whether hard copy or scanned. But for 99.99% of US citizens, a single file cabinet is likely to be more than enough.

bradknowles 4y ago

In theory, yes. In practice, I think most people probably don't. I think scans would be acceptable, but you'd probably have to verify those claims with the bill sender. Houses in the US being so big has less to do with storage requirements for tax filing documents than everyone wanting to stay above average for everything, including house size, and home builders and real estate agents profiting greatly from the general FOMO.

pseingatl 4y ago

You can always "reconstruct the file" in order to replace lost physical documents, assuming there are digital copies elsewhere. The IRS and the courts may lose files occasionally. Then there are fires, like the government records Missouri fire: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 It happens.