It's hard to generalize. I've heard that you should keep the actual tax return (the 1040) as long as possible. Supporting documents, you can/should pitch after 7 years or so.
For tax purposes, remember that you need to keep records from the triggering event. So if you buy a stock, you should hold onto records of the purchase (and your cost basis) until the time you sell the stock, plus whatever your record retention period is. If you're keeping track of cost basis for your home, you need to keep those records/receipts until you sell the home, etc.
|