Discussion:Record Retention
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Discussion Forum Index --> Business Growth Community --> Record Retention
TaxAssociates (talk|edits) said: | 23 July 2009 |
| I'm going through my yearly shredding excersize; I'm trying to get a feel for how long others keep customer records. For some reason, I'm not comfortable with IRS's minimum guidelines. What's others opinions? | |
| 23 July 2009 | |
| There are several discussions on this in the Practice Management/Business Growth Forum - try these for starters: record retention. In a couple of minutes, I'll move this discussion over to that forum, too, as you're likely to get more input there from people interested in that kind of thing, rather than in the technical tax forum where this was originally posted. | |
| 23 July 2009 | |
| I do not keep any of the customer records. They keep their own records for 4 years. I do copy and keep W-2, 1099 forms as required for E filing and their tax returns on a hard drive. I do not keep much paper. | |
Wonder Woman USA (talk|edits) said: | 23 July 2009 |
| If they're still my client, their old file contents are still in the garage.
When they stop being my client, their files (tax returns, notes, copies of documents) are shredded after five years. Tax returns done prior to 2000 are on diskettes, which will all be shredded this year. Later returns are on a thumb drive ... The shredder truck comes here every second or third year. | |
| 23 July 2009 | |
| Comply with the lieu (as Inspector Clouseau would say) and then just throw them in a paper garbage sack, and sit them on the street. I learned this from a former Russian spy who adivsed me that no one ever steals lousy looking trash. Русский дает хорошую консультацию! (Russian give good advice). | |
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