The receipts worth keeping past tax day (and the ones to shred)

Every household has the drawer: a decade of receipts, statements and manuals nobody can bring themselves to throw out, mixed in with the four documents that actually matter. The problem isn't keeping too much — it's that the important things become impossible to find. Here's a calendar that gives you permission to shred most of it.

Shred now

• Grocery, fuel and restaurant receipts once they've cleared on your card statement, unless they're a business or medical expense
• Utility bills after the next one arrives, unless you claim a home office
• ATM slips and deposit receipts once the statement matches
• Expired warranties, old insurance policies you've replaced, and manuals for things you no longer own

Keep one year

• Pay stubs, until you've matched them to your W-2
• Bank and credit card statements, unless they support a tax deduction
• Medical bills, until insurance has paid and the explanation of benefits agrees

Keep seven years

The IRS can generally audit three years back, six if it suspects income was substantially under-reported. Seven covers both with room to spare.

• Tax returns and everything that supports them: W-2s, 1099s, charitable receipts, childcare invoices
• Records of anything you deducted: medical expenses, home-office costs, business mileage
• Statements showing IRA contributions, especially non-deductible ones — you'll need them to avoid being taxed twice on withdrawal

Keep for as long as you own it, plus seven years

• Home purchase documents, closing statements and every improvement receipt — they raise your cost basis and lower the capital gain when you sell
• Investment purchase confirmations, for the same reason
• Vehicle titles and major repair records

Keep forever

Birth, marriage and death certificates, Social Security cards, military discharge papers, adoption and citizenship documents, wills and trusts, powers of attorney, and the beneficiary confirmations from every retirement account and life policy.