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Free Up Space at Home by Storing Tax Returns and Other Documents in Self Storage

Now that tax season is behind us, you may be wondering what to do with all of your tax paperwork. Taking the time to properly store your tax documents may help prevent tax headaches down the road.

Tax documents need to be kept for a specified amount of time. How long varies depending on the action, expense, or event impacting those records, according to the IRS. You need to keep them for the time frame during which the IRS can audit a return or when you can file an amended return. In general, the IRS recommends you save federal tax returns for at least three years, including relevant documentation like W2s, 1099s, and any documents related to itemized deductions. Investment forms, such as IRA account documents, should be kept for a minimum of seven years, while bank statements and paystubs only need to be kept for two years. Some documents, like property records, should be kept indefinitely.

While keeping all of your tax paperwork and documents is necessary, it can take up valuable space in your home. A great solution for storing tax returns is a self storage unit. This is also a great place to store other types of documents that you need to keep long-term but don’t need to access frequently, including documents from closed accounts, old bank statements, old medical files, property records, investment documents, and more. Moving boxes of documents to a self storage unit will free up space at home and make it easier to stay organized. AAA Self Storage of Topeka offers climate controlled units that will help keep your valuable documents from becoming discolored or breaking down.

Before you store your documents, take time to properly organize them so you can find necessary documents quickly and easily if you need them.

  • Gather all of your documents that you are preparing for storage in one place.
  • Organize the documents. For taxes documents, organize them by year. For other types of documents, organize by type, then by year.
  • Store the documents in containers that will keep them protected. This could be a filing cabinet, banker’s boxes, or other small containers. Use labeled folders to keep documents organized and label the outside of each box with the contents, date, and any other relevant information. Don’t stack the boxes too high and leave a path so you can easily access the boxes as needed.

Establishing a good organizational system in your self storage unit now will make it a breeze to add new files when needed. To make your 2014 tax return process easier, start a filing system at home now where you can file relevant documents as you receive them.