In the US, generally, the answer is three years from the date you filed, and that covers most people in most years. The IRS stretches it to six years, seven years or no limit at all in a few specific situations, which is how "keep tax stuff for seven years" became the household rule. The return itself is a different matter: it's small, it stays useful for decades, and plenty of people keep it for good.
This is a plain-English summary of IRS guidance, not tax advice; the IRS page "How long should I keep records?" is the final word.
The IRS windows at a glance
| Your situation | Keep the return and its records | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Most returns | 3 years after you filed | IRS, "How long should I keep records?" |
| You file a claim for a refund or credit after filing | 3 years after filing or 2 years after you paid the tax, whichever is later | IRS |
| You left out income worth more than 25% of the gross income on the return | 6 years | IRS |
| The left-out income comes from foreign financial assets and is more than $5,000 | 6 years | IRS Topic no. 305 |
| You claimed a loss from worthless securities or a bad-debt deduction | 7 years | IRS; Publication 17 |
| You didn't file a return, or filed a fraudulent one | Indefinitely | IRS |
| Records about property (a home, shares, a rental) | Until the window closes for the year you sell or dispose of it | IRS |
| Employment tax records, if you employ someone | At least 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later | IRS |
| Copies of the returns themselves | No set period; the IRS says to keep them | IRS; Publication 17 |
Two counting rules sit under the table. The years run from when you filed, and a return filed before the due date counts as filed on the due date. So a return you sent in early February is treated as filed on the deadline, and the three years start there.
What "records" means here
The IRS standard is broad. You keep anything that supports an item of income, a deduction or a credit on your return, for as long as it "may become material" to the tax law. In practice that's the return plus:
- W-2s, 1099s and any other forms showing what you earned
- receipts, canceled checks and statements behind each deduction or credit
- acknowledgment letters from charities for gifts you deducted
- records of health coverage for you and your family, which Topic 305 calls out
- records of what you paid for anything you might later sell
The IRS doesn't require a particular filing system. Publication 17 says to keep records in a way that lets you and the IRS work out your correct tax, and electronic records are held to the same requirements as paper ones. So a scan needs to be as legible and complete as the paper it replaces.
Why seven years became the folk rule
Seven is the longest of the ordinary windows, so keeping everything for seven years means you never have to remember which situation applied to which year. That's a reasonable default. Just know what it is: the IRS seven-year period only applies to worthless securities and bad debts.
The FTC has offered both numbers over the years. An older FTC shredding guide suggested waiting seven years before shredding tax-related receipts and canceled checks, which is a cautious rule of thumb, not an IRS rule. The FTC's current advice, from June 2025, puts tax-related documents like canceled checks, receipts, W-2s and 1099s under "keep for at least three years."
The master retention chart shows how tax records fit with everything else in the filing box. If the term itself is new, document retention has the short definition.
Property records outlast the return
Records about property run on a longer clock. The IRS says to keep them until the period of limitations expires for the year you dispose of the property. Buy shares in 2027, sell them in 2040, and the purchase records matter until the window on your 2040 return closes. They're what proves your cost basis, which decides how much of the sale is taxable gain.
A house works the same way: the purchase papers and receipts for major improvements stay until the window closes on the year you sell. If you swapped one property for another in a nontaxable exchange, keep the records on both until the window closes for the year you get rid of the new one.
Keep the returns themselves
The IRS tells you to keep copies of your filed returns and doesn't put a number on it. Publication 17 gives the reasons: they help you prepare future returns, you'll need them for an amended return or an audit, and they can help your survivor or the executor of your estate. Returns are also the easiest proof of income when a lender asks about a year you've long forgotten. Most people who think about it end up keeping returns indefinitely and letting the supporting receipts go once the window closes.
Lost one already? It's fixable. You can order a copy of a past return from the IRS with Form 4506 for a fee, or get a transcript for free.
Your state is a separate question. State tax agencies set their own rules, which can differ from the federal windows, so check your state's tax site before you shred anything.
Where to keep it: one folder per tax year
The setup that works is boring on purpose: one folder per tax year, holding the return and everything behind it. When the window closes, clear out the receipts and keep the return.
On an iPhone, the Files app does this for free:
- Open Files, tap Browse, and make a folder called "Taxes" with one folder inside for each year.
- Tap the More button (the three dots), then Scan Documents.
- Hold the page in view of the camera. It captures on its own, or you can tap the shutter.
- Tap Save, choose that year's folder, and save.
Do it the day a document shows up and tax season becomes opening one folder. Organizing tax documents year-round turns that into a habit, emailed forms included.
The weak spot of folders is the question that comes years later: "what did we pay for that roof?" or "which year did I claim the home office?" That's where Paperlock fits, if you want it. It reads each document you save, files it by what it is, who it's from, the date and the amount, and lets you ask for it in plain English, with the document attached to the answer. Folders or app, the rule is the same: keep the return, keep the proof for the window, and shred the rest once the clock runs out.