How long is it necessary to keep bank statements

In most cases you should save them at least until you've filed taxes for that year and resolved any pending fraud disputes, but storing them away for longer may pay off in the future. Having all of your statements available when you prepare your taxes will help you confirm income and track deductible expenses accurately. This holds true whether you receive statements by mail or electronically.

If you choose paperless statements, you can access them online, possibly going back months or years if your bank or credit card issuer keeps them available. Alternatively, you may download and store your statements in a password-protected file or print them out. Either way, you'll be able to access them for as long as you decide to keep them. If you've used any statements to help calculate your taxes, save them—along with your tax return—for at least seven years, in case the IRS has any questions.

See Experian's guide to storing financial documents for tips on how to maintain them safely and securely. Bank, credit card and investment account statements provide a wealth of information when you're filing your taxes. Use your statements to do the following:.

In addition to reviewing your statements annually at tax time, you should go over them monthly throughout the year. Although you may check your transactions frequently online or by mobile app, your monthly statement is a full accounting of your activity and may show transactions you've previously overlooked.

Look for errors: Double-check that your expected deposits have been credited and that there are no unfamiliar or incorrect transactions that might indicate fraud.

If you find an inconsistency or evidence of suspected fraud , contact your bank or card company immediately and make a report. Hang on to any relevant statements until the issue is fully resolved.

Other documents related to your bank, credit card and investment accounts abound. Here are a few types and how long to consider saving them:. It's possible to access past statements without keeping copies yourself, but you may choose to keep your own statements on file anyway. Your financial institution stores information in their system for multiple years, and may be able to provide you with copies of older statements on request. You can also request past copies of the statements you normally receive by mail, sometimes for a fee, by contacting your bank or card company.

The length of time your financial institution will store these records—and make them available to you—varies, so it's a good idea to do a little research on your bank's policy.

Some card companies only provide online statements for the previous 12 months, for example; you may have to do extra legwork or pay for missing statements and wait a few days or weeks to get anything beyond that.

Some banks, including Wells Fargo, retain account statements for up to seven years on checking, deposit, home mortgage, trust and managed investment accounts. At other financial institutions, five years is the norm. If you've used your financial statements to back up information on your tax returns, you may want to keep your own paper or digital copies, rather than relying on the bank to do it.

That way, you can ensure that you have these documents on hand for a full seven years. And at any time, you'll be able to access and refer to this information without having to track it down online. When you no longer need your documents, be sure to shred the paper files and completely delete the electronic copies including any backups.

American Express, for example, keeps three years worth of account transactions online and searchable. Chase Bank users can access seven years of account activity. Access to a record of your recent purchases, bill payments, and payroll deposits is necessary for a number of reasons, not least as a proof of payment in case of a dispute. You should review your bank account activity regularly for evidence of identity theft and debit card fraud.

The statements provide verification of illicit activity and are used to recover any damages. You may need your bank statements when you do your income taxes in order to verify your income and costs such as charitable contributions and business expenses. Bank account statements confirming large purchases or payments may also be worth keeping.

For example, you might need proof of purchase to file an insurance claim or use a warranty. You can shred automated teller machine ATM receipts once you reconcile them with your account records.

Deposit and withdrawal slips can be shredded once transactions are verified with the monthly statement. Many banks maintain monthly customer statements online for at least five years and they are easily accessible through their online banking apps and sites. These statements usually come in printable formats. Summaries of transaction information are frequently available for download. You may be able to get hard copy statements from your bank going back a number of years. Some banks charge a search and printing fees for this service, as it cannot be done at the branch level.

Older statements are handled in a back office. For safety, it's best to keep any hard copy bank statements in a fireproof safe in a secure location. Electronic statements should be maintained in a password-protected file. Use password protection for electronic files. Hard copy statements should be kept in a secure, fireproof location that can be easily accessed. It may seem easier to just keep your records forever rather than setting aside time to organize them.

It's not a great idea, though, primarily because of the potential for identity thieves to get them. Documents that should be shredded include the following:. When you're ready to dispose of your bank statements, make sure you actually shred them.

Just ripping them in half, isn't going to stop identity thieves from piecing together your personal information. Shredders are now small, portable, and cheap.

Producing proof of spending will help you file a credit card dispute in case you do find any mistakes in your credit card statements or credit report. Without the correct documents, you may be stuck with a faulty charge on your credit. If you were to throw out your bank statements prematurely, the worst case scenario is that you could file an inaccurate tax return.

You could also find yourself in a bind should you end up with an IRS audit where you need to produce these documents. Always shred any documents with your personal and financial information before tossing them in the bin.

This will prevent fraudsters from easily collecting your information from the trash. Your best bet is to keep your bank statements around for at least a year.

This ensures you can file your next tax return with the most accurate information.