Paperwork & documents. What do you keep, and what’s safe to get of??

[TwoBigNoisyBoys]

I’m trying to have a good clear out, but my paperwork is driving me nuts! I was just about to order some more box files when I thought I can’t POSSIBLY need all the stuff I have. I’ve got a 2-drawer filing cabinet that’s chock a block…I have all my old child benefit and tax credit paperwork (both of which stopped 3 years ago when my youngest turned 18), all my divorce paperwork, all mortgage paperwork going back over 25 years…these things alone are taking up the equivalent of 3 box files! Then I have all the other stuff…insurances going back years, ditto wage slips, p60’s/45’s, receipts, car paperwork for cars I’ve sold. The list goes on. I’m terrified of shredding things then finding out I need them! What exactly do I need to keep, what is everyone else doing? Any advice gratefully received!

Anything for tax you have to keep 7 years worth of records for HMRC (I think it's 7 years) so that's income and savings interest and anything else you have that's taxable. Insurances surely only the current one actually needed but I would keep a few years worth. Gas, electric, water council tax a few years mainly for my info. Divorce papers I would keep just in case of any come back. Mortgage records only the latest mortgage and any land registry documents. Old cars I would get rid of, maybe keep one bit for each car to remember it by. And all the old envelopes and leaflets that came with everything in the past, that alone makes a dent.

Why are you keeping insurance paperwork going back years, surely you only need the most recent/up to date policy and documents?

Same with car paperwork from cars you no longer own, old mortgage documents, child benefit and tax credit paperwork - get rid!

If you really want to, you could scan/photograph them and save some digitally and then destroy the physical versions.

Keep P60s forever.
Other stuff, a couple of years, no more than six years.

Keep P60s/P45s for ever right back to your first job, and if you're ever missing any, then keep the payslips for those employments. Best to keep payslips for the last, say, 3 years. It means that if, as happens far too often, the DWP/HMRC have incomplete history for things like state pension/nic contributions, you can prove to them you paid NIC and were working etc.

For "capital assets" like cars, caravans, your home, home improvements, large items of equipment like fridges/washing machines, etc keep the paperwork at least until you sell/scrap the asset and a couple of years beyond. You never know what you may need, especially during the sale of your home when the buyers/their solicitors will want all kinds of things re the house such as guarantees/certificates for new roof, replacement windows, planning permissions and building regulation certificates, etc. Also, if you have no plans to do, but end up renting out your home, part of the "gain" when you finally sell comes into CGT territory and then you need records of the costs of purchase, costs of improvements, etc. With fridges/washing machines etc and other big ticket items, you may need "proof of purchase" to invoke guarantees/warranties etc but also in subsequent years if there's ever a recall or legal case re faulty goods long after the warranty/guarantee period. Likewise keep motor car repair/servicing bills/MOT certificates, original purchase invoice, etc as long as you own the car - it may help to "prove" full service history to get a better part exchange value.

Bank statements, utility bills, etc., it makes sense to keep 2/3 years. Then "weed" and only keep them if they show something significant, like a bank statement showing a divorce settlement payout or an insurance claim, etc just to have "evidence" of the big/unusual transactions. Likewise, keep the utility bills immediately before/after a switch of provider just in case the meter readings etc are challenged or the utility firm make an error. Again, just keep 2/3 years until you're sure there's no problem.

I'm a big advocate for "weeding" as the years pass rather than having a hard "cut off" of chucking everything out after x number of years. Far better to "weed" out the trivial stuff and just keep the "big" stuff, so you may have a full box file for last year, but only a small envelope for 10 years ago, etc. Each year, look in the file/envelope for that year and "weed out" the stuff that's become irrelevant.

Unless you're 100% certain that tax credit paperwork in 100% correct, I'd keep it as I've seen several cases where they've come back after many years to claim an overpayment was made. If you've not got the paperwork, you can't argue back as to what you told them and what your income was at the time. On a few of the cases I've seen, it was HMRC who were wrong and we could prove it by being able to give them copies of paperwork!

I keep car paperwork for current car, and maybe the DVLA slip from my last car proving I’m no longer the owner
Don’t have a mortgage any more so only have the Land Registry files
The only paper bill we get is council tax, I only keep the last years bill. Everything else is paperless - gas, electric, house insurance etc.
Pension paperwork is all kept.

Other than that I have a medical file for DC who has regular appointments, passports, birth certificates etc, POA and copy of will for my parents. That’s about it. Everything fits nicely into a plastic storage box.

That's why you get a multi function printer.

Printing, scanning and copying.

I scan all important docs and then burn them to 2 disks (or you could do one disk and one USB drive).

Thanks everyone, I’m going to keep all my tax credits stuff I reckon as it’d be just my luck! The rest of the stuff will be ‘weeded’ appropriately, but I don’t want to scan and keep digital copies, I do want hard copies. I’ve bought a fireproof/ plastic waterproof file and I’ll put all the most important stuff in there - mortgage stuff, insurances, passports etc …then I’ll sort through the rest and make a decision. Good job I’ve got a chimnea in the garden, I can have a good burn up this evening! Thanks everyone.