Files bursting full of pay slips, papers and bank statements

[admylin]

I'm sorting out and I can't believe how many old pay slips and health insurance, pension stuff and bank statements and other official looking papers we've got. Because I don't know what I need to keep I've just religiously filed them all over the years.

What do I really need to keep? Dh ripped up a load of bank statements the other day in one of his I-hate-paper-work strops and my heart nearly stopped thinking I bet we'll need those one day. Help me sort out before we move house - I would chuck it all if I knew we wouldn't need it.

I keep bank statements for 3 years. Credit cards about a year. Household bills for a few months. Pay slips and tax shit forever.

I had a feeling that the pay slips and tax stuff would be forever. But why? I mean at the end of the year you get a statement for the tax whatever don't you? So you could get rid of that year's pay slips. Sorry I don't know what all these different documents are even called in English as we are in Germany and have been for the past decade!

It depends a bit. If you run a business for example the whole tax thing could be complex and you'd need to keep a lot of stuff.

For most people about 2 years worth covers most things. There will be one off items that need to be kept forever, but not many.

Receipts for things only matter if they are new enough you could get them replaced.

I suppose if you wanted to be really sure you could keep the regular stuff like statements for up to 5 years, but have you ever been asked for a 3 year old statement?

your meant to keep five years worth.

Having said that I've kept my financial statements since the year dot and it's coming in very handy for my divorce, I have a paper trail proving my points.....

Anything tax related, bank statements pay slip, tax certificates, dividend certificates are all 7 Years.
Bills and non tax related stuff is 3 years.

Think I'm going to have a mega tidy up of it all this weekend. I'm sick of seeing so many files. Where do you keep it all? In files or hidden away in drawers or boxes?

HMRC have the right to go back 6 years with your tax affairs, so I keep 6 years worth of bank statements, payslips, P60s etc. You never know when they will decide to do an investigation.

Mostly kept in filing cabinet.

Thanks everyone, I've spent all weekend sorting through everything and have the most important things all filed and in order. Took ages but I've got it all in 10 box files. Phew, most important things are the insurance and pension stuff so thank goodness that's done for the next few years.