How Long Do You Need to Keep Your Tax Records?

When we moved into our first house—an old Victorian twin in Philadelphia—the extra bedroom on the second floor quickly became a catch-all for boxes, papers, and books.

When it came time to convert that room to a nursery for my daughter, we were finally forced to unpack some of the boxes and get organized. When I mentioned to my neighbor that I found it all very stressful, she agreed, explaining that’s why they had never tackled the boxes in their basement from their initial move—in 1976.

While 1976 does feel a bit like overkill, it’s often the case that many ...