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marianander1 Asked October 2015

How long should you keep records like banking, Medicare/Medicaid etc.?

Or nursing home receipts, assisted living receipts, assist. w/daily ...living caregivers. Mom passed in Feb. this year.

freqflyer Oct 2015
I've been keeping anything IRS related for 7 years.

For Medicare, I see no reason to keep that for any length of time. I've been tossing out my own Medicare receipts/paperwork on a regular basis. But if someone was on Medicaid, which is paid by us taxpayers, I would probably want to hang onto the paper for 7 years.

It will be interesting to see what others on the forum have to say. Igloo?

malloryg8r Oct 2015
I thought that IRS could audit you for up to 7 years, but I could be incorrect. However for any things like house purchase or items with appreciation of the value, if you sell them more than 3 or 7 yrs from now you would need that paperwork...Check the IRS website?

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marianander1 Oct 2015
Medicaid would not be needing records in case of any kind of look-back?

JessieBelle Oct 2015
This is difficult to answer in any general way. It depends on what records you need. I have access to my mother's bank records online. She still receives her statements, because she likes to look at them. They aren't needed, since all the records are online. We also take the standard deduction on her income tax and she usually pays zero tax, so keeping her copay records really isn't useful. Records of the copays are available on her credit card record if they are needed.

I did not keep my father's records after I filed his taxes for the year he died. I looked through them and saw that none would be useful in the future. He had records dating all the way back into the 1980s. What a mess!

So much will depend on how you file the taxes. You do want to keep information for at least three years after the taxes are filed if the information is relevant to the taxes. The other information you can use your judgment. Will it be useful or important to you? Or will it just be a hill of clutter that will probably never be looked at again?

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