how long to keep pay check stubs?

How long should I save my check stubs? my box for them is getting quite full (which actually is a good thing!). i was thinking a year is good but I know some people save them all.

Chris

I dump them after a year. I just check the W-2 and make sure they all add up correctly, then just keep the W-2.

It depends! If you have a pension, where years of service are important, it could be very handy to prove you're due what you are supposed to. Normally this shouldn't be a problem, but if they lose the records, you have yours.

That said, I'm not quite bright enough to do this.

You need keep only the last one from each year to have a full record. For the current year, you need keep only the most recent one, since the information is normally shown for current and year-to-date.

You would only need more than this if you wanted to go back and audit something like the accrual/use of your vacation hours or overtime hours. In that case, you would want them all (from the current year at least), but not many people ever go back and look at anything like that.

Reminds me I need to clear mine out.

You will want more than one years worth if you want to get a morgage.

For a mortgage or loan, my experience is the last three paycheck stubs and your last years tax return. Your stubs will have YTD salary on them.

I've always been told to keep the last one of the year...

Wanna hear something crazy: My Dad has every paycheck stub from evry job he's ever worked...Go figure...

--dan

Keep your pay stubs until you receive your W-2 and make sure the amounts match.

Keep your tax returns for at least 3 years. That's generally how long the IRS has to audit you.