Updated November 2026 · Southern New Hampshire
How long to keep tax records in New Hampshire, then shred them
How long to keep tax records comes down to a handful of IRS periods and one New Hampshire statute. This post gives you the exact years, what the end of the interest and dividends tax means for your files, and how to shred the years you no longer need.
99¢ per pound at our Tewksbury drop-off. A banker’s box of old tax files costs about $64.60, all in.
- 3 years for most returns
- 99¢ per pound
- Since 2007
- Certificate on every job
Quick answer
Keep federal tax records for 3 years after you file in most cases, 4 years for employment tax records, 6 years if you left out income worth more than 25 percent of what you reported, 7 years if you claimed a worthless securities loss or bad debt, and indefinitely if you never filed or filed a fraudulent return, per the IRS. New Hampshire has no tax on wages, the interest and dividends tax is repealed for periods beginning after December 31, 2024, and RSA 21-J:29 gives the state 3 years to assess most taxes, or 6 if income was understated by more than 25 percent. Keep a copy of every return, then New Hampshire Document Shredding shreds the expired supporting records at our Tewksbury drop-off for 99 cents a pound plus $34.90 per job.
How long to keep tax records: the IRS periods
The IRS ties every retention period to one idea, the period of limitations. That is the window in which you can amend a return to claim a refund, or the IRS can assess more tax. The IRS tells you to keep the records that support each item on a return until that window closes for that return.
Most New Hampshire households only ever need the first row of the table. The other rows are for specific situations, and you will usually know if one applies to you. For records beyond taxes, such as medical, legal and household files, our document retention guide covers the full picture.
| Your situation | Keep the records for | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| A normal return, none of the cases below | 3 years | The date you filed |
| You file a claim for credit or refund after filing | 3 years, or 2 years after you paid the tax if later | The original filing, or the payment |
| Employment tax records, if you have employees | At least 4 years | The date the tax is due or paid, whichever is later |
| You left out income worth more than 25 percent of the gross income on the return | 6 years | The date you filed |
| You claimed a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction | 7 years | The date you filed |
| You did not file a return | Indefinitely | Not applicable |
| You filed a fraudulent return | Indefinitely | Not applicable |
| Records about property you own | Until the period of limitations ends for the year you sell or dispose of it | The return for the year of sale |
Two more lines from the IRS page are worth keeping in mind. Keep copies of your filed tax returns, because they help with future returns and amended ones. Before you throw anything away, check whether your insurance company or a lender needs it longer than the IRS does.
How long to keep tax records: when the clock starts
The 3 years run from the date you filed. The IRS adds one rule that trips people up: a return filed before the due date is treated as filed on the due date. Filing in February does not start the clock any earlier than filing in April.
That makes the math easy for the normal case. A return filed on time in the spring of one year stays open until the spring three years later. Here is how that looks from where we sit in November 2026, assuming each return was filed on time and none of the longer periods apply.
If you filed late, count from the day you actually filed. If you filed an amended return claiming a refund, use the later of 3 years from the original filing or 2 years from the date you paid the tax. When you are not sure, keep one more year. Paper is cheap to store for twelve extra months, and very hard to recreate later.
New Hampshire tax records: what the state asks you to keep
New Hampshire keeps this part short for most households. The Department of Revenue Administration says the state does not have an income tax on an individual’s W-2 wages. If your only income is a paycheck, you have no state income tax return to keep at all.
The interest and dividends tax is the one that used to catch retirees and investors. The DRA says it was assessed at 5 percent for periods ending before December 31, 2023, 4 percent for periods ending on or after that date, and 3 percent for periods ending on or after December 31, 2024. It is repealed for taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2024. There is no I&D return for 2025 or later.
Your last I&D returns still matter for a while. RSA 21-J:29 generally gives the department 3 years after a return is filed, or after its due date if later, to assess more tax. That stretches to 6 years if the income or business profits left off a return were more than 25 percent of what was reported, and to any time at all if no return was filed or someone willfully tried to evade the tax. Apply the same 3 and 6 year thinking to your final I&D years that you apply to your federal ones.
| New Hampshire item | Status in November 2026 | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Wages | No state tax on W-2 wages (DRA) | Nothing for the state. Keep W-2s for the federal period |
| Interest and dividends tax | Repealed for periods beginning after December 31, 2024 (DRA) | Returns and support for the final years until the RSA 21-J:29 window closes |
| Business taxes the DRA administers, such as the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax | Still in force (DRA list of taxes) | 3 years after filing, 6 if understated by more than 25 percent (RSA 21-J:29) |
| Real estate transfer | RSA 21-J:29 allows 6 years if the price was understated by more than 25 percent | Your closing papers, which you keep for the IRS property rule anyway |
If you run a business in New Hampshire, your accountant may set a longer house rule than the statute. That is their call and a sensible one. The statute sets the floor, not the ceiling.
Tax records to keep longer than three years
The 3-year rule covers the receipts, statements and worksheets behind an ordinary return. A few kinds of paper deserve a longer life, and a few should never go into the shred box at all.
The returns themselves
The IRS tells you to keep copies of filed returns. They take little space and answer questions about earnings, loans and estates years later. Shred the supporting paper, keep the return.
Home and property
Purchase papers, closing statements and receipts for improvements stay until the period of limitations ends for the year you sell. For a house you have owned for decades, that is a long time.
Investments
Records showing what you paid for shares or funds support the gain or loss in the year you sell. A worthless securities loss stretches the period to 7 years from that return.
Payroll, if you employ anyone
Employment tax records stay at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid. That includes a household employee, not just a business.
Bank statements are their own question, since only some of them support a return. Our post on shred old bank statements covers when they can go. Insurance and loan files follow whatever the company or lender asks, which the IRS itself flags as a reason to keep some papers longer.
The four numbers behind most tax shredding
These come straight from the IRS page on keeping records. Write them inside the lid of your tax file box.
- Count from the date you filed, or the due date if you filed early
- No time limit for an unfiled or fraudulent return
- Property records last until the year of sale closes
- Keep a copy of every filed return
Estimate the cost of shredding your old tax years
Enter your box count and how you will get the boxes to us, and the estimate uses the same rates printed in this post, including the $34.90 per-job fees.
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Shredding tax records you no longer need
Expired tax records are some of the most valuable paper a thief can find. A single year’s file usually holds your Social Security number, your employer, your bank account numbers and your income. The FTC tells consumers to shred papers like these, and nothing about them gets less sensitive with age.
A home shredder handles a few sheets at a time. Five or ten years of tax folders is a different job, and an afternoon at the shredder usually ends with a jammed motor and half the pile left. That is when people bring the boxes to our counter.
Walk in Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no appointment. We weigh the boxes, shred the paper at the Tewksbury office the same business day, and you get a Certificate of Destruction with the date and weight.
- Pull the closed years. In November 2026, that is generally tax year 2022 and earlier, unless one of the longer periods applies.
- Take out the return. Keep the copy of each filed return, and anything about property you still own.
- Check the exceptions. Payroll records, worthless securities, a late or amended return, or a lender’s request all mean a longer hold for that year.
- Box the rest. Staples, paper clips and folders can stay in. Remove binder rings and hanging-folder frames.
- Bring it in or book a pickup. Drive it to Tewksbury, or book a pickup if you have a lot of boxes and no easy way to carry them.
| Old tax files | Drop-off in Tewksbury | Pickup, Zone 1 (Salem, Pelham, Windham, Plaistow) | Pickup, Zone 2 (greater Nashua, Manchester) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 box, about 30 lb | $64.60 | $194.55 | $224.55 |
| 5 boxes, about 150 lb | $183.40 | $313.35 | $343.35 |
| 10 large boxes | $234.90 | $364.85 | $394.85 |
| 20 large boxes | $434.90 | $564.85 | $594.85 |
Under 10 boxes we charge 99 cents a pound, and at 10 or more it is $15 per small box or $20 per large box. Every job adds $34.90 for the certificate paperwork and recycling. Seacoast pickups are Zone 3 at $199.95, and for other towns the zone is confirmed when you book. Our drop-off shredding page has the counter details, and the shredding rates page lists every price.
Special cases: estates, side businesses and tax preparers
Most of the questions at our counter about tax records come from three kinds of customers. Each has a slightly different version of the rules above.
Executors clearing a parent’s files. The same IRS periods apply to a parent’s final returns, and to any estate returns you file for them. Keep everything for the open years until the estate is settled and the windows close, then shred. Our post on shredding after a death walks through the order.
Side businesses and freelancers. If you pay anyone, the 4-year employment tax rule applies to those records. Business receipts follow the same 3, 6 and 7 year periods as your personal return. A home office full of old invoices is covered in our post on home office shredding.
Small business owners filing New Hampshire business taxes. Keep both clocks in mind. The federal periods cover your federal return, and RSA 21-J:29 covers the state taxes the DRA administers. The longer of the two decides when a year can go.
Tax preparers and bookkeepers. You carry client records and federal safeguarding duties on top of your own files. Our page on shredding for accountants NH covers that work.
A simple habit saves the most time. When you file each spring, write a shred-after year on the outside of that year’s folder, usually the filing year plus three. Next year’s clean-out then takes ten minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I keep tax records?
For most people, 3 years from the date you filed, according to the IRS. Keep them 6 years if you left out income worth more than 25 percent of what you reported, 7 years for a worthless securities loss or bad debt deduction, and indefinitely if you did not file or filed a fraudulent return.
Should I keep copies of old tax returns forever?
The IRS tells you to keep copies of your filed returns, and we agree. They take very little space and help with future returns, amended returns, loans and estate work. What you can shred after the period closes is the supporting paper: receipts, statements and worksheets.
Does New Hampshire have a state income tax I need records for?
The DRA says New Hampshire has no income tax on W-2 wages. The interest and dividends tax is repealed for taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2024. Keep the records behind your final I&D returns until the RSA 21-J:29 window closes, generally 3 years after filing.
How long can New Hampshire audit a state tax return?
Under RSA 21-J:29, the Department of Revenue Administration generally has 3 years after a return is filed or due, whichever is later. It has 6 years if income or business profits left off the return were more than 25 percent of what was reported, and no limit if no return was filed or tax was willfully evaded.
Does filing early start the 3-year clock sooner?
No. The IRS says a return filed before the due date is treated as filed on the due date. A return filed in February and one filed on the April deadline close at the same time, three years after that deadline.
How long do I keep records for my house?
Keep purchase papers, closing statements and improvement receipts until the period of limitations ends for the year you sell or otherwise dispose of the property. For most owners that means the life of ownership plus at least three years after the sale return is filed.
What is the cheapest way to shred old tax records?
Drive them to our Tewksbury counter. You pay 99 cents a pound under 10 boxes plus $34.90 per job, so one banker’s box costs about $64.60 and five cost about $183.40. Bring every year at once, since the per-job fees are the same for one box or five.
Can I put old tax records in the recycling?
Not whole. Tax files carry your Social Security number, income and bank account numbers, and the FTC tells consumers to shred papers with personal information before discarding them. Shred them at home if there are only a few pages, or bring the boxes to us and keep the certificate.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service, How long should I keep records? (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, Interest and Dividends Tax (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, Taxes at a Glance (checked November 2026)
- New Hampshire RSA 21-J:29, Limitations on assessment (NH General Court) (checked November 2026)
- Federal Trade Commission, What To Know About Identity Theft (checked November 2026)
Clear out the closed tax years
Pull the years whose window has closed, keep the return copies, and bring the rest to our Tewksbury counter any weekday between 10 and 5. The paper is shredded the same business day and you leave with a Certificate of Destruction.
Where we shred
1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876. Route 38, near I-495, about 15 minutes south of the New Hampshire line.
Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Witnessed sessions and pickups outside these hours by appointment.
- Drop-off: walk in, 99¢ per pound
- Pickup: from $129.95 by zone
- Witnessed: $1.99 per pound, $100 minimum
New Hampshire Document Shredding · 1215 Main Street, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 · (978) 636-0301 · Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.