September 9th, 2010 
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lost tax return documents
What personal finance records should we keep at home or in safety box?.
I keep everything at home and a lot of it I did not need, but recently moved and somehow lost most of it. Yes, I certainly do blame myself....How many years of tax returns should we keep and where? ( i can only find 2 yrs back) What documents should we have concerning our home (title, deed of trust, etc). Where and how can I get copies of these docs that I need?
Here is the IRS' guidelines for keeping documents: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98513,00.html
Personally, I keep all tax records for ten years because the IRS has that amount of time to go back and pursue you for unpaid taxes (even though the SOL on an audit is 3 years, I've heard a lot of horror stories). You may not be that a-r, but you can get copies of past returns from the IRS for a fee.
You can get copies of your titles and deeds of trust for property from the courthouse in your county of residence, or from the lender if you still owe. Automobile title copies can be purchased from the bureau of motor vehicles.
In addition, you should keep copies of wills, powers of attorney (medical and general), life, auto and homeowner's insurance policies, and your bank statements (I keep the past 5 years of those).
I also have a special section for warranty papers on household items we purchase.
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Johnny Liberty - Reclaiming Your Sovereign Citizenship 01of11 - 1995 The Granada Forum
Tax documents lost to flooding?.
This spring our area had received large amounts of rain and melt off which overran our sump pump and our basement flooded with about 12" of water. The fire department was called and they had to pump it out with on of their trucks. Anyway a box containing my deductible items (travel logs/receipts/etc) was among the many items lost. All print was smudged/unreadable/or turned to mush so I tossed it. I have the total amounts from my old tax returns, but not specifics on each item. What will the IRS say if they ever audit me for that year and request the items? Will I be able to still claim them? Do I have to show proof of the flood or what?
The IRS will allow you to reconstruct records when the loss is due to matters beyond your control. Keep records of the flooding such as the bill from the Fire Department, or a letter signed by the Fire Chief and any insurance claim records (even if the claim was denied or you know it's not covered, ALWAYS file a claim to create a paper trail!). Photos will help, if you have them.
The IRS may want to see records that corroborate your amounts. An example for vehicle mileage might be maintenance records that show odometer readings (many shops can pull up your vehicle history on their computer system and give you a printout). For other expenditures, copies of bank statements, credit card statements, etc. can often be used and banks can usually provide copies of several years worth of statements upon request.
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