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What papers to keep and for how long at home

We accumulate papers at home without really knowing what to do with them. Here we tell you exactly how long you should keep each document.

Income tax return and tax receipts

Keeping tax office papers is one of the most common questions. According to the Tax Agency and the General Tax Law, the statute of limitations is four years.

This period begins to count from the day after the deadline for filing the return or self-assessment. During these four years, the Administration can check and investigate your declarations.

After that time, in principle, you no longer need to keep those specific tax receipts, unless you have an open case involving them.

• Tax Agency deadline: 4 years.
• Start of calculation: the day after the filing deadline ends.
• Reason: period during which the tax office can review your data.

Payslips and employment contracts

The world of work has its own rules regarding paperwork. According to the Organization of Consumers and Users and labor experts, it is advisable to keep payslips for at least ten years.

This long period serves to protect you against possible errors in your work life, necessary rectifications, or the calculation of your future benefits and pensions.

Companies are only legally obliged to keep payslips for four years, and Social Security can only claim contributions for the same period. From the fifth year onwards, the only valid document is usually the one you keep at home.

As for employment contracts, although the law does not set an exact period for their individual retention, it is prudent to keep them for as long as the employment relationship lasts and for four more years.

• Payslips: at least 10 years recommended by OCU.
• Company obligation: 4 years.
• Contracts: during the employment relationship and 4 years thereafter.

Utility bills and purchase receipts

Electricity, water, and gas bills, as well as purchase receipts, should be kept for a minimum of three years. This period coincides with the current legal warranty for new products.

Having these proofs helps you to claim any billing errors and to exercise your warranty rights if the product fails during that time.

When it comes to high-value items, such as furniture, appliances, home renovations, or jewelry, OCU recommends keeping the invoices for as long as you own the item. They are essential to prove value to insurance in case of theft or damage.

• General period: 3 years minimum.
• Usefulness: proof of payment and warranty.
• High-value items: keep them for as long as you own them.

Deeds and property documents

Certain important home documents should never be thrown away. Deeds and property titles should always be kept, indefinitely, and for as long as you are the owner of the property.

This includes deeds of sale, property titles for homes, vehicles, or even burial plots.

These papers are absolutely essential to prove that you are the legitimate owner or to carry out any future transactions related to them.

• Period: always, indefinitely.
• Documents: sales, homes, vehicles, and burial plots.
• Reason: to prove ownership.

Rental agreements and community fees receipts

If you rent, you should keep the contract for five years after it ends. This is the period during which unpaid rent expires.

It is also highly recommended to keep the detailed inventory of the condition of the property when you moved in and the document confirming the return of the deposit.

On the other hand, community fees receipts are governed by general prudence periods for periodic obligations, which usually align with periods of three to five years.

• Rentals: 5 years after contract termination.
• Also keep: inventory and deposit return.
• Community fees: prudence guideline between 3 and 5 years.

Medical documents and records

State law establishes a minimum retention period of five years for medical documents from the discharge date of each treatment process.

However, OCU's criterion is much more cautious: it recommends keeping main medical reports, results of relevant diagnostic tests, surgical procedures, and clinical records indefinitely.

These papers are vital for your future healthcare, in case you need a second medical opinion or if you change healthcare providers. Also remember that many autonomous communities require periods longer than the state minimum of five years in their own regulations.

• State legal minimum: 5 years from discharge.
• OCU recommendation: keep key reports indefinitely.
• Usefulness: future care and second opinions.

«Good thing I know now which folders to empty this weekend and which ones to keep safe in the drawer.»

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