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Documents You Need To Shred Before The Tax Season Ends

The tax season is quickly approaching, and now is the time to start getting your ducks in a row. One of the most important things to do before filing is to ensure that all sensitive documents are properly destroyed. This includes anything with your social security number, bank account number, or other personal information. Here are ten papers you need to shred before the tax season ends!

Why Shred Your Sensitive Paper?

Shredding your document is one of the best ways to protect your personal information from identity theft. When document destruction is done correctly, no one else can access your financial records or other sensitive data. It will help you avoid potential fraudulence and costly mistakes when filing your taxes this April 18th!

Why Should We Shred Our Old Tax Information?

Although it is required to maintain tax documents for around six years, discarding them carelessly after this period “because they are outdated” may jeopardize the security and confidentiality of your company or any personal data. Your tax documents may contain sensitive information, such as financial information about the business or employee personal information like a SIN or business identification number. All of the mentioned items are acceptable as receipts for proving identity.

10  Documents You Need To Shred

We recommend you shred and destroy certain documents when they become outdated.

1. Bank Statements: Bank statements should be shredded as soon as they are no longer needed. This document contains sensitive information that thieves can use to access your bank accounts.

2. Credit Card Receipts: Even if the receipt doesn’t have your credit card number, it still has personal details like the store address and purchase amount – all of which could be used to identify you in the wrong hands.

3. Tax Returns: Prior tax returns should be shredded to avoid identity theft, especially if you’re storing them for more than a few years or filing electronically with the same security settings year after year.

4. Investment Documents: Investment documents contain private financial information that should not be accessible to anyone other than yourself. It includes your stock portfolio and any financial statements related to investments.

5. Pay Stubs: Though it may seem like a document with limited information, pay stubs can contain confidential information such as your employer’s name, address, and even your Social Security number printed on the document.

6. Utility Bills: If you receive hard copy bills in the mail each month, they should be shredded when they are no longer needed.

7. Insurance Policies: Whether you have health insurance, life insurance, or homeowner’s insurance policies, shred them as soon as possible after their term has expired to avoid any potential security breaches.

8. Canceled Cheques: Canceled Cheques are essential to shred since they document your financial transactions, including the bank account and routing numbers, which can be used to access your accounts.

9. Medical Records: These documents contain sensitive medical information that should be destroyed immediately after use or as soon as it’s no longer needed for filing taxes.

10. Receipts: Even if you don’t think a receipt is worth keeping, there may be personal information on them, such as your address or credit card number, that could pose a security risk if not properly disposed of using document destruction services.

 

To ensure you protect yourself from potential identity theft during tax season, now is the time to start shredding your documents. Using A1 DataShred document destruction services can help ensure that all your sensitive documents are destroyed safely and securely. We provide professional shredding services to residences and business owners in Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding areas, and we can come to your location and securely shred your confidential documents.

Taking these precautions before tax season can protect you from identity theft and have peace of mind during the filing process. So if you are ready to start shredding, contact A1 Datashred today for a quote.

March 22, 2023