How long does the IRS retain copies of my past returns?
Retained tax returns
Jan 15, 2011
4 Replies
This answer may not be complete, but
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let you request copies of three years' prior returns. Don't know how long after that before they destroy the records.On the other hand, the Social Security office has a full record of your earnings, going back to your first on the books job.Joe
Form 4506 (not 4506-T) says "Copies of Forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ are generally available for 7 years from filing before they are destroyed by law."
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Bob Sandler
I think the federal records destruction guidelines state that a return may be purged 6 years after the last action taken.
If nothing ever happens (i.e. filed, full-paid, and not amended), that means 6 years from filing.
I think that this is in the IRM somewhere. I remember seeing such for other documents like those for administrative actions like Form 23 - applying to be an EA, kept for 5 years if granted, and a little longer when denied.
The last time I looked into this was the mid-1990s. It's also possible that the guidelines have changed since.
Yes, Bob set me straight. I grabbed the wrong form to base my initial thought.
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