How Long Should You Keep Old Credit Card Bills?

Keeping old credit card bills can mean a big stack of paper.

Paper Adds Up

Bankrate recommends keeping copies of credit card bills for 45 days to 7 years. This will help to account for any major expenses as well as any claimed tax deductions for any period of time in which the IRS could audit.

Electronic Statements Are Easy

With the implementation of electronic statements used by most credit card companies, consumers can call up any credit card bill at any point in time, should they need to review it. This could negate the need to keep paper copies of bills in the future.

Bottom Line

Many credit card companies will even give consumers an option for paperless billing, meaning that there are no paper statements to keep. With the advent of the advancements in technology, it would make sense for consumers to download credit card statements electronically and keep them in an electronic format for the recommended 5 to 7 years after the statement is sent.