Same here. I scan originals to a PDF (scansnap) and store them in EagleFiler. Originals go into a file folder for 48 months (just in case).

After I e-file my taxes, copies of the pdfs and tax returns are burned to disk and stored in my bank box.

devnull

I scan deductible receipts/bills to PDF, and then attach them to their respective transactions in Quicken. The transactions are already categorized, so I just reference that category list come tax time. If I get audited, I can just print the documents out.

TheChadd

Gina, you definitely do not need the original. (I'm a lawyer, not an accountant, but I've been involved in plenty of disputes involving tax/accounting and other issues - the original is only required if there's any dispute as to whether the copy is accurate.)

In fact, coming back to my question above, I would guess you don't even need receipts, but you can just keep a ledger, or take the credit card-provided summary route.

Venkat

I use [itsdeductibleonline.intuit.com] for tracking donations. For all other receipts, it's a shoebox or a manila folder.

breals

I scan everything to PDF using a Scansnap and tag them (in Yep) with the appropriate Schedule C info (among other tags). I do still save the originals in a a single envelope per year, though. I really would like to trash the originals, but (like Gina) don't know if PDFs would suffice in the case of an audit.

War-N

Question for you lawyer/tax accountant types: Do scanned PDF's stand up in an audit? I always thought you needed the original.

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker Editor

I climb the nearest bell tower and wait for IRS

Giovanni Borella

Be careful if you store in plastic. I keep records in paper envelopes in a fire safe but plastic will melt before paper burns. Unless you have a media safe which is more expensive and has less storage.

monohack

I make a digital copy using my camera phone and qipit then I tag them "Tax_2007". When it comes time to pull my receipts I sort by the tags. I can easily send the PDFs to my accountant. I put the hard copies of the receipts in plain old manila labeled folders, just in case I get audited.

chametner

Same thing.... small accordion file.

MercuryPDX

Get yourself a Diners or American Express Card - every tar deductible (even potentially) goes on that and at the end of the year they will send you a complete list of all your transactions for the year, categorized for you. I just highlight all the destructible transactions and give that to my accountant. I keep the receipts for if I really need them, but for preparation this method works a charm.

oakmad

I tape store reciepts (they fade) to letter-sized paper, circle, label, and categorize; then I scan to PDF. Year-end financial statements get scanned, too. I use Turbo-Tax to prepare and print the resulting return as a PDF, too. Finally, everything is zipped together as a yearly file.

mpgraber

I was under the impression that for the most part (unless you need to make special notations) your credit/debit card statements would suffice? It seems like overkill to save all receipts . . . .

Venkat

You can deduct entertaining expenses?

bradite

I keep purchase receipts in an accordion file, and I keep all other tax information in my filing cabinet according to the area it will go on when I file my taxes (medical, etc.). It has been really different for me this year, because for the first time, it will be best for us to itemize than to take the standard deduction. Unfortunately, it will be because we have so much money going out in medical and other deductible expenses.

skeleem_skalarm

I use a sheet feed scanner (Fujitsu S510) to scan each (necessary) receipt and file them as pdf's. Once tax season is over. I burn a CD and store in a safe. As soon as I get an authoritative word on how long these things MUST be kept, I will start throwing stuff away. Until then, I still have my taxes back to 1989. I was still in high school.

BTW: fantastic scanner, very fast and comes with acrobat.

pmsnet

Small, plastic accordion file, often sold as a check organizer. It has to have enough slots -- 13 is the best. I sort the receipts every month when I balance my checkbook and enter the expenses into Quicken, so I never even have to open it at tax time. I just close it up, label it "2007 receipts" and stash it with the rest of that year's tax records. Anything to avoid sitting down with a big pile of bitty pieces of paper trying to figure out what I spent money on 9 months ago and what category it belongs in.

Lauram

I scan them to PDF and use primitive file tagging. Oh, how I wish that NTFS had a tag functionality. It's probably available in VISTA but I'll never load that pig.

daniel.j.doughty

is how i organize my receipts.

(i wish there was an edit function)

urbanride

Zip lock bags.

urbanride

Wow, you ppl are more organized than I. I just cram things in envelopes and hope I never need them.

tek

At the end of the year, I transfer accumulated receipts from my three-ring binder to an accordion file. Quicken tracks the amount, categories, dates, etc. so I rarely ever look at a receipt or statement more than once.

I've never been audited, so I don't bother with digitizing or tagging receipts; it's a big waste of time for me.

My tax accountant sends me a workbook before my appointment; I print out the year-end tax summary report from Quicken and plug in those numbers. The hard copy (and eventually tax return copies) go in the accordion file.

The only real organization I do is properly assigning Quicken categories. Every year I shred the contents of the oldest accordion file; it will be used for the current year's receipts.

cv

@devnull: Good idea. I've started using gmail as an ad hoc storage. I just email myself stuff and archive it.

Maulleigh

Um, everything gets jammed into one manila folder until tax time. Then they get sorted. I don't have a ton of receipts.

Maulleigh

I actually use envelopes too. AND i write in pencil the $$$, item description, and store.

All I have to do is hand the envelope to my accountant.

ironchef

You should check out NEAT Receipts to organize tax receipts. Full disclosure: I'm an employee. Many of our customers use our software and scanner combination to scan and organize their receipts. The OCR & parsing technology reads and auto-populates data such as vendor, category, date, and amount. You can then assign a tax category to each receipt and generate tax reports which will give you totals by IRS categories. This will enable you to easily fill out their 1040 and other forms. Also, the IRS accepts digital copies, so there's no need to clutter the house or office with boxes, bags or piles of receipts. You can learn more about NEAT Receipts at www.neatreceipts.com.

jennchoi

I write the tax year and "C" to remind myself that it's a business expense (e.g., "2007-C") and file by month in a by-month accordion folder on my desk. If it's not obvious what the purchase is, I'll also write the approximate schedule C category under the year.

I use a dedicated credit card for all business related purchases, so between the year-end summary the bank sends and my Quickbooks tags, most of the heavy lifting is done. I go through the folder month by month to verify that each receipt is reflected and pick up anything I might have overlooked (PayPal is normally the culprit).

My worst offense is that I'm really bad about keeping up with Quickbooks and end up doing a lot of year-end data entry. That's when the by-month thing is really helpful.

I'm planning on going almost entirely paperless next year, so I may switch to an electronic simulation of the accordion folder and scan any paper receipts in. The tip about taping to a sheet of paper and writing notes is a great one!

Binky_The_Oracle

I organize my receipts with Shoeboxed.com. It's the best place to do it online, and it's totally free. We are releasing a big new feature in the next 24 hours, so make sure to check out our blog at blog.shoeboxed.com.

Life hacker wrote about a little while ago here: [lifehacker.com]

Dan
www.shoeboxed.com

danenglander

Receipts are filed in manila folders by category in a big box. There's 20+ categories each year. I never look at them again... they're for the IRS if they ever call me to the Big Show. Everything is entered in Quicken beforehand, which is what I use to get totals at year's end. I don't like QUicken, but it's awful to change when you have years of history. You're trapped!

I love my scansnap too, but scanning the receipts would be yet ANOTHER step I'd have to take with the damn things, not to mention tagging them... ugh. I like that NeatReceipts does that for you automatically, but they don't work with Mac.

Has anyone here figured out how to "train" Scansnap not to crumple and get stuck on multiple pages?

Susie Bright

I have two business' and a regular job and use a file cabinet to organize all the paperwork associated. One hanging file for each account (credit cards, banking, utilities, etc.) Statements and receipts go into each file after they are entered into Quicken.

At beginning of each year, I take the contents of each file from the previous year and put them in manilla folders and transfer to a bankers box. One box for each year. I keep boxes from the past two years handy and store the rest in the attic.

ISPAAN

Can you imagine how much time and headaches would be saved if we could just get The Fair Tax (HR 25) passed by congress? You wouldn't have to save another receipt again.

I dread doing taxes every year and I think it's a huge productivity loss that cost everyone time and money.

gatorfanatic

Paper shredder. I've never done anything but take the standard deduction.

Exick