Barbara,

www.lifeorganizers.com/office/records-retention.htm

Neither this website (which I like a lot), nor the link that Jeanne
provided, addresses one's individual tax return doc's and the attached W-2s
and 1099s etc. specifically, other than in the 4-7 years retention.  I toss
my documentation out after 7 years, but keep the returns/W-2s etc.,
permanently, and I've told others the same.  We discovered here that the
Social Sec Admin failed to record a tape the city had sent several years ago
so everyone has a missing year, and it was not discovered until after the
city had destroyed  W-2s (7+C retention); employees here are not part of the
FICA program, but do pay medicare taxes. The city has since contacted SSA
and they have found the tape and hopefully this year it will be rectified,
but without it, it will be very difficult to reconstruct that information
(not impossible, but painful).

Sharon G. Blackstock, CRM
Central Records Administrator
Lakewood City Clerk's Office
480 South Allison Parkway
Lakewood CO 80226-3127
303-987-7091 (office)
303-987-7088 (fax)
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www.lakewood.org

Lakewood's records management objectives: 1) Information is available when
needed; 2) Records of permanent value are preserved; 3) Non-permanent
records are destroyed per approved retention schedules; 4) Discarded paper
is recycled.

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