Much of what you need to keep in the form of records depends directly on the statute of limitations for an IRS review. Here are some guidelines:

Your copy of the tax return: Keep it forever. That's right. You never want to dispose of your copy of the tax return. You never know when this document will come in handy. Remember that, in many cases, the IRS destroys the original returns after four or five years. It's always best to have your copy to fall back on. I'd also like to see you keep your W-2 forms with your tax return indefinitely. Why? You never know when you might need your W-2 slips to correct a Social Security earnings statement. Copies of your W-2s can be very valuable in future years... and they don't take up much space.

Canceled checks, deposit statements, and receipts: Generally, keeping these for three years is enough. Because of various combinations of the statute of limitations and technical carry-back and carry-forward provisions in the code, though, keeping them for longer than three years is preferred -- five years is better, and seven years is best. But make sure that these canceled checks and receipts are only for transactions that have an impact on this single year... such as receipts for your itemized deductions or interest income. In other words, if a receipt is for something that won't appear on your tax return for several years (such as home improvements), then you'll want to hang on to it for at least three to seven years beyond when it actually appears on your return.

Stock trade confirmation receipts/statements: Keep these statements for at least three years after both ends of the transaction (both buy and sell) have closed. Again, five or seven years are even better. For example, say that you bought 200 shares of Gap stock in 1981 and sold them in 2000. You'll want to hold on to both the buy and sell confirmations until at least April 2004. In effect, you will have held on to the 1981 purchase statement for about 24 years -- but that's what's required to prove both ends of a stock transaction.

Improvements to property: Keep proof of those improvements until at least three years after the sale of the property in case you need to prove your basis in the property when it was sold. This is true for rental property, investment property, and even your own personal residence. Remember when you added that new backyard deck and patio to your rental property in 1987? Well, you'd better still have that receipt -- and keep it with receipts for other improvements to that property for at least three years after you sell it. In cases like this, it is very possible that you'll have records 10, 20, 25 years old or older. It's not uncommon if you're retaining your records appropriately. And again, keeping these records five or seven years beyond the sale date is even better.

Escrow closing documents: Keep these a minimum of three years after the property is sold. You'll want to retain both the purchase escrow and sales escrow statements. Much like your stock confirmation statements, you'll need to show both sides of the transaction and be able to prove your improvements. And, as always, keeping the records for five or seven years past the sale is an even better bet.