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Receipts | Pad Patter 2.27.16

scrapsandsass

scrapsandsass

Oh Ricky you're so fine ...
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
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So... do you keep receipts? If you do, are they specifically for returns? For tax purposes? Other? How do you store/manage them?

We keep our receipts because we always write off the sales tax on our federal taxes. The standard deduction doesn't come close to our sales tax spending (WA has a high sales tax rate). We save them all in a big paper shopping bag and then separate them by month and add them into a big spreadsheet at the end of the year. I bought a Neat scanner, but it seems to be more trouble than it is worth. I need to try out their app and see if it is simpler.

Now... our receipts do double duty because Kennedy's school participates in a program called Shoparoo (do you guys have this??) where you take pics of your receipts and the school can earn money from them (for things like grocery shopping, Target, pharmacy, etc.) and they earn entry points into drawings for money for things like restaurant receipts and stuff. I'm a bit competitive, so now I'm trying to be the top point-earner at the school. LOL.

So do you bother with receipts at all?
 
We save them and record them in Quicken. We have a little accordion folder, and we store them by month. When it gets too full, I will go back to the oldest months and shred them.

I used Turbo Tax this year, and it opened my eyes to the Itemized deductions. I never figured we could beat the standard deduction, but the major item Turbo Tax put in there was our STATE taxes. (But I think you have to choose between deducting State taxes OR Sales Tax). Unless we buy something big, I doubt our sales taxes would be larger than our state taxes.
 
We hold on to receipts for large purchases and I typically just staple them to the manual and warranty information. Everyday purchases (groceries etc.) I only hold onto for the week and then those are thrown away. Receipts from the pharmacy and anything health related are filed away. Mainly so I have a record. I don't have any sort of specific system in place for how I manage them, although I should. My hubby on the other hand will just take any he might have in his pants pocket and transfer them into the pocket of the pants he's putting on in the morning. Every day. Without even looking at them. Until I confiscate them :giggle
 
I don't save them, not enough to count for deductions. Well, I do save things for major purchases but only for a few months. A friend has an app on her android phone - she snaps a pic of every receipt so hubby has an easier time of tax returns. She even has him and her DD doing it, too. Last year they were able to claim the most deductions ever thanks to her. (loads of medical expenses)
 
I do save receipts, although I don't know why. We don't' add them up for taxes or anything like that. We do use them on rare occasions to return something, but that's about it. I have piles of them in the basement too.
 
For big purchases, we always keep them. Otherwise, they go straight in the garbage. And honestly, there has been times when I regretted throwing them away! :-)
 
Big purchases, work related and health related are all usually kept. Others/daily, not usually... unless I'm unsure about something I bought, and might need to return it.
 
We save EVERY receipt for the same reason you do - deducting the sales tax. It's amazing how much the everyday little purchases add up fast, and then when you add it any big ticket purchases, it's even more worth it!
 
We save all receipts. Everyday purchases go into an envelope for the month (labeled with month/year) and then stored in a box until the end of the year. Hubby keeps purchase totals in program on computer so he can track spending. Big ticket items, when they occur, are still kept in those monthly envelopes in the month they were purchased.
 
I keep receipts for guarantees, and medical receipts for taxes and insurance. Otherwise no. I organize the ones I keep the same. guarantees by year, medical by year.
 
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