Feeling buried beneath piles of paper? Are your grocery receipts and 401(k) statements stuffed in a desk drawer or spilling out of your in-basket? Take heart. You've got lots of fellow paper pack rats, particularly with the tax season just behind us.

What to keep and what to toss? "We get these questions all year, but especially after tax time," said Diana Muller, an enrolled agent and partner with Sacramento-based Just Taxes. "This stuff piles up." To unbury your home office or kitchen table, here's a guide to financial record-keeping. And discarding.

To get started, gather a pile of file folders, marked by subject ("Retirement account," "Taxes," "Vehicles," etc.). Invest in a file cabinet or secure box. For documents you want to keep, consider getting a small safe or safety deposit box. As backup, keep copies of important documents in your computer.

TAXES

Generally, keep your final tax return forever. But all the tax-related documents that go with it only need to be kept for only three to four years (how long you're subject to a possible audit). If you think you may have your understated your income, keep documents up to seven years.

CANCELED CHECKS

Whether you bank online or in person, you can discard after one year. However, keep copies that might be needed for taxes, warranties or other insurance reasons.

INVESTMENTS, 401(K)S

Keep all documentation of a purchase or sale of any stock, bond or mutual fund. Either make a separate file or lump them all together. Once it's sold, keep records for seven years. For IRA and other retirement accounts, keep monthly statements until your end-of-year summary arrives.

VEHICLES

Keep all maintenance records and paperwork related to your car, until it's sold. Then give the file to the new owner.

ATM, CREDIT CARD RECEIPTS

Keep until you can check them against your monthly statement; toss if they reconcile. Keep receipts for insurance claims or tax deductions. And if it's for a consumer product, attach it to the warranty for future proof of purchase.

HOME-RELATED DOCUMENTS AND RECEIPTS

Keep records of all home improvements until you sell the house because they can be deducted against capital gains at tax time. Phone and utility bills can be tossed after a year, unless you're deducting a portion for business expenses.

DOCUMENTS TO KEEP FOREVER

Birth and marriage certificates, current passports, home inventory (for insurance records), Social Security cards, "pink slips" for vehicles, stock purchase agreements, tax returns, current insurance policies and divorce papers.

DON'T TOSS IT, SHRED IT

When in doubt, shred any paperwork that contains personal financial data, especially Social Security numbers, PIN numbers or passwords, bank documents, signed contracts or leases, even travel itineraries or used airline tickets.

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(Claudia Buck is the assistant business editor of The Sacramento Bee. Personal Finance Notebook answers questions about money matters, tapping a roster of experts for advice on navigating the often-confusing world of personal finance. Submit questions to cbuck@sacbee.com or P.O. Box 15779 Sacramento, Calif. 95852.)