Spring cleaning time is here, which means it’s time to sort through your closets and organize your desk. 

But before you go crazy with the paper shredder, there are some things to know about which documents are important to keep until next year, and which ones you can toss. Everyone’s financial situation is different, and depending upon how complicated your tax return is, you may have to keep more than someone filing a 1040EZ.

Taxes are On Topic in March at FOXBusiness.com. From tips on how to save money when you file to how to avoid an audit, check back throughout the month to find out what you need to know.

Here are some general rules to follow when you’re deciding whether to save or shred.

Tax Returns
The IRS can audit your return for any reason for up to three years from when you file. After April 15 of this year, the IRS will no longer be able to audit returns filed on or before April 15, 2005. So it’s important to keep copies of your tax returns and all the supporting documentation from the past three years.

There are cases when the IRS can go back further than three years, but those are usually in cases involving fraud or criminal charges, or in cases where 25% of the taxpayers income was omitted. David Strege, a certified financial planner practitioner at Syverson Strege & Co., recommends hanging onto your tax returns for seven years just in case.

“You could end up paying more in taxes plus penalties if you get audited and don't have any supporting documentation, so that’s why it’s so critical to keep. If you do get audited you'll have proof of why you filed what you did,” he said.

Still, the average taxpayer should only need to keep returns from the past three years.

Bank Statements
If you do most of your banking online, it may be tempting to throw all of those bank statements out. But hang on to them for at least 12 months, said Jim Lawrence, a CPA with Traphagen & Traphagen, an accounting firm in New Jersey.

Lawrence said that from an IRS standpoint, you should keep your canceled checks for any deductions, contributions to an IRA account or a charity, for three years.

Credit Card Statements
The same rules that apply to bank statements also apply to credit card statements. If you charged an expense that you plan to claim as a deduction on your tax return, you need to save the statement verifying the charge and keep it with your tax return for three years in case of an audit.

You should make sure you get and keep a receipt of any donation or deductible item you purchased as well.

Pay Stubs
Hang on to your pay stubs for 12 months, so that you can add them all up at the end of the year and make sure that they match your W-2.

“People always say, ‘I trust my employer’ but you know what? Mistakes do happen and mathematical errors are more common than you think,” said Lawrence.

ATM Receipts
ATM receipts only need to be kept as long as it takes you to enter the withdrawal or deposit in your check register. Other than that, the only reason to keep an ATM receipt is if you’re taking cash out for a business expense that you’re going to claim on your tax return, such as a dinner out with a client. In that situation, you might want to keep the receipt, but it’s probably more important to hang onto the actual dinner receipt.

Canceled Checks and Receipts from Purchases
Canceled checks and receipts only need to be saved if you think you might claim the purchase on your tax return. Otherwise, you can throw most receipts away. The only other reason you might want to hang onto a receipt is if the purchase involves a warranty or guarantee.

Investment Information
For most investments, you need to be able to prove when you bought it and what you paid for it come tax time. If you’ve held the stock or bond for more than a year, the IRS considers it a long-term investment and you only have to pay a 15% tax. Investments held for less than a year are taxed at your regular tax rate.

If you sold stocks or bonds and then reinvested the dividend, you’ll need to save all of the documentation supporting that reinvestment so that the amount you reinvested can be added to your basis. Your basis is the base amount you have invested in the asset, so that when you sell the asset you have a lower amount to pay tax on.

Never Throw Away
There are certain documents you should never throw away, such as your Social Security card, passport, real estate documents, anything documenting home improvements, divorce decrees, gift tax returns and any other important tax documents that can be used later to help determine your basis on an asset. These documents should be kept somewhere secure, such as a safety deposit box. In addition, you want to keep copies of your other important documents, like your will, in an accessible location.

“You should keep the title on your house, your real estate abstract, Social Security cards and all of those important documents in a fireproof box along with the originals of your wills--and make sure the executor knows where they’re at,” said Strege of Syverson Strege & Co.

Strege also noted you should keep multiple copies of your medical Power of Attorney, financial power of attorney and living will. People you've named to be in charge of those things need to have a copy as well, he said.

“I carry my will on me when I travel,” he added. “If I get in an accident, it’s not going to do any good if it’s in a lockbox."