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How Long Should You Keep Credit Card Statements?

8 min read

Published April 4, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

If you receive credit card statements in the mail, you should generally keep them for 60 days.
In some circumstances, you might need to keep statements longer, especially if you have a pending dispute or need the documents for tax purposes.
Many credit card issuers offer mobile or online banking, which may eliminate the need for paper statements.

Reviewing your credit card statement each month may help you track your spending and catch fraudulent charges before they hurt your credit score. Plus, your statement contains plenty of valuable information, like your minimum payment amount, interest charges, available credit, and rewards balance. Once you’ve reviewed all the crucial info, though, you may not want to hang onto your credit card statement forever. Letting statements pile up may not only create clutter–it might also be a security issue. Let’s discuss the right time to get rid of your card statements and how to do so safely.

Keep most credit card statements for 60 days

Most experts agree that it’s usually best to hang onto credit card statements for 60 days, or about two months, just in case you have to dispute a charge. This recommendation has its roots in the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), which gives consumers 60 days to dispute unfair or incorrect charges on their credit card statements.

After 60 days, you can typically dispose of your statements. In the meantime, if someone accesses your statement without your permission, you might freeze your account to prevent identity theft. Discover^® Cardmembers can prevent new purchases, cash advances and balance transfers with Freeze it^®.¹

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Be sure to store your credit statements somewhere secure, like a locked filing cabinet or safe with other financial records like investment statements. You may also opt to download electronic copies of your online statements instead. In that case, a password-protected file may be the most secure option.

When should you keep your statements for more than 60 days

While 60 days is the standard recommendation for storing credit card statements, you may need to hang onto them longer in certain circumstances. You should typically keep statements longer than 60 days in the following scenarios:

You’re monitoring your spending

You’ll want to hang onto your credit card statements if you’re tracking personal expenses. Expense monitoring can help you take stock of your financial well-being, identify patterns, and create thoughtful budgets. You may need up to a year's worth of account statements to paint a thorough financial picture.

You’re tracking business expenses

If you’re self-employed and use your personal card for business costs, you should hold onto your statements for a year. That way, you’ll have the documents you need on hand when you do your business taxes. They may also come in handy as you build a business spending plan for the next year.

You have a pending dispute

If you’ve initiated a dispute of a credit card charge within the 60-day period, you may have to hold onto your statement for a little longer. According to the FCBA, creditors have to send you a written acknowledgment that they’ve received your dispute within 30 days. Then, they have 2 billing cycles to investigate and resolve your dispute. They’re obligated to complete the entire process within 90 days, so you should be able to dispose of your statements after that.

You’ve received an extended warranty

Some credit card issuers may offer extended warranties on purchases from eligible manufacturers as a perk. If you ever have to take advantage of your extended warranty, you may need to show proof of your purchase. So, it’s usually a good idea to hold onto that statement through the end of your warranty, just in case.

The statements are tax-related

The IRS recommends keeping records that are relevant to your taxes for 3 to 6 years, depending on the situation. Your credit card statements may act as proof of expenses that you claim as deductions on your taxes, including charitable donations or certain medical expenses. If you’re ever audited, these documents may come in handy.

How to dispose of old credit card statements

When it comes time to dispose of your credit card statements, security should be at the forefront of your mind. Your card statements contain sensitive information, like account numbers, that can pose a safety threat in the wrong hands.

Shredding is the safest way to dispose of your old account statements (and any financial documents). If you have a paper shredder at home, you can run your statements through it before throwing the scraps in your recycling. Otherwise, you may take your documents to a professional shredding service to destroy and dispose of them.

If you can’t access a shredder, you can use a black permanent marker to cover the personal information on your statements. Then, rip them up by hand. For extra security, you may dispose of the pieces of your old credit card statement in different trash or recycling cans.

Go paperless

Most major credit card companies offer cardmembers a paperless option, which means they’ll stop communicating by mail altogether. Instead, you can manage your account online or through your mobile app. If you switch to online banking, you don’t have to worry about keeping or disposing of statements – you can access them online as needed. If you’re concerned about losing access to financial documents, ask your credit card company how long they maintain records online.

It's still a best practice to delete any online statements you download after 60 days.

Did you know?

Discover^® Cardmembers can manage their account with the Discover mobile app. You can easily make payments, monitor your activity, manage rewards, access your credit card statements, and more through the app without worrying about paper statements.

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Your credit card statements contain critical info, which may be damaging in the wrong hands. That’s why it’s important to hold onto the statements only as long as necessary and store them in a secure location. Switching to online statements can streamline your document storage and reduce paper waste.

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