Hello, I am running into a strange issue. I have been using TT for about 10 years now. Somehow my 2018 tax file ( the one with .tax2018 extension) file got saved as a zip file with .tax2018.zip extension. When I unzip the file, I see two files, one is a manifest.xml and the other is a file with long list of numbers and names (example: df402278-cafd-4bb2-bb0d-5f35e0bcf208) but I could not find the actual .tax2018 file.
I have moved between different laptops and restored from my Google Drive back up etc, but I am not sure what exactly caused this .tax2018 file to become .tax2018.zip. I spent quite a bit of time Googling this and also tried contacting TT helpline, but could not find a way to recover the original .tax2018 file.
Does anyone have any suggestions on recovering the file? Thanks for any advice.
Please reach out to Customer Support via the Contact Us link below for assistance with troubleshooting this issue:
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/
As mentioned in my original post, I already reached out to TT help but they were not able to resolve this.
If you used Turbo Tax Online to file you can download a new .tax file from the Turbo Tax homepage. But otherwise, it's not much else that can be done, unless you find the files on your computer. You can also try this link for assistance: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-data-file/help/find-your-tax-data-file-tax-file-in-windows/00/25926
I have observed the same thing. The original .tax2018 file was backed up to Google Drive, where it appears as an archive of two files (exactly as noted in the original post). In order to import the 2018 taxes into the 2019 version on TurboTax, I downloaded the file from Google, but the uncompressed file does not import successfully into TT. Has anyone solved this one?
Please see the link below, for instructions on how to open a zip file:
Unable to open downloaded .zip file in Windows
You must also have the 2018 TurboTax software program installed on your computer to open a .tax2018 file.You don't need the program installed to open a pdf file.
Its not an issue with unzipping the file. Please see the issue description in my original post, copying below again
When I unzip the file, I see two files, one is a manifest.xml and the other is a file with long list of numbers and names (example: df402278-cafd-4bb2-bb0d-5f35e0bcf208) but I could not find the actual .tax2018 file.
I am observing the same thing @Narman. Apparently, the original *.tax2018 file was converted into a *.zip once uploaded to Google Drive (months ago when I originally uploaded it). I then download the file to the new laptop, and I see a manifest.xml and a file called 795a6c18-773c-4388-bd6b-f291c7e3b99c in the archive that appears to have replaced the original *.tax2018 file from last year. I tried adding the file extension .tax2018 to the file with the alphanumeric filename which enabled TT to recognize it as a prior TT tax file, but it returned the message: "Import not successful." It is as if the original file was somehow garbled by the upload to Google Drive... If there are any other ideas, please advise.
yes, @VolvoGirl . thanks, for the suggestion. that did not work per my prior more detailed post.
@VolvoGirl , thanks for the suggestion. It worked like a charm, and now I could use the file to import into TT 2019.
@padm , I also tried adding the .tax2018 extension to the file inside the zip file earlier. But based on the above suggestion, I just renamed the file from .tax2018.zip to .tax2018 and it works. Please try and see if it helps.
@Narman - that's awesome; I am pleased that worked for you. I tried renaming the file again once more, and no luck. I still get the 'This import was unsuccessful." message.
How are you trying to "import" it? You don't import it, you Transfer it. Are you starting a New return each time? Go to File-New and if it doesn't show up in the box, click the blue button to browse to the 2018 file.
@Narman and @VolvoGirl - new PC... the setting to expose file extensions was disabled. I was renaming the file, and not the actual extension which Windows10 was hiding from me. Thank you both for your posts... by renaming the archive, I was able to import the prior year's TT file.
To recap for anyone else running into this issue: rename the archive (downloaded from Google Drive which appears to have two files contained therein) to remove the *.zip extension. That should then allow you to import to TT.
I am incorrectly using "import" to refer to the step at the beginning of transferring a prior year's return. Thanks for catching the imprecision of my language for the benefit of others on this thread.
@Narman and @VolvoGirl - problem solved. I renamed the archive (and not the file in the archive as I attempted previously) to have the file extension of *.tax2018, TT recognized the file and allowed me to transfer it into my new return. Thanks for the assist on this one, guys!
Okay, I just experienced the same (or similar) adventure. I spent a couple hours on the phone with a TurboTax Product Specialist, to no avail. This forum put me on the right track.
The root problem seems to be that Google Drive is incorrectly identifying the saved TurboTax files as archived and compressed, when they are not.
This leads to Drive suggesting a third party unzipping app, which creates what are apparently junk files and folders. My original file on Drive had the correct .tax2019 extension, without the additional .zip that previous posts mention. After false starts cause by trying to unzip and then rename the junk file, I simply downloaded the original file from Drive to the Mac and it worked.Strangely, the junk unzipped file appeared to have been read by TurboTax. The application gave an error indicating that it was the wrong tax year, as opposed to saying it was unreadable or invalid. This led me down a blind alley of assuming it was either a glitch in the unzipping process or that the issue was in going from Windows Desktop in 2019 to Mac Desktop in 2020.
Another lesson learned in the process is this:
Intuit's claim that it can bring in previous year data from a .pdf file seems to be overstated at best.
After I had trouble with the .tax2019 file, I tried the .pdf file. It seemed to work, as the program did bring in SOME data, just not the really important stuff, like rental property depreciation history and tax history. I spent a few hours entering W-2's and 1099's before realizing the previous year info was incomplete. I explained all of this to the TT Product Specialist and she concluded that I "must have saved it wrong." I had used the TT "detailed records" option for the save and when I browsed or printed the file, all of the detailed data was there. So...not sure what's up there, but I'll never depend on a .pdf file as a TT backup plan again!Thanks to all of the previous posters! I hope this additional info helps someone in the future to avoid the kind of frustration I experienced today.