I lost many years of TurboTax records. How / where can I retrieve the lost depreciation data?

[156church]

My HD crashed and I lost many years of TurboTax records including backup. I need the depreciation (item, original purchase price & date, type of depreciation, accumulated depreciation...) to use in continuing to file tax forms.

How / where can I retrieve the lost depreciation data?

[DoninGA]

If you used the desktop CD/Download editions installed on your computer, the only copy of your tax data file and any PDF's will be on the computer where the return was created.  TurboTax does not store online any returns completed using the desktop editions.

You can get copies of a complete federal tax return from the IRS for a fee of $50 for each tax return.  Complete IRS Form 4506 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf

[156church]

I don't know if I submitted the depreciation worksheets with my tax forms. Can I find out if I did? Now?

[DoninGA]

The worksheets generated by TurboTax would not have been included in your tax return that was filed.  However, any Forms 4562, Depreciation and Amortization would be included with the tax return.

[156church]

I likely have hardcopy of what was sent to IRS including the 4562 form. How would I use the last year I have of 4562 for the subsequent year's TurboTax? Normally the subsequent year's TurboTax would import all that information.

[DoninGA]

The only thing I can recommend at this point is for you to complete the Schedule E using the 2017 TurboTax program and enter every Asset that is associated with this rental using the date placed in service and the cost of the asset.  TurboTax will calculate prior depreciation and current depreciation.  Then it will create a Depreciation and Amortization report showing all assets for the property with totals for each assent both current and prior depreciation.

@TaxGuyBill Do you have any thoughts or recommendations for this user who has lost all prior TurboTax files and needs all prior depreciation taken for their rental property?

[TaxGuyBill]

Offhand, not really.  I may need to think about that for a bit though.

@156church   You said you likely have the hardcopy of what was sent to the IRS?  If you have the 'all worksheets', the "Depreciation and Amortization Report" has all of that information.  If you don't have the worksheet, you would need ALL of your tax returns since the start of the business or rental, and look at EACH Form 4562 to see the information of what was "placed in service" that year.

Otherwise, you SHOULD have kept all of the receipts for what you are depreciating, and you could recreate the amounts and dates with those.