Finding last years tax return

[eljac9]

First off, I have been using Turbo Tax for about 10 years. Every year I file into a new folder ( ie TaxYear2021).

So when I did my taxes last year for 2021, it got filed in TaxYear2021. Now when I want to start 2022, it CANNOT find a previous year. and the file names within TaxYear2021 are listed as tax2020. Which turbo 2022 cannot find.

My question, can I modify tax2020 to state tax2021 where it can be accessed by turbo 2022.

The majority of the data would be pretty close to being the same for this year and I could live with out having to enter excessive data.

Last year was the 1st year I used windows 10 for TurboTax.

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

If you used the TurboTax desktop CD/Download 2021editions installed on a personal computer, any saved 2021 tax returns will have a file extension of .tax2021.

The 2021 TurboTax software cannot save a 2021 tax return with a file extension of .tax2020.

Search all of your local hard drives and external drives or cloud drives for a file with an extension of .tax2021

TurboTax will, by default, save tax data files and PDF's in the TurboTax folder located in the Documents directory on the C:\ drive on the computer where the TurboTax software is installed.

[SteamTrain]

As an aside, check your other tax year folders too for their .taxyyyy designations.  You may have mis-named the folders, or accidentally used the wrong folder to save one year, or some years

i.e. ....as-in...Yeah, you filed your 2020 tax returns during 2021, and your 2019 tax return during 2020...etc.

[NCperson]

@eljac9 - do you maintain a backup copy of your hard drive? did you look there? 

[eljac9]

Sorry but that doesn't help. Let me rephrase my last years tax .

I did my taxes with Turbo Deluxe last year and saved into a folder  C:\\Taxes\tax2021. Same as I do every year.

Only difference is that I have to now use a Windows 10 computer. Now this year again with the Windows 10 computer and a new download of Turbo Tax and a new folder ( tax2022 ) I prepare to start anew. The only thing, is that Turbo CANNOT find an old tax file for 2021. at this point I stopped and did a search for tax2021. And there isn't one. I even search the entire computer with a CMD prompt the old way. Nothing found even close.

I went back to my W-7 computer and searched it as well, thinking I may have copied  the folder over so I had access to the PDF file that I would have created. Nothing there either, NOT even a tax2021 folder.

For the record, I have tax2017, tax2018, tax2019, tax2020, tax2021.. However, both folder tax2020 and tax2021 contain the file for 2020 taxes.

As I am self-employed, I have a lot of business and medical that have to be re-created and I'm not too excited about having to do that. If there is an alternative to acquiring the majority of the data from previous tax file would help a lot.

Thanks

[VolvoGirl]

I have a hard time following you.  Did you copy the .tax files to the new computer?  You only need the .tax2021 file to transfer into 2022.   Your files should be in your Documents then in a TurboTax folder.   I would leave them there and you can make subfolders for the years.  

See this article on how to move your tax return to another computer…….
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-data-file/help/how-do-i-move-my-tax-data-file-to-another-compu...

If you don't have the main .tax file you might have one that starts with a Tilde sign ~ like "~your name.tax2021". That file is if your computer crashes or your real file gets lost or deleted or corrupt so you can restore it.

Here's an idea. Do you still have 2021 installed? Try opening 2021 program and see if you can get your 2021 return to show up in it. Go to FILE - OPEN. And see if that is the right one.

Then in the 2021 program do a File-Save AS and give it a easy name you can find or search for. And note where it saves it or select where to save it so you can find it again. The file will end in .tax2021. Then close the 2021 program. Then start a new 2022 return and transfer from the 2021 file.

[eljac9]

VolvoGirl   --  I appreciate your time and effort in trying to help me solve this problem.

However, I am going to consider this discussion CLOSED because I have come to the conclusion that this is a screw-up on my part. I have to assume I have somehow overwriien my Tax2021 folder with the Tax2020 folder. And that woukld be why I can't find the tax2021 file. Heck, I can't even find a file that had a date modified in 2022 in any of the finance folders I have for turbotax. 

I will however try to use last years TurcoTax against the 2020 file and see if I could recreate a tax2021 file. The one thing it might give me is all the small individual worksheet forms that are not listed on my 2021 printed copy.

Thanks to all who have reviewed this discussion and provided your opinions.

[bonitagriffith31302]

When I opened 2022 Turbotax, I had not saved my 2021 file as a Turbo Tax 2021 file.  I have now done so - how do I get it incorporated in to my 2022 return?

[VolvoGirl]

@bonitagriffith31302   So you used the 2021 Desktop program and saved the .tax2021 file?  It should have been automatically saved when you did 2021.  

You can only transfer the prior year into a new blank 2022 return.  So you would have to start over, go up to FILE-NEW TAX RETURN.   Sounds like you already started 2022?  Is there anything from 2021 you need for 2022?