How can I view my 2023 federal return?

[our99gmc]

How can I view my 2023 federal return before filing?

[mesquitebean]

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@ our99gmc wrote:
How can I view my 2023 federal return before filing?

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Indeed you should do so.   The method and how much you can view depends on whether you have already paid or not.

You can have a preview of the Form 1040 and schedules 1-3 for free at any time during preparation prior to paying and filing, but you can't print it.  For viewing/printing privileges to see all the forms, however,  you would need to pay first (see the second option I offer you below.)

  Here's how to do a preview for free without printing privilege:

• Open your return interview, and in the left menu column, choose TAX TOOLS, then choose TOOLS.
• In the Tools window, choose View Tax Summary.
• When the Tax Summary opens, look in the left menu column and choose Preview My 1040.
• That will show you the Form 1040 and schedules 1-3.

Or you can pay in advance to view/print/download the Form 1040 and all forms in your return plus any worksheets prior to filing.  Here's how:

• Open your return, and in the left menu column, choose Tax Tools, then Print Center.
• Then choose "Print/save/view this year's return."
• On a subsequent screen choose to "Pay now".
• The next screen should be an Order Summary.  Review that, and if all is OK, click Continue.
• It should then prompt you for payment by credit or debit card.  The screen may only say "credit card", but it will also take a debit card.

NOTE:  If it should offer you the option to "pay later" out of the Federal refund, that can't be used for this purpose.  You will need to pay upfront now by credit/debit card in order to download/print prior to filing.

[rickwolfe]

what do you mean that i have to pay first before i can review my return.  i bought the program so i alread;y paid

[mesquitebean]

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@rickwolfe wrote:

what do you mean that i have to pay first before i can review my return.  i bought the program so i alread;y paid

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The answer above wasn't for you.  It  is from last year  concerning the then-current 2023 return.  It was for a different user who was using Online TurboTax last year.  So one has to be careful when reviewing old forum threads and different product versions.  Online users normally pay at the end of preparation with their product during the filing process, while desktop software users buy the program first. 

If you're using desktop software for your 2024 return, you can go into Forms Mode at any time and view any of the (now) 2024 forms you wish to do so.   You can even print/save various PDFs.    There is no fee to use Forms Mode or view/print/save PDFs, etc. 

If you want to view your 2023 return, however, it depends on how it was prepared.   If your 2023 return was prepared in 2023 desktop software, then you have to have either the 2023 PDF you may have saved and which doesn't require the 2023 software, or the *.tax2023 data file (along with the 2023 software to open it) on your computer.     If you prepared the 2023 return online, we can tell you how to get a prior-year online return.