If you saved last year's return to your computer as a tax data file, you can find it by following the instructions for Mac or Windows:
Windows
- Select the Start menu and select search or use Cortana search if you're using Windows 10.
- Search for *.tax2022 (or whichever year you are searching for, *.tax2021,*.tax2020, etc.).
- Don't double-click the tax file in the search results to open it, as this can cause errors.
- In the left pane of the search results, select the > symbol next to the .tax file you're searching for. This will bring up information about this file in the right pane.
- In the right pane, select Open file location. By default, TurboTax saves tax files in the My Documents TurboTax folder.
- After locating the tax file in its folder, open your tax return using the same version of TurboTax for that year.
- For example, open your 2022 return in the TurboTax 2022 program and your 2021 return in TurboTax 2021 .
Your tax data file (.tax file) is not the same thing as a PDF copy of your return.
A .tax file can only be opened in the TurboTax Desktop software. Because it's stored locally on your computer, we can't retrieve tax data files prepared in the TurboTax Desktop software. E-filing doesn't keep a copy of your return on our servers.
