topic I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do?

maverck78 — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 22:09:52 GMT

i have my receipt in email showing my federal return was accepted

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do?

john-ct — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 22:27:31 GMT

You may have worked more then one copy last year. This can happen if you saved a copy before completing the return. On File Explorer, check last years files for more than one copy (not pdf copies). Note the dates last modified (saved). Re-open TurboTax. At the page where it says to select last years return, don't choose the one displayed, but choose browse and select the latest one. If tht one doesn't work, try the other one.

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do?

NW0 — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 04:23:55 GMT

I have the same question. It's maddening, since this is very close to the last step to filing. In my case, we used Turbo Tax desktop 2024, and this year we're using Turbo Tax Online. I uploaded the file at the beginning of the process and everything seemed good until this question.

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do?

john-ct — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:41:46 GMT

This can happen with the online version. If you received emails from TurboTax last year stating that your return was transmitted, and then accepted, then you have nothing to worry about. If the IRS didn't get your return they would send you a letter. Just find a way past that statement and file your 2025 return.

When you use the online version, the program only "knows" the information you sent it. The previous questioner said that the program said that: "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." So for instance, if you did not reopen the program after receiving those emails, the copy on your computer only has it's status as of the last time you used it, which is that you instructed TTax to file your return, and that is the status you uploaded to the 2025 program. You could reopen and update the 2024 program right up to the time that you are ready to upload to 2025. You may be able to do this even now, but you may have to re-enter all your other info into the 2025 one.

Another concern: If for instance, your computer was lost or destroyed, while you could re-download the 2024 TurboTax you paid for, it would not contain any of the data you had entered. So it's important to back up the file onto separate media, or online to something like One Drive.

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do?

NW0 — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 14:35:20 GMT

Thanks John,

So if I am understanding correctly, the copy of my return that I uploaded into TT Online before starting my 2025 taxes was not fully updated to show that the taxes were filed, and I would have to do a fresh upload and start from scratch in order to have TT Online correctly recognize that I did in fact file my taxes last year. And the only other alternative is to lie on the answer to the question TT Online is asking, because it does not have an option for "I did file my 2025 taxes with TT, you just don't know it because you don't have all the information."

Is that correct?

Thank you,

Nathan

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024 return with TurboTax." Even though i did, what do i do?

john-ct — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:40:52 GMT

Yes, but as I don't know how complicated your return is and how many hours it would take to start from scratch, I can't tell you whether this is a good option. I don't even know if your entries would be transferred or not. But as the one you are working on is already saved, you ould start a new one, see how much is transferred, and if it looks like too much work, go back to the one you have to answer incorrectly on.

Also, if you enter no - that you did not use TTax in 2024 - it's not a lie, just a mistake. No one is going to judge you or call attantion to it. It's just a computer program, not a human.

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024...

MarilynG1 — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 23:36:51 GMT

Did you file for 2024 using TurboTax Online? If so, when you click on My Tax Returns and Documents on the Tax Home page, and choose 2024, it will say you completed filing. If so, when you start a 2025 return, your info will automatically transfer over.

If you used TurboTax Desktop, and are trying to upload your .tax2024 file to TurboTax Online for 2025, here's How to Transfer Last Year's Return to TurboTax Online. If it didn't seem to transfer properly, you could open your 2024 program and re-save your completed return and transfer that file to TurboTax Online.

@john-ct

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024...

cebuchter — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:10:19 GMT

This doesn't answer anyone's question. Do we have to start over with the 2025 online version once we're almost done with the taxes? Even though it looks like the 2024 tax file transferred properly when we were starting out? Do we bypass error my saying that we did our taxes some other way last year?

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024...

john-ct — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:44:09 GMT

Of course you don't have to start over. What difference does it make if TurboTax says you didn't file 2024. If the IRS says you filed, that's all that matters. TTax is a tool you bought; just a computer program creates a spreadsheet called a tax return. It's not the IRS, nor is it a person. Just finish up and file your taxes.

Re: I am getting this message "It looks like you started, but didn't successfully e-file the 2024...

cebuchter — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:14:34 GMT

Yes, that is the answer I was given on the phone yesterday: assume the program is defective and just answer that I used another non-TurboTax program last year and continue on. Then you will just have to go through a few extra questions to verify your identity.