Personal tax return

[taxdean]

I am an executor/trustee after my parents both passed away in 2021 and have already been posting about that but, to be clear, these questions are unrelated. They relate to my own personal tax return; my spouse and I are married filing jointly.   While it may be that one person can answer all of them, in case not, I will post each of them separately so i can act on some of the answers quickly, since time is running out.  Thank you all.  Here is question #1:

I used the desktop version of TurboTax for 2020 and, indeed, have a PDF of what was sent to the IRS in September (with an extension) but in the 2020 numbers listed on my 2021 TurboTax (where it shows the prior year's values for comparison), so many of those numbers look way wrong, not to mention different from the aforementioned PDF.  Is it possible that my 2021 desktop imported a 2020 file that was a preliminary version and not the version I filed?  I can think of no other reason it would show values for 2020 that seem so wrong. 

[RobertB4444 · Accepted solution]

Anything is possible.  But those numbers are for comparison's sake only and they don't effect this year's return.  It would be convenient to have them but as long as all the data necessary to do the return is there then you should be good.

[taxdean]

I hear you but let me ask this: Is there any way to tell it, the 2021 desktop version, which file was used for 2020 - indeed, I did save a bunch of 2020 files along the way to finalizing it - and have it re-import that data for 2020, so that it would have the correct 2020 values?  Since my expenses tend to change little from year to year having the (final, correct) prior year values is a powerful sanity check to make sure I enter good numbers this year. Particularly with a home office deduction, it is very easy to mess up, even double enter certain costs, for a variety of reasons that you can imagine.

Could this problem never happen with the on-line version if you used that option every year, in that it would know what was in the latest prior year filing?

Thanks!

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

With the desktop version of TurboTax, when you start a new return for the current year (2021) the program will search for the previous year's returns on your computer.  If there are multiple files found, you will be asked to choose which one you want to import into the 2021 return, if any.  

You can certainly start another 2021 return and carefully choose which 2020 file you wish to import.  

When you use TurboTax Online, your return is based on your online account.  Presumably, you would only have one online account and therefore when you log into that same account the following year it would have the record of the tax return that you filed.  

If you wished to create multiple versions of the same year's return, you would need multiple online accounts using TurboTax Online.

@taxdean

[taxdean]

That answer is what I expected, in terms of being able to import any of the 2020 versions I had.  I suspect that is the reason for the non-final 2020 data stuck in there - user error.  I will need to decide whether it is worth starting over with another 2021 file so i\I can find and import the very last 2020 file.  Thank you!

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

Don't transfer from the pdf file.  It is limited and doesn't transfer everything.  You need to have the file ending in .tax2020.

You need the file ending in .tax2020 to transfer into this year.  It should be in Documents in a Turbo Tax subfolder.  Or Search your computer for all files ending in .tax or .tax2020.  And check the Recycle Bin.  The PDF file should be saved there too.  If you have Windows 10 check the OneDrive.  Or to Drop Box.  Check your backups.  Could it be under a different user on your computer?   

If you don't have the main .tax file you might have one that starts with a Tilde sign ~ like  "~your name.tax2020"..  That file is if your computer crashes or your real file gets lost or deleted or corrupt so you can restore it.

Find your Tax file in Windows

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-data-file/help/find-your-tax-data-file-tax-file-in-windows/00/...

Here's an idea.  Do you still have 2020 installed?  Try opening 2020 program and see if you can get your 2020 return to show up in it.  Go to FILE - OPEN.  Then save it again with a name and place you can find.  Go to File - Save As.

[taxdean]

I didn't even know you could restore from a PDF so there was no risk I was going to try to do that.  I bought a new computer, but my old one still works so I can get to my 2020 installation easily enough.  That is a very good suggestion although I will need to check that, somehow,  my last version was the one i actually filed, that i didn't play around with another version after filing.  I t should be easy enough to find the correct tax file. 

I will still need to decide if it is worth having to reinsert all the 2021 data I have already entered.  I suppose the answer is yes.  I also imagine that I should take the time to load the 2020 system on my new computer.

Thank you!

[VolvoGirl]

You don't need to install 2020 on the new computer.  Your returns are not in the program but in separate files.

You only need the file ending in .tax2020 to transfer into 2021.

Your tax files end in .tax or .tax2017, .tax2018 or .tax2019 or .tax2020 etc.  They should be in your Documents in a Turbo Tax folder.  You should also have the pdf files of each year.  Or search your computer for all files ending in .tax.  Also if you haven't done it,  I would open each year in the program and save it as a PDF file, go to File-Save to PDF so you don't need the program installed to view or print your return in the future like to get a mortgage or loan, etc.

What I would do is just copy the whole Turbo Tax folder that is under your Documents.  That should be where the .tax files and pdf files are stored.  Copy that folder to a flash drive or best yet is to burn it to a CD or DVD and then you will have a backup of them.   Then on the new computer copy the folder (or files) from the flash drive to your Documents folder.

[taxdean]

The idea to transfer the 2020 program would be so that I could look back at my 2020 file someday in the future when I have given my old computer away.  I think I simply need to find the license number.  Would that possibly cause me to do more harm than good - perhaps! 

Thanks for all the tips although that was not what I needed help with.  I am a lot more computer savvy than I am tax savvy!  I suspect I copied all my old data files onto my new computer, but did not reinstall 2020 Turbo tax.  Actually, I even bought and started using the 2021 package and installed it on my old computer just before I received my long-delayed new one and it took me some time to find where Amazon housed the license code so I could reinstall it on my new computer last week - that was 45 minutes of my life I'll never get back but at least I now know where it is housed!  Thanks much!

[taxdean]

So, I decided it was not that much work to start my 2021 tax return over so that I could be sure that I had the correct 2020 tax file.  I feel more comfortable that I did.  I only noticed one piece of wrong 2020 data shown for comparison, this time, after doing so, although it was the most glaring one of the many I had seen before (as noted to you folks earlier, when i may have inadvertently imported a 2020 file that was not the final).  Under Entire Home Excess Real Estate Taxes, for 2020, the value was exactly what I entered last year for the insurance expense, about 3k.  When I look at the hard copy tax return (and I would bet it is so in the actual 2020 tax file too), it is listed at about 9K which is what it should be.  It's not a biggie but could this be a bug?  Has anyone else seen this kind of thing in the for comparison only prior year data Turbotax lists on the desktop version?  Thanks.