Can't see prior year's returns in CD version 2022 TurboTax

[mikelionhart]

I've used TurboTax for the past several years, and it always shows me prior year returns and lets me compare my current return. I've seen some answers that say you have to login online to do that, but does that mean I have to spend money when I already bought the CD version? I don't see an option in the software to sign in and access my prior returns. I could have sworn in past years it let me import my prior returns saved on my PC, but this year's version It didn't do that.

[SteamTrain]

@mikelionhart 

1) In order to see the 2yr comparison and 5yr history report....you would access that in Forms Mode, then you look in the left window to find them just above the Tax Summary sheet, near the bottom of the list of Federal pages.

2)  If you open either of those, and the prior years are empty in those two pages...then you didn't start your 2022 file properly. In order to get the prior years showing in the two History reports, you MUST start the 2022 tax file by transferring in the 2021 tax datafile file....right at the creation of the 2022 tax return.  It cannot be done later.

Once you have a break...it's difficult to regain the series of histories, unless you restart the year you missed and do it over again properly starting by transferring in the prior year's file.  Of course, you could just open the last year's software and print out that year's history reports. Then just have the start of a new 5yr history on the second sheet.

[mikelionhart]

But normally TurboTax prompts me to transfer in the prior years data files. If I restart my return, is there a way to do that manually? This year's software did not prompt this process like all prior years have.

[mikelionhart]

Ok so I went to file -> New tax return to try a brand new one and THIS TIME it asked me to import previous years. The first time it didn't, which makes no sense. So, can I delete my current one now that I have a new return that started correctly? I appreciate the assistance.

[SteamTrain]

@mikelionhart 

Sure.

IF you start a NEW tax return (upper left "File" menu dropdown), the first thing it asks is for you to select a prior year datafile to transfer in, to this year's form.

________

1) if you are on the startup page, you just select <File<<New Tax Return

2) if you are inside a tax file already,  you have to select <File<<New Tax Return twice.

....once to get you back to the startup page, and again to actually start a new tax file.

Of course you do have to have the xxxxx.tax2021 datafile on yoru computer to select it. 

And NO, a PDF from 2021 will not work.

[SteamTrain]

It's not particularly necessary to delete the old one, but it doesn't hurt...

BUT

Just make sure you give the new one a unique name using Save-AS so that you don't confuse yourself as to which is which