How do I upgrade to PLUS to access my previous years tax return? Then how do I cancel?

[VolvoGirl]

Cancel?  You just don't finish or file 2018.  You can't cancel Plus after you pay for it.

You have to sign onto the 2018 account using the exact same User ID you used to create the prior year online tax return.  Enter your personal information in the 2018 Free edition.  The program will ask if you want the Plus Upgrade.  Select the Plus Upgrade.

To pay the TurboTax online account fees by credit card so you can access your prior year online tax returns, click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen.  Then click on Print Center.  Then click on Print, save or preview this year's return.  On the next page, to pay by credit card, click Pay Now.  On the next screen just click on the Continue button.  The next screen will show a review of your Fees, click on Continue.  Complete the next screen to pay by credit card and click Continue.

[mesquitebean]

Was your 2017 return prepared with Online TurboTax?  If so, log in to your account and look in the section "Your Tax Returns & Documents."   Choose tax year 2017, and look for a link to download/print the PDF.   Do you find evidence of your return there OK, but when you try to download, does it ask you to pay?    If it was prepared in Free Edition last year, access will be locked.   If that's your situation, we can tell you how to pay to unlock your 2017 return.   The method to unlock it depends on what all you have done with your 2018 return.    The minimum to unlock is a 2018 Free Edition return upgraded to PLUS for 19.99.

What is the story on your 2018 online return?   Please answer all questions below:

1. Have you already filed a 2018 return in Online TurboTax, or have you started one and it is still in preparation?  Or did you file elsewhere?
2. Was the 2018 return started/prepared in Free Edition?
3. Is the 2018 return in the SAME account as the 2017 online return?

We can tell you all the steps to pay to unlock a return once you answer all the questions above.  

You also asked "Then how do I cancel?"

I'll have to guess a bit on what you are asking.  Are you asking what to do after starting and paying for an upgraded 2018 online return if you don't want to finish it?   You aren't required to actually prepare and finish it.  It's the paying in advance that unlocks the prior returns.   After paying, if you don't want the return, you won't be able to clear/delete the return, but you can manually remove entries if you wish or just abandon it if you don't want it.

There's also a free option if a return transcript will suit your purpose.   You may be able to immediately download one at the IRS website if you qualify to open an IRS account there.  Otherwise, to order a transcript to come by postal mail takes 5-10 calendar days.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

[PulkitAneja]

I want to access prior year (2018) documents, but I cannot access them. Can you provide me the way how can I access those documents?
All I see in the tab of Documents is a link to enroll for PLUS.

[mesquitebean]

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@ PulkitAneja wrote:

I want to access prior year (2018) documents, but I cannot access them. Can you provide me the way how can I access those documents?
All I see in the tab of Documents is a link to enroll for PLUS.

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This is an old thread from last year.   There was a change this year.  You shouldn't have to upgrade to PLUS or pay a fee to get a prior-year return.  Don't use the Documents tab.   Instead, try this other place to look that I describe below.

I assume your 2018 return was prepared in Online TurboTax.  If it was prepared in desktop software, it will not be in an online account.

Log in, and at the Tax Home scroll way down near the bottom of the page to the section "Your Tax Returns & Documents".  Expand that section and choose tax year 2018.  Then choose the link to download/print the PDF.  Can you get it there?  

I just tested it in Free Edition and don't have any problem getting it in that section without upgrading to PLUS.

If you see no evidence of the 2018 return in that section, then you likely have more than one account, and we can tell you how to look for multiple accounts to find the 2018 return.

[PulkitAneja]

thanks @mesquitebean 
Following your instruction,

"Log in, and at the Tax Home scroll way down near the bottom of the page to the section "Your Tax Returns & Documents".  Expand that section and choose tax year 2018.  Then choose the link to download/print the PDF."  

I can reach till here but when I click on download/print the PDF,
I see the following message and cannot proceed further to download the documents-

Download your past TurboTax returns

Looks like you didn't file with us last year or you filed using a TurboTax product that doesn't include access to prior-year returns.

To download your prior-year TurboTax returns, just get started with your 2019 tax return in the TurboTax product that's right for you.

Can you please help me with this?

[VolvoGirl]

That's common to end up with multiple accounts. First LOG OUT of whatever TurboTax account you're logged into right now. Then use this TurboTax account recovery website to get a list of user ID's for an email address. Run the tool against any email addresses you may have used
https://myturbotax.intuit.com/account-recovery/

If you used the Desktop CD/Download program then the only copy is on your computer and not saved or stored online.

[PulkitAneja]

Thanks for assisting.

Actually, I only have one account and I believe this is the same account used to file tax last year, as I can see

Filed Federal Tax Return

Filed with: TurboTax Free Edition

and the correct corresponding amount information

in the same account.

[mesquitebean]

Did you run the Account Recovery tool VolvoGirl provided?   Even if you think you only have 1 account, you should run it anyway, and see what it finds.  If you don't find another account, then that excludes that possibility and narrows things down a bit.

Run the tool this way:

When using the Account Recovery tool, try using your phone number first.   After that, if necessary, then run the tool on your email address(es) you can access.

NOTE: Before running the account recovery tool below, log out of all Intuit accounts including this user forum, or you might end up in a loop.  Then clear your browser Internet cache, close your browser, then reopen it, and go to the link below.  You may wish to copy this link so you can paste it into the new browser session.

https://myturbotax.intuit.com/account-recovery

If still no luck after running that on your phone number and email address(es) that you can access,  here's another method:

Go back to the tool again, but this time leave the data field blank, and choose the small blue link that says "Try something else", and it will look you up by SSN and other parameters.

Watch for my next comment below with some additional options.  But you should try this Account Recovery method first--just to be sure.

[mesquitebean]

PulkitAneja:

You haven't mentioned anything about 2019.  You haven't said if you have actually started your 2019 Online TurboTax return or not.   If you have, that should normally give you access to prior returns, but it may ask you to register.   If you haven't started a 2019 return, you may have to start one first.  But be sure it is in the same account as the 2018 return.

If the Account Recovery tool confirmed you are in the right account with the 2018 return, and if you have started a 2019 return in that account, but still can't access the 2018 return, then you can try to reach Customer Support by one of the methods I tell you below.

If you decide to upgrade to PLUS (29.99), to do that you would open your 2019 return, go to the left menu column, click on Upgrade, and then choose PLUS.    But as I said before, you normally should not have to do that.

NOTE:  If you qualify to open an IRS account, you can download a free 2018 tax return transcript at this IRS website (which also shows the requirements) :

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

Free Edition does not include phone support (that requires PLUS at 29.99).  So this would probably ask you to pay to speak to someone:

FAQ: What is the TurboTax phone number?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/using-turbotax/help/what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number/00/25632

But you can contact a TurboTax Support agent directly for free via messaging via Facebook or Twitter:

https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax
or
https://www.facebook.com/turbotax