I have finished my 2017 taxes. I would like to do separate "what if" versions of my taxes, eg what is I were married bur don't what to over right my real return.

[rdbushdc]

I have finished my 2017 taxes. I would like to do separate "what if" versions of my taxes, eg what is I were married bur don't what to over right my real return.

[ChrisVonHoep]

You can do this by saving your file as a different name.

If your tax file is called: "john smith 1040 2017" you can rename it to "married 1040 2017".

Your original "john smith" will not be modified, only your "married."

Instructions follow:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3332500

[thluten]

I did what you said.  When I first did this back in February, everything looked fine.  When I went into the file today, every linkage to worksheets, 1099s, etc. had vanished.  Every single one.  I performed the same "save as" and got the same result:  an empty return.

All I actually wanted to accomplish was the 2019 return, except with a single large stock sale eliminated.  That is, same SSA, same interest, same dividends, same IRA distributions.  But no stock sales.

Help, please.

[JotikaT2]

It depends.

Make sure you are logged in using the same credentials you used back in February.

Use the following link to see all of the user ID's linked to your account.

Accounts linked to an User ID

[VolvoGirl]

They might be asking about the Desktop program, not the online version.

[thluten]

Yes, Volvogirl,

I am using the Desktop version.  The mysterious thing is that the proposed solution worked fine in February, but in July, the product of the February effort was wrecked, and, the February result couldn't be reproduced.

[BillM223]

Please do the following:

To prepare to create an alternative version of your return, open the return that you want to test, then IMMEDIATELY do a Save As under a new name (e.g., "My Return Alternative 1").

Then do all your work here under this file name, and then when you are done, click File and Exit to close this instance of the desktop software. And, yes, when you say Exit, TurboTax will want to ask you if you want to save this return, and unless you don't want the changes, you will answer "yes".

Then when you want to go back to your regular return, restart TurboTax and choose your regular return.

This is a bit overkill, but because it is possible to get confused about which return you are doing and since things may get saved while you are working that you did not intend, this is the safest way to keep them apart.

@thluten