Here's how to delete your return in TurboTax for Desktop. The method is universal across all versions.
By default, the TurboTax software saves your tax return files in the My Documents > TurboTax folder.
Simply navigate to My Documents > TurboTax and then delete the tax file by highlighting it and clicking the Delete key (or right-clicking it and choosing Delete).
Tip: The naming convention for tax files is Tax year – Last name – First initial – Type of return, e.g. 2015 Doe J 1040 Individual Tax Return.
Then, to permanently remove the file from your computer, open
the Recycle Bin on your desktop, find the tax file, and delete it again.
Find Your Tax Data File in Windows
To locate your tax file, you will also need to be logged into the same Windows user account you used when you created or saved it.
If you are unsure which account you used when you created or saved
your tax file, repeat the steps below for each account on your computer.
- Simultaneously press the Windows+F keys (or go to your Desktop and press F3).
- Type *.tax2014 (replace 2014 with the appropriate tax-year return you're looking for).
- In the search results, copy down the tax file's location or path. By default, TurboTax saves tax files in the My Documents > TurboTax folder.
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Tip: Don't double-click the tax file in the search results to open it, as this may cause errors.
- After locating the path to the tax file on your computer, open your tax return using the same tax-year version of TurboTax (for example, open your 2013 return in the TurboTax 2013 program, not TurboTax 2012 or 2014).
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