Lost data 2023

[rbi99]

I have actually already gotten my tax refund after filing via Turbtax.  My problem is that I updated the program and after it updated all of my tax information is lost and Turbotax is acting like I am just starting to do my taxes.  I need to get a copy of my tax forms for my records.

[xmasbaby0]

You used online software, e-filed and already received your refund?  Then what exactly do you mean by   "I updated the program......"  ????    What did you do?

[ErnieS0]

When you say all your data was lost when you updated the program, I’m assuming you are working with TurboTax CD/Download.

An update will not erase your data unless you never saved your tax file in the first place.

For help finding your .tax file see: 

• Find your tax data file (.tax file) in Windows
• Find your tax data file in Mac

If you are unable to find your tax data file, you can get a transcript or copy of your tax return from the IRS.

Transcript

A transcript shows most line items including the adjusted gross income (AGI) from your original Form 1040. It doesn't show changes made after you filed your original return. This transcript is only available for the current tax year and returns processed during the prior three years.

You can get one at Welcome to Get Transcript.

An IRS transcript usually meets the needs of lending institutions offering mortgages and student loans.

Copy

An actual copy of your tax return costs $50. Complete and mail Form 4506 to request a copy of a tax return. Mail the request to the appropriate IRS office listed on the form. People who live in a federally declared disaster area can get a free copy.

Plan ahead. Delivery times for online and phone orders typically take five to 10 days from the time the IRS receives the request. You should allow 30 days to receive a transcript ordered by mail and 75 days for copies of your tax return.

See How to Obtain a Copy of Your Tax Return

[rbi99]

I simply opened Turbotax after already filing my taxes for this year so I could save my data to different files so that even if my computer crashed I had multiple copies of my tax return.  It said there were updates and installed them.  It then opened afterwards to a screen that said welcome to tubotax, let's get started getting you the biggest refund - or something to that affect.  None of my submitted tax return is there.  It says they can't find any files.  I even clicked on amend already filed return and it says it can't find the file.  

[xmasbaby0]

You might be in the wrong account.

  You have to access your own account and/or  print it for yourself using exactly the same account and user ID that you used when you prepared the return.

Start a 2022 return online and enter some personal information  so that the menu on the left opens up and lets you access your past year returns.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/prior-year-return/help/how-do-i-access-my-prior-year-return/01/270...

Many people have multiple TT accounts and forget how to access them.  Log out of the account you are in now.

Account Recovery

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901535-forgot-your-turbotax-online-user-id-or-password

Or did you use the desktop version of TurboTax?  If so, the files are on your own hard drive or any backup device you used like a flash drive.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901486-how-many-turbotax-accounts-do-i-have

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901535

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901659-find-your-tax-data-file-in-mac

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900721-find-your-tax-data-file-tax-file-in-windows

[rbi99]

I did not use online I used my Microsoft desktop to do and file my taxes.  I have used Turbotax for many years, and almost every time you open the file it has an update.  Every time you go to close Turbotax it asks if you want to save it - I always save it.  My computer hasn't crashed, it is working just fine, but all the data was lost for my tax return this year.  Now you say all I have to do is fork over $50 and I am good to go with a copy of my filed taxes?

[rbi99]

I appreciate your suggestions.  I did log out and then back in and it simply goes to the new screen for people just starting to file.

[rbi99]

Let me add that we filed married filing separately just as we did last year.  Years pasted we filed jointly.  My wife's data is also lost for this year, and like myself, she already has her return.

[VolvoGirl]

Did you search your whole computer for the file ending in .tax2022?  Did you originally save it?  You didn't save a pdf when you where done filing?

If you used the Windows Desktop program you need the file ending in .taxyyyy to open in it. The tax files (and PDF files) should be in your Documents then in a Turbo Tax subfolder. If you can't find them do a search for all files ending in .tax or .tax2021 or .tax2022, etc. And check the Recycle Bin. For Windows 10 check the One Drive. Did you make any backups? Like DropBox.

If you don't have the main .tax file you might have one that starts with a Tilde sign ~ like "~your name.tax2022". That file is if your computer crashes or your real file gets lost or deleted or corrupt so you can restore it.

The ~ is a tilde file. Those are temporary files that you normally don't see and normally are deleted. But now Turbo Tax is leaving them in the folder in case something happens like if your file gets corrupted or lost or your computer crashes. Then you can go back. If you can't transfer from the regular file you can transfer from the ~ file.

One user said….
When you install the program I recall it asks for Admin rights. So I logged off my account that I WAS in when I installed the program and logged in as administrator. I started TurboTax under the Admin account and my files were there. In the C:\Users\Admin\Documents folder. I NEVER USE THIS ACCOUNT!

I exited the program and account and went back in using my normal user ID. I then restarted the program by Right-Clicking the icon and selecting Run as Administrator. The files were there...made my day. I opened them and did a "Save As" to the file folder that has all my past returns and matches the User ID I was in when I set it up.

In short TurboTax is saving them in the default C:Drive Admin account document folder and if you are not starting as an Administrator they are invisible. Hope this helps.

[rbi99]

Wow, I just realized I did save it to a different hard drive and now I have my data back.  However, if I hadn't saved it to a different hard drive I would have lost it all because this year's data is not in the new Turbotax location that they use on my C: drive.

[rbi99]

Thank you all for helping me.

[rbi99]

The Turbotax update did not erase my data.  When I began my new return I browsed to a separate hard drive where I had last year's return data and imported it from there.  Apparently from then on, when Turbotax saved my inputs for this year, they saved them to that hard drive file.  I didn't realize that hard drive (it's an external one) was powered down.  That's why when I restarted Turbotax yesterday after an update, it couldn't find the files. 

[epement]

This just happened to me a few minutes ago. I am using TurboTax 2022 on Windows 10 Pro (v10.0.19045) using the desktop version, not the online version. I went to check out the status of my return. TurboTax prompted me to update its files, so I agreed to it. TT went on the web, fetched the latest program updates, and then returned. When it was returned, all 3 of my *.tax2022 files were gone. There was no data left, and no previous or backup versions.

The Recycle Bin is empty.

I right-click on the TurboTax directory, choose Properties > Previous Versions and nothing is there.

I have administrator access on my local account, so the problem is not caused by reduced access.

I was able to locate my files. They were moved to c:\Users\myname\OneDrive\Documents\TurboTax !!

What is important here is the following:
(1) Several days ago, I stopped the Backup-and-Sync of OneDrive.
(2) I had unlinked the Folders in OneDrive from my hard drive.
(3) I deleted the OneDrive application from Programs and Features.
(4) I moved all of My Documents to the C: drive and signed out of OneDrive.
(5) The only things I had not done was to delete the OneDrive\Documents directory.

For some reason, TurboTax decided to move all the files in c:\Users\myname\Documents\TurboTax to c:\Users\myname\OneDrive\Documents\TurboTax.

It did not warn me or ask permission. This action should be construed as a bug. Thankfully, I found where they had been moved. Maybe my experience can help someone else.

Eric

[CarissaM]

Thank you for the long detailed post to let us know what you went through to locate the files. I will pass this over to the correct team so they can look into this. @epement