2023 tax file missing after extended search through hard drive

[chrisstanton]

Exact same situation here. TurboTax support finally indicated it was a known issue. 
And advised me to contact the IRS for a transcript. 
This will create a huge amount of work for me as I had many carryovers. 
I asked for a a full refund of what I paid for the software. No response. 
Awful. Just awful. 

[AnneK8]

I am having the exact same problem with the missing .tax2023 file. I also have a lot of carryovers for my rental properties etc. (I have been using TT desktop programs since 1997, and I have the files for all years since, except for 2023.)

The worst case scenario would be to redo the 2023 return to match what I have filed from the PDF version, but that would take me weeks.

[janut1]

Having the same problem, did anyone find a solution?

[AnneK8]

Hi all,

Unfortunately, I could not find any way to locate the .tax2023 file, so I had to go down the worst case scenario: 

I recreated the data file for 2023 by using the TurboTax 2023 SW and importing data from our .tax2022 file -- basically redoing the entire 2023 return. I finally managed to make the numbers on all forms, schedules, and worksheets to match those as shown on the PDF file of our original 2023 return. It took days, not weeks as I had feared, because I skipped the parts that only affected the state return. (I have not finished the state return yet, so I will see if the state carryovers are based on the federal carryover data for the year or from its own state carryover history.)

[bbirdcottage-gma]

I cannot find my pdfs of any  of 2023 files. I ALWAYS save a pdf. I need to look at a last years return and cannot. Any ideas???

[DoninGA]

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@bbirdcottage-gma wrote:

I cannot find my pdfs of any  of 2023 files. I ALWAYS save a pdf. I need to look at a last years return and cannot. Any ideas???

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To access your prior year online tax returns sign onto the TurboTax website with the User ID you used to create the account - https://myturbotax.intuit.com/

Start the 2024 online tax return by entering some personal information then click on Tax Home on the left side of the screen.

On the Tax Home webpage -

Scroll down to the section Your tax returns & documents.  Click on the Year 2023 and Click on Download/print return (PDF)

If you used the desktop CD/Download editions installed on your computer, the only copy of your tax data file and any PDF's will be on the computer where the return was created.  TurboTax does not store online any returns completed using the desktop editions.

Or go to this IRS website for free federal tax return transcripts - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

For a fee of $30 you can get a complete federal tax return from the IRS by completing Form 4506 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf

[eyeballjames]

The taxbak files are backup files that auto generate everytime you hit save button.  Turbo tax have a bug for 2-3 years now that would loose you file once saved.  This happened to me again just now so I thought I shared my experience so you don't panic when this does happen to you.

These are the step I take everytime I use TurboTax:

#1 ALL WAY SAVE PDF COPIES just in case before and after filing your return.

#2 I always save 2 copies and  have my File Explore tab open to confirm saved files ( Turbotax should have a backup file that auto generated but that sometimes goes missing too)

#3 When file is missing, don't panic.  Look for the newest .taxbak file and rename it .tax2024 then goto file tax returns and click on it and you should recover the missing tax return.  You should then repeat step #2 to save copies.

Hope this save someone from having a panic attack... 

[r6rome]

This also happened to me.  Very frustrating.  I could not even find the 2023 software in my computer!  I see all the other version from past years.  It made me doubt if I had filed my taxes last year!

Eventually I was able to download last year's return form the website, but I have no idea why this happened.

[MarilynG1]

I'm confused.  If you prepared your 2023 taxes using TurboTax Desktop, the only place your tax file would be is on your computer.

How did you 'download it from the website'?  TurboTax Online users tax files are stored on the website.

@r6rome 

[eyeballjames]

Hi,

I was explaining how to extract missing files from a desktop version.