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Can I use my 2020 turbo tax premier to estimate my 2021 taxes?

 
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Can I use my 2020 turbo tax premier to estimate my 2021 taxes?

If you have the Desktop program you can do a What-If worksheet.  

Go to Forms Mode, click Forms in the upper right or on the left for Mac. Then click Open Forms box in the top of the column on the left. Open the US listing of forms and towards the bottom find the What-if worksheet. It's right under Estimated Taxes.  

 

Or try…Go into Forms View. Once there, at the top of the left column, click on the icon for "Open Form". A popup window will appear. In the text line, type the word "what" without quotes. You should see "what-if worksheet" appear as a selection choice. Double-click it to launch the form.

Can I use my 2020 turbo tax premier to estimate my 2021 taxes?

If you are trying to do some tax planning then use the fully operational 2020 downloaded version since access to the 2020 online program has closed. 

 

 

 

This is my mini version of  a tutorial  that should be in the downloaded program: 

What is Forms Mode?

Forms Mode lets you view and make changes to your tax forms "behind the scenes."

If you're adventurous, you can even prepare your return in Forms Mode, but we don't recommend it. You may miss obscure credits and deductions you qualify for, and you may forget to report things that will come back and haunt you later.

Forms Mode is exclusively available in the TurboTax CD/Download software. It is not available in TurboTax Online.

                  

Related Information:

                             

If you want to play around with different figures and tax scenarios without affecting your original return you can ….

  • >>>In the TurboTax CD/Download software by creating a test copy
  • 1.  Open your return in TurboTax. 
  • 2.  From the File menu, choose Save As. 
  • 3.  Give the copy a new name to distinguish it from the original (for example, by adding "Test" or "Example" to the file name). 
  • 4. Click  Save. You are now safely working in the test copy and anything you do here will not affect the original. 
  •  https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900642-how-to-make-a-test-copy-of-your-return

                        

  • >>  use the WHAT IF tool: 
  • - Click Forms Icon (upper right of screen) or Ctrl 2 (forms view) 
  • - Click on the Open Form Icon 
  • - In the “Type a form name.” area type What-If (with the dash), click on the name of the worksheet - click on Open Form 
  • - You will see the worksheet on the right side of the screen; enter the information right into the form 
  • - To get back to interview mode - click on the Step-by-Step Icon (upper right of screen) or Ctrl 1

 

Once you have filed shut off the auto updater function and save the return and .taxfile.

 

It's always a good idea to make a backup copy of your tax data file, in case your original gets lost or corrupted. Here's how:

  1. From the File menu in the upper-left corner of TurboTax, choose Save As (Windows) or Save (Mac).
  2. Browse to where you want to save your backup.
    • Tip: If you're saving to a portable device, save it to your computer first to prevent data corruption. Then, after completing Step 4, copy or move the backup file to your device.
  3. In the File name field, enter a name that will distinguish it from the original tax file (for example, add "Backup" or "Copy" to the file name)
  4. Click Save and then close TurboTax.
  5. Restart TurboTax and open the backup copy to make sure it's not corrupted. If you get an error, delete the backup and repeat these steps.

If you make changes to your original tax return file, repeat these steps to ensure your original and backup copies are in-synch.

Related Information:                             

 

AND save it as a PDF so you have access to a copy even if you don’t have the program still installed and operational :

AND protect the files :

 

*** Other clues to the downloaded program ***

 

In the forms mode ... double click  or right click on a box on a form to data source it ... sadly it doesn't work on all boxes. 

 

What's the meaning of all the different colors in Forms Mode?

When you look at an onscreen tax form using Forms Mode, you might wonder why one figure is blue and the one next to it is red or black.

These colors indicate the source of that data.

Color

 Meaning

Blue

You entered this data, either in the interview or Forms Mode.

Black

The program entered this data or calculated this amount.

Red

This data has either been overridden or is invalid (for example, a ZIP code that doesn't exist).

Red italics

You marked this amount as estimated.

Black italics

The program calculated this amount from an amount you marked as estimated.

Purple

This information has supporting details.

Aquamarine

This data was transferred over from last year.

Green

This data was imported from Quicken or QuickBooks.

Yellow fields (Windows)

Yellow fields allow user input. Anything you enter here shows up in blue.

Can I use my 2020 turbo tax premier to estimate my 2021 taxes?

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I works great.

Can I use my 2020 turbo tax premier to estimate my 2021 taxes?

Thank you so much for your suggestion. It works great.

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