TurboTax 2022 Deleted my return after update!

[stixoffire2]

1: I have the downloaded windows installed version of Turbotax.
2: I know I had entered all of my data and tax information was in progress.
3: I had SAVED my return - I had opened it on a couple occasions - I know it was saved.
4: I went to add some information for what I received and TurboTax wanted to update - so I let it.
5: After it started up there was no return available to continue with.
6: I had performed an exhaustive search with a search tool (Agent Ransack) to search the entire drives (everything) for *.tax.
7: LET ME REPEAT - I KNOW THE FILE WAS SAVED!
8: Let me repeat all of my previous TAX files were found by Agent Ransack. All of them ..
Only one TAX file missing 2022 !!

[taxlady28]

*.tax*

[Ies]

This whole thread about turbo tax updates moving files to an undisclosed location has disappeared.   

This has been going on for years. 

[BrandiLO1]

To locate your .tax file, please click here for the steps. If you're still unable to locate the file, please click here to contact customer care.

[VolvoGirl]

Here's some ideas...

Your tax return file ends in .tax2019, .tax2020, .tax2021 etc.  Search your computer for it.  Check the Recycle Bin or Trash.  Check in One Drive, etc.  it should be in your Documents then in the Turbo Tax folder.  Check your backups.  Also if you have multiple Windows user accounts, log into each one and do the search for the *.tax2021 data file from within each one and checking the Recycle Bin in each one.

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.

How to show the file extension in Windows

https://www.howtogeek.com/205086/beginner-how-to-make-windows-show-file-extensions/

See this post (scroll down) he found his files in the Administrator account

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/all-my-turbo-tax-information-is-missing-where-did...

Don't know if this will help any Turbo Tax users but one Quicken user found them......

What I found was that my Quicken Data files ended up in the One-drive Recycle bin. Not sure how, but I found them there.  I placed the files back onto the laptop and brought the files into Quicken and now have all my data back.

[Ies]

Doesn't work

[MoniqueLO_]

Please feel free to contact Customer Support so you can speak with someone who can assist you.

@IES  
 

[incometaxisillegal]

This happened to me too.  Spent hours entering all of the data for my 2022 taxes.  Ran the update and *poof*, taxes are gone.  Doing a global search for *.tax2022 now but thus far no dice...

[HeatherPLO]

So we can take a closer look at your specific situation, please reach out to us directly using the Help Article here.  This ensures you will get to the correct department as quickly as possible.  

@incometaxisillegal 

[incometaxisillegal]

I finally found the tax file.  The problem is that the update is causing the Recent Files cache to get cleared, or something along those lines.  So the update isn't actually deleting the taxes.  It just doesn't know where they were saved if not to the standard documents location that TurboTax is expecting.

[stpschtube]

TurboTax software did the same to me, AFTER the update was already completed. 

[DBGT]

Where did you find it?

[incometaxisillegal]

I save all of my financial records on an external, password protected drive.  So I had done that when I first saved it but later, when I went to resume work on my taxes, I thought it had been deleted because it wasn't in the list of recent files.  It was actually right where I had saved it.  So the bug is that TurboTax forgets where the tax records were saved if they're not in the default Documents folder.

[DBGT]

Thanks.  Unfortunately, when it deletes the file it saves in the location it saves it, there is no way for anyone to know they do need to save it somewhere else :(  Glad you had a backup!

[incometaxisillegal]

I don't think it actually deleted the file.  I think you just don't know where it is.  Try looking in C:\Users\{machine name}\Documents\TurboTax.  That would be the default location where yours would have been saved if you didn't deliberately save it somewhere else.  Also worth noting that any tax file saved elsewhere won't ever show up in the recent files list.  I know this because I saved my taxes to the external drive but I saved my daughter's tax file at the default location.  Hers shows up when I launch TurboTax while mine does not.  I.e., I have to manually surf to my tax file every time.  So this doesn't just happen immediately after upgrading.  Even after manually locating the file and opening it, I can close TurboTax and launch it again and the file isn't shown.  It should be there alongside my daughter's 1040 but it isn't, presumably because it isn't in the default location.  So it's just a bug in the latest version.