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Level 1
posted Apr 2, 2025 9:36:01 AM

Transitioning from CPAs to TurboTax

For a person transitioning from CPA tax preparation to self- tax preparation with TurboTax, what tips, words of advice, words of insight would you have?

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1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Apr 2, 2025 10:19:24 AM

Have the CPA give you all supporting worksheets and supplemental schedules for the previous year's return.   You may need to pay a fee, but having a complete tax file is necessary.   Any carryover amounts and depreciation information are essential.  

 

You might want to prepare a previous year return (that matches the last return filed by your CPA) in TurboTax so you have a complete tax file to transfer in the year you wish to start preparing your own return(s).   

 

Transferring in previous year's data:

 

TurboTax can save your tax return as a tax data file (also called a tax file, data file, or a .tax file) and as a Portable Document Format (PDF).

 

  • Your tax data file can be opened, read, and edited in TurboTax.
  • Your PDF is a noneditable "snapshot" of your tax return that can be opened, read, and printed in a PDF viewer program.

TurboTax can only import basic info like name and address from a PDF.  Everything else needs to be entered manually if you do not have a tax data file.    Tax Data File vs PDF

 

Video - Transferring last year's info

 

See TurboTax Online vs Desktop from Getting Started with TurboTax