I have the downloaded version of Turbo Tax 2016. When I have finished working on it for that day, what is the best way to save it to work on it again the next time?

[suzierh]

I don't want to have multiple copies saved of my 2016 return and become confused as to which one is the one I should work on.  I will be working on the return for a couple of weeks.  Please let me know the most accurate way to save it each time I work on it.  I also want to make sure that after I have completed the return that it is saved so that I can merge it with my 2017 Turbo Tax return when that time comes.

Thank you.

[AnthonyC · Accepted solution]

TurboTax will periodically save as you are working, but you will want to hit File > Save after each session to ensure proper saves and also periodically during your sessions in case you have a computer issue.

I suggest saving the file directly to your desktop if you are going to be working on it over an extended period of time.  Go to File > Save As and change the location of where you file is being saved to the Desktop on your computer.  This should save a file icon directly to your desktop and then every time you want to work on the file you can just open that file directly and be sure you have the same file every time.  (The only reason that another file would be created is if you accidentally started a new return instead of opening your old one).

The TurboTax file should end with a .tax2016 extension (it will probably be something like YourNameTaxReturn.tax2016).  This is the file that you want to make sure you keep for next year as the program will need it to transfer over your information.  A lot of people make PDFs of their tax returns, which is perfectly fine.  But, you want to make sure you don't delete the .tax2016 file at any point over the next year.  After you are done this season, you should make a separate folder for it and keep it stored (as well as a backup copy on a USB drive or CD).