Where does TurboTax look for previous TurboTax files?

[DoctorWho]

I will soon start doing my 2021 income taxes once I get my W-2 from my employer. For the last 8 years I've done them using an old PC. Since doing my income taxes last year I've gotten a new PC. I have a Microsoft 365 (Office 365) license. I use Microsoft OneDrive. I suspect that OneDrive has duplicated my files under my Documents folder from my old machine to my new machine. However, I want to double check. 

Therefore, where does a new instance of TurboTax look, on a Windows machine, for previous versions of files created by TurboTax? I'm using Windows 11 on the new machine. The old machine is a Windows 10 machine. I'm sure that the folder structure is the same between both machines.

[BrandiLO1]

By default, TurboTax saves tax files in the My Documents TurboTax folder. For more details, please click here.

[DoctorWho]

Thank you, @BrandiLO1 for your response. I've tried comparing my old PC's Documents\TurboTax folder to my new PC's Documents\TurboTax folder. They are quite different, which has me concerned.

Then I decided to just look for all files ending in *.tax2020, which I presume is last year's return. I can't find any file with that extension, on either machine.

Then I went to my OneDrive account and searched there. I couldn't find it there, either. However, I was able to find a file with an extension of *.tax2019. 

What do you (or anyone else) suggest at this point?

[VolvoGirl]

Find your Tax file in Windows
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-data-file/help/find-your-tax-data-file-tax-file-in-windows/00/...

Here's an idea. Do you still have 2020 installed? Try opening 2020 program and see if you can get your 2020 return to show up in it. Go to FILE - OPEN. And see if that is the right one.

In the 2020 program do a File-Save AS and give it a easy name you can find or search for. And note where it saves it or select where to save it so you can find it again. The file will end in .tax2020. Then close the 2020 program. Then start a new 2021 return and transfer from the 2020 file.

Are you on Windows 10? That can move files to different spots like to One Drive. Or to Drop Box. Could it be under a different user on your computer?

[DoctorWho]

I just found the *.tax2020 file. In fact, I found three. One at the root folder without my Documents, then the other two in a subfolder named Backup. Should I copy all three to my OneDrive? Or should I just copy the *.tax2020 file at the root level?

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

Might as well copy all of them.  In case they are for different returns or were saved at different times.  You might also have one starting with a Tilde sign ~   That file is if your computer crashes or your real file gets lost or deleted or corrupt so you can restore it.