Will TurboTax 2020 be able to extract data from my 2016 or 2017 TurboTax returns done using the CD version of the program? Will I have to enter everything from scratch?

[rjs]

You can only transfer data from the immediately preceding year. When you start your 2020 tax return you will be able to transfer data from your 2019 tax return, whether you used TurboTax Online or the CD/Download TurboTax software for 2019. But you cannot transfer data from any earlier year.

[badforbusiness]

Why is TurboTax 2020 not able to access data from 2019 return.

[badforbusiness]

I did the data entry for my 2019 Schedule E and my personal info and gave the file to my CPA.  My CPA fed the 2019 data I provided into his Intuit Professional System.

My CPA went on to complete the more complex parts of my return and filed the 2019 return.  He gave me an adobe file of my taxes and a (seemingly) TurboTax version , both on a thumb drive. 

Turbotax 2020 does not recognize the 2019 file and does not transfer the required information to TurboTax 2020.

What is a body to do?

[Carl]

Why is TurboTax 2020 not able to access data from 2019 return

Because whatever file you were provided by your CPA was not done with TurboTax 2019. Your CPA used a professional program, such as Lacerte' or ProSeries. Neither can be imported by TurboTax.

Lacerte' and ProSeries are professional tax preparation programs used by licensed tax professionals.

TuboTax is a personal program used by tax filers who want to self-prepare and self-file their own tax returns. The personal use program can not, does not, and will not import from or export to the professional programs.

Additionally, TurboTax will only import *extremely* limited data (basically, only the information under the Personal Information tab) from a PDF file, and only if that PDF file was saved from the TurboTax program.

[badforbusiness]

Am I talkin to myself?  

Is anyone out there?

[badforbusiness]

Without discussing the appropriateness of such software incompatibility within Intuit,  I repeat:  What's a body to do? 

[badforbusiness]

Boy, is this an efficient method of communicating, or what?

[rjs]

---

@badforbusiness wrote:

What's a body to do? 

---

What you do is start your 2020 tax return from scratch and enter all the information manually. There is no way to transfer information from the files that the CPA gave you.

The alternative is to have your CPA prepare your 2020 tax return. His professional software will transfer information from the 2019 tax return that he prepared for you in his professional software.

TurboTax is designed to be used by individuals to prepare their own tax returns, and to carry information from year to year if you consistently use TurboTax every year. It is not designed for jumping back and forth between TurboTax and professional tax software. It makes no difference whether the professional software is made by Intuit or another company. There is only one professional tax software product that can transfer data from TurboTax, and that is ProSeries, which is one of three professional products that Intuit makes. No other professional software, from any company, can import a TurboTax file, and TurboTax cannot transfer information from any professional tax software.

[badforbusiness]

Personal information from scratch is one thing, carryforwards and carrybacks are another.

But I am wasting my time.

Good night.

[55dad]

wow -

some people go down strange and accusatory paths not knowing the facts.

i was referring to a very simple return for my elderly mother.  i used to use turbo but stopped that for her return.  no cpa, no agent, just a simple 1040-SR done by my own hand.

my question was whether i could go back to turbo for her return without starting from scratch

no end runs.  no abuse of professional services.

simple question.  asked and now answered

shouldn't have taken this barrage of comments and accusations

oh well

[VolvoGirl]

Sorry.  Looks like this thread got hijacked by another user.  You got your answer at the top.  No way to import from an earlier year before 2019.