TurboTax Support

Access 2011 or Earlier Tax Returns

Which version of TurboTax did you use to prepare your prior-year return?

TurboTax Online Basic, Deluxe, Premier, or Home and Business

As long as you completed your most recent return using TurboTax Online Basic, Deluxe, Premier, or Home & Business, you can retrieve PDF copies of all your completed TurboTax Online returns on file.

Completed means you paid the TurboTax Online fee by credit/debit card, refund processing services, or Service code. Finished but unpaid returns are not complete.

  1. Go to the TurboTax homepage.
  2. At the top-right of the webpage, you'll see the words My TurboTax to the left of a large, orange Sign In button. Click My TurboTax.

  3. Then, if you are not already signed in, you will be prompted to enter your username and password.
  4. On the next screen, toward the bottom-left of the page, click the gray Tax Returns button.

Don't see your past-year PDF file?

TurboTax Online Federal Free Edition

Unlike fuller-featured versions of TurboTax Online, our Federal Free Edition product does not include ongoing access or PDF copy retrieval of completed TurboTax Online returns. This is true even if you paid an extra fee in Federal Free Edition, for example if you chose to file a state return.

If you need a copy of your prior-year return prepared through TurboTax Online Free Edition, here are several options:

  • Complete your 2012 return using TurboTax Online Basic, Deluxe, Premier, or Home & Business to immediately enable access to all your TurboTax Online returns on file.
  • Request a free transcript of your federal return from the IRS. A transcript is used to verify income and some financial institutions accept it as a substitute for your original tax return. Click here for instructions or see IRS Tax Tip 2011-13 for more details.
  • Order an exact copy of your tax return, including all attachments, from the IRS for $57.00. See IRS Tax Topic 156 for complete instructions.

TurboTax Freedom Edition or SnapTax

Click here and sign in to access your prior-year Freedom Edition or SnapTax return.

TurboTax CD/Download Software

Unlike TurboTax Online, we are unable to store tax returns that were prepared in TurboTax CD/download software because the data is stored locally on your hard drive. E-filing does not create archive copies on our servers.

Here's how to obtain your prior-year tax return if it was prepared in the CD/download software:

  1. Search your computer for your tax return file.
  2. After locating your file on your computer, open your tax return using the same tax-year version of TurboTax (for example, open your 2010 return in the TurboTax 2010 program, not TurboTax 2011 or 2012). Otherwise, you'll get Error 539.

Lost or misplaced your prior-year CD or download? Click here for replacement options.

Can I also get copies of my return from the IRS?

You sure can! Here are two ways you can request a copy of a tax return that you previously filed with the IRS:

  1. Request a free transcript of your federal return from the IRS. A transcript is used to verify income and some financial institutions accept it as a substitute for your original tax return. Click here for instructions or see IRS Tax Tip 2011-13 for more details.
  2. Order an exact copy of your tax return, including all attachments, from the IRS for $57.00. See IRS Tax Topic 156 for complete instructions.
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