Retrieve a Tax File from a Portable Device

This article describes how to retrieve your tax return data file from a flash drive or other portable device.

If you're looking to access a TurboTax Online return from our server, click here instead.

If your return is stored on a flash drive, always copy it to your hard drive first, and then open the copy. This helps prevent data corruption.

Close TurboTax and then:

1. Connect the portable device to your computer.
2. Browse to the portable device, select the tax return file, and then drag it to your computer's desktop or other easy-to-find location.
   • Mac users: Hold down the Option key while dragging.
3. Once you've dragged the file to your location of choice, release the mouse key and copy the file to the new location.
4. After your computer finishes copying the file, disconnect or eject the portable device from your computer.
5. Open TurboTax, and then open your tax return file copy.

Avoid double-clicking your tax return file to open it, as this can cause errors.