- Transfer Last Year's Tax Info from Desktop to Desktop (Windows)
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Transfer Last Year's Tax Info from Desktop to Desktop (Windows)
Updated: 11/12/2009
Article ID: 594
In this article, learn how to transfer your TurboTax desktop 2008 for Windows return to TurboTax desktop 2009 for Windows. For additional transfer information and instructions, see Transferring in TurboTax.
Note: Transferring differs from importing. Importing brings information into TurboTax from financial software, such as Quicken or QuickBooks, or from participating financial institutions, such as your brokerage firm or payroll provider. For more information, see Importing into TurboTax.Before you start
- Be sure to update TurboTax before you begin to ensure you have the latest forms and features installed.
- Have your tax file ready. You don't need last year's TurboTax program installed on your computer to transfer, but you'll need last year's tax file in .tax format. If you don't remember where it is, find last year's tax file before you start.
Procedure
To transfer your TurboTax desktop 2008 return into TurboTax desktop 2009:
- Start TurboTax 2009 and open a new return.
- Click the Start a New Return button; or
- Choose New Tax Return from the TurboTax File menu.
- Select your 2008 tax return file on the Let's Transfer Your Info screen. If you don't see it, click the Find a Tax File link on that screen, browse to the location of your 2008 return, and open it. How to find your 2008 tax file in Windows.
- You'll see an image with blue bars, followed by the Transfer Complete screen. Click Continue to proceed with your 2009 return. You can later review, edit, or delete transferred information.
Transferring after you begin your return (2008 or earlier versions only)
In TurboTax 2008 or earlier, you can transfer after you've started your tax return, but it will wipe out any information you've already entered. In TurboTax 2009, it is no longer possible to transfer into an existing return.
- Start TurboTax 2008 and open your return.
- Switch to Forms Mode.
- Go to the File menu and select Transfer 2007 Tax File.
- Switch back to Interview Mode by selecting Interview from the View menu.
Other notes about transferring
For more information, see Transferring in TurboTax.
- Always transfer from a prior year before you import information from Quicken, QuickBooks, or financial institutions.
- You can only transfer information from one tax return.
- You can only transfer information from the prior tax year; you can't skip years. For example, you can only transfer 2008 tax information to TurboTax 2009.
- If you need to transfer from a year earlier than last year, you can do this by successively transferring each year in succession. For example, transfer a 2007 tax return into TurboTax 2008, and then transfer from 2008 to TurboTax 2009.
- .PDF files cannot be transferred. Think of a .PDF file as a "picture" of your tax return; it is not a data file. Be sure to save your tax return as a .tax file for transferring purposes.
- Personal tax return information cannot be transferred to a business return (or vice versa).
- TaxCut Business will not transfer into TurboTax Business.
