How to Open Previous Tax Returns in TurboTax

For a fee, you can request copies of old tax returns from the IRS. If you used TurboTax to file your tax returns, you can open and print previous tax returns for no charge. The process of accessing old tax returns differs based on whether you used TurboTax online or a Turbo Tax CD or software download to prepare the return.

Open Previous Tax Returns Prepared in TurboTax Online

To open an old tax return that you prepared in TurboTax Online, follow these instructions:

1. Navigate to https://myturbotax.intuit.com/ and login to your TurboTax account.
   
2. Click on the Taxes tab to access the My Tax Timeline screen. All your prior-year returns prepared through TurboTax Online will be displayed.
3. Click on the tax return year you want to access and scroll down to the Some Things You Can Do header. From here, you have the option to amend your return, download your return as a PDF file, print your tax return or download the tax file in a .tax format.
4. If you want to print your tax return, click the "Download/print return (PDF)" option to launch a PDF download.
5. Open the PDF file. Press Ctrl+P to open the Print dialogue screen and print the return.

Access Returns Prepared With TurboTax CDs and Downloads

If you prepared your tax return with a TurboTax software CD or software download, your tax returns are stored locally on the computer you used to prepare the return. To find and open these previous-year returns, follow these instructions:

1. Login to the same computer with the same Windows user account you used when you prepared the tax return.
   
2. Press the Windows key+F to launch the Windows search window.
3. In the search field, type *.tax2015, replacing 2015 with the tax return year that you want to find.
4. Select Search.
5. When you see your tax return in the search results, right-click on the file and select Open File Location. Copy down the file's location as it appears in the search bar.
6. Launch the TurboTax software in the year that corresponds with your tax return. For example, if you're looking for a 2011 tax return, open TurboTax 2011.
7. From the File menu, choose Open Tax Return and navigate to the file location that you copied down.
8. Select the tax return file you want and select Open.
9. If you want to print your tax return, select Print from the File menu. If you only want to print a certain form, select the Specific Forms option and check off the forms you want to print.
10. Select Preview Print Copy to launch the PDF file.
11. Press Crtl+P to open the Print dialogue box and print the return.