1040 - Transfer a Return to Another Software Installation
- Brandon Bellamy
- Zac Crites
This article demonstrates how to transfer a tax return to another software install. Use Transfer Return to copy a tax return to a different installation. When you transfer a tax return, you back up a copy of the tax return and restore it on another computer. To transfer the return, you’ll need to have access to portable media.
Portable media can include USB drives and writable CD/DVD. The transfer file can also be sent via email (subject to attachment file size limitations) or saved to FTP/cloud storage.
Follow the instructions below to successfully transfer a return to another software installation:
Step 1: Transfer the return
1. Open the return to be transferred.
2. On the Return menu, click Transfer Return. The Transfer Returns dialog appears.
3. In the File Name box, type the folder where you want to save the tax return file.
Example: x:\filename.xf# (# represents the tax year for example tax year 2018 will be .xf8)
4. In the Label box, type a description for the tax return.
5. Check the Include All Documents box to have all document archive files included in the restored file.
6. Click OK and the software copies the tax return to the location you selected.
You can add more returns to the same .xf file by following steps 1-3, then clicking Append to add the return(s) to the existing file. Clicking Replace will overwrite the existing data with the last return being transferred.
Step 2: Restore the return
1. Click the Utility menu in the software.
2. Click Retrieve Returns.
3. In the Select a File to Retrieve dialog, browse to the folder where you saved the backed-up tax return.
4. In the Transfer File Contents dialog, select the desired check box in the Site column.
5. Click Retrieve. The return now appears on the Lookup screen.
6. Double-click the return you want to open.