How to transfer returns from ProSeries to Turbo tax

[Sankem]

Is it possible?

[IRonMaN]

I don’t think it can be done but even if you could why would you want to do that?

[Sankem]

For professional reasons, I cannot use Pro Series due to COIB and wants to know if it can be transferred to Turbo tax since I have to use it this time.

[Sankem]

This is part of the product comparison:  "Imports last year's data from TurboTax and other tax software"

[itonewbie]

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@Sankem wrote:

For professional reasons, I cannot use Pro Series due to COIB and wants to know if it can be transferred to Turbo tax since I have to use it this time.

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But the T&C of Turbo Tax does not permit its use by paid professionals to prepare return for clients.  Just how do you intend to use TT in place of PS?  That's one of the reason why you can convert TT to PS but not the other way around.

[poolcleaner]

"Imports last year's data from TurboTax and other tax software"

That is the opposite of your original question.   You can transfer Turbo Tax to Pro Series but you cannot transfer Pro Series to Turbo Tax.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

You CAN transfer TT files into PS.

You CANNOT transfer PS files over to TT.

Which direction are you trying to go?

[Accountant-Man]

https://rules.cityofnewyork.us/tags/coib

[Sankem]

I now work for the Tax Department that is why I am asking the question.

[Sankem]

I want to go back to TT- they make the product why isn't it reversible?  this is so not kool!

[IRonMaN]

Because Turbo Tax is not a professional tax software.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Professional preparers are not allowed to use Turbotax for client returns.   There would be no reason for you to convert a client file to TT.  An a paid preparer only needs to provide a written copy of a return to a client, so a client wouldnt have a copy of the tax file to convert to DIY software either.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I dont know what COIB is, but Im afraid youre stuck entering any prior information into Turbotax  by hand, like any other DIYer would have too do with TT.

[Accountant-Man]

So you probably cannot prepare ANY tax returns for a fee?

[jarmasj]

There is a very good reason.  I was using a tax preparer who used pro-series.  The tax preparer was making mistakes so I need to amend my taxes and do not want to use the tax preparer.  The preparer is happy to give me my file since they think my taxes are too complicated for their ability.  It would be much easier if I could take a data file from pro-series and upload it to populate TT rather than having to enter by hand and try to figure out why it is coming out differently.  It is not fun to do manually!  I can't be the only person in the world transferring from one Intuit program to lower version. 

[dlcoatscpa]

Have you found an answer?  Long story short, I will be preparing a return for someone this year who has a different circumstance than in the past and wants a professional to show them how to do it.  For the following year, they want to prepare it themselves.  We are hoping to transfer my ProSeries file back to Turbo Tax to save him some time.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

You cannot transfer your ProSeries file to TurboTax, sorry. Its just not an option.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

P.S. teaching a DIYer how to do it themselves and giving them your professional file to work from is kind of shooting yourself in the foot.

[IRonMaN]

"We are hoping to transfer my ProSeries file back to Turbo Tax to save him some time."

I don't offer a class in tax preparation and I certainly don't worry about saving someone time that wants to do their own return next year.  I guess he will just have to make some extra time to do it himself next year.

[dlcoatscpa]

I am doing his return next year as a favor to him.  I am not worried about losing a client as he is not a client now, just needs help making sure he is doing it correctly.  I have plenty of work to keep me busy and am turning away clients because I don't have time for more.

[dlcoatscpa]

Thank you.

[jarmasj]

There are always instances where being able to transfer that information would be incredibly helpful...and whether you allow one of your client's to do so is entirely in your control so I am not sure why this is a problem.  You can tell a client you can't or it is against your firm's policy if you don't want it to happen.  In my circumstance, I was the client and my tax preparer wanted to get rid of me because my taxes were becoming too complicated for her.  She hated my k-1's and in fact, did them incorrectly.  If I could have used that data to transfer from Pro-series to Turbo Tax, it would have saved me over a week of time (again -- my preparer wanted me to go because it was too hard).  Instead, in order to amend my return, I first had to recreate whatever she input incorrectly by trial, error and guessing.  Even with most of the worksheets, IT WAS SUCH A WASTE OF TIME AND INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING!  She wanted to transfer the file and couldn't.  My foot was the only one shot.  If you do a good job for your clients, save them money then you have knowledge that is incredibly useful to them.  Transferring data doesn't replace the knowledge you have so you shouldn't feel threatened or feel you are shooting yourself in the foot.  Charge them for the data if you really need to -- but helping clients should be the priority.  If they are going to leave to do their taxes on their own, they will.  Most won't because they are afraid of taxes.      

[jarmasj]

According to Intuit and everything I researched, there is no way to transfer the data.  It has to be done manually which is incredibly mind-numbing.  I could have done my 2019 tax return from scratch in a fairly short period of time, but instead I had to re-create the erroneous tax return of my tax preparer who didn't want to deal with k-1's which took way too much of my life.  Then I was able to amend the return and fix the errors.  I did get a great education into the pros and cons of Turbo Tax in the process -- education always costs a lot of money and time...  I like turbo-tax but would have much better feelings towards them if they made the transfer possible.  Spending a whole day to find the one little box that was incorrectly checked on one worksheet that somehow changed something that flowed through on another schedule was torture -- and it happened over and over.    

[jarmasj]

One recommendation -- have them come to you with their stuff on their laptop and use turbo tax software to do it on their computer...or have them pay you extra to fill it out for them online.  Depending on your relationship with the person/friend and if you want to really help save them time now and in the future, walk them through Turbo tax...they can even fill out the minutiae and any stuff they already know how to fill out before they bring it you.  It might save you some time from having to enter all the basic info.

[IRonMaN]

Turbotax is not a professional tax software so there isn't any reason to have a professional software reverse engineered into a DIY product.  Folks that feel the need to have a professional prepare their returns need to choose wisely.  Just like doctors, auto mechanics, and plumbers, not all are created equal.  For those that want to prepare their own tax returns go for it.  I personally don't care if someone feels competent to do so.  But those folks shouldn't expect a tax preparer to spoon feed them to do so.

[jarmasj]

I was never asking to be spoon-fed and it was my tax preparer who wanted me to leave because my returns were too hard.  Don't you agree there are times like this when it would be nice to have the option to transfer the data out?  Intuit and the tax professional could both charge the client and it could be worth it to all parties.  It might even make it easier to get rid of one of the headache clients you wish you didn't have.  It also might save you a lot of phone calls from a former client on trying to figure out what you did.  I don't like the point of view of: 'it's someone else's problem -- or 'I don't want to help as it is easiest for me to do nothing'.  Sometimes it is just the right thing to do to help someone...

[IRonMaN]

Please don't lecture about helping someone.  I don't know you and you don't know me.  I have helped out more folks than I can remember over the years without ever charging them a dime.  When a new client comes in the door, I don't expect them to have a flash drive with the prior information all ready to transfer into my software.  I work off the information they give me, including a paper or pdf copy of their prior return.  If they decide the following year to prepare their own return or move on to greener pastures with another preparer, they will have the same starting point I had.

[kevin hayes]

Im in the same boat. I used TT for many years and because I have 32 installment sales form 6295. TT tax software would not handle it (restriction on number of forms). So they recommend that I buy proseries as a single user.   Nightmare as I'm not a professional tax accounted and don't need so many pin numbers/irs id's.   

I liked TT .  Any suggestion as I do my own taxes and have a single very large return.?

[jarmasj]

My apologies, I wasn't lecturing you or directing my desire for wishing for general niceties directly at you.  Sorry if my language made it sound like that - I wasn't attacking you...just wishing for "world peace".  I am sure you help a lot of people and that's great.  I was not dropping an anvil in your direction (I appreciate your clever profile responses...they are very funny).   

I was simply stating a reason why it would be useful to transfer the data and how much time for all of us it could save.  I know you have to manually input a new client's info -- but wouldn't you love to not have to?  The process is tedious especially if the prior person made mistakes that makes filing an amendment excruciating.

[Taxprohere]

@jarmasj Since your former preparer screwed up your return, you now need to amend, the return is beyond their capability to handle....did you get your prep fee back?  Hope so, because you could use same to pay a capable professional to take care of the amended return. 

[Accountant-Man]

What is form 6295? IRS? A state? Which state?

[kevin hayes]

Mistake Form 6252 installment sales

[tonycpa]

BTW, I happen to have the same problem.  I am a retired sole practitioner who used ProSeries, and who used ProSeries for several of my own businesses.  This year I am using Turbo Tax Business, and Turbo Tax Individual to prepare my own returns.  It would definitely be a nice time saver to merely import from my 2020 ProSeries files.