Restore a Local Backup File

1. From within your TaxAct Professional Edition program, click File in the upper menu bar, hover your mouse over Restore Backup, then click Client Return(s).
2. Click the circle next to Local, then click Next.
3. Click Browse, then navigate to the folder where you saved your backup return, click the folder, then click Select Folder.
   • The return files will not be visible in the dialog box for selecting the folder.
   • You can use the File Explorer on your computer to confirm the location of your files so you know which folder to click in the TaxAct program.
   • In the taskbar at the bottom of your computer screen, click in the field that says Type here to search, then type "file explorer", and click Open.
4. Click the Checkbox next to the returns you want to restore, or click Select All to select all returns, then click Next.
5. The window will show the default location where the files will be restored.
   • If the default location is not showing, or you want to restore to a different location, click Browse.
   • Navigate to the folder where you want to restore the return(s), click the folder, then click Select Folder.
6. Click Finish, then click Yes to All.

Restoring Preparer Master and Program Information

1. From within your TaxAct Professional Edition program, click File in the upper menu bar, hover your mouse over Restore Backup, hover your mouse over Preparer's Information, then click Local.
2. Click the file with the .dat.dtx extension (where "x" is the last digit of the year, e.g. ".dt1" for 2021).
   Example: pr21master.dat.dt1 (If the full file name is not visible in the file explorer, look in the Type column. The correct file says "DTX file" (with "X" being the last digit of the year).
3. Click Open.
4. Click Select Folder.
5. In the window that appears, click Yes.

Restoring Client Returns from TaxAct Servers (Enterprise Editions only)

To restore a backup file from the TaxAct Servers:

1. From within your TaxAct Professional Enterprise Edition program, click File in the upper menu bar, hover your mouse over Restore Backup, then click Client Return(s).
2. Click the circle next to Online, then click Next.
3. Type in your TaxAct username and password, then click Next.
4. Click the Checkbox next to the returns you want to back up, or click Select All to select all returns.
5. Click the Checkbox next to Backup Preparer Master Information to select it, then click Next.
6. The window will show the default location where the files will be restored.
   • If the default location is not showing, or you want to restore to a different location, click Browse.
   • Navigate to the folder where you want to restore the return(s), click the folder, then click Select Folder (if you're sharing a client data folder on a network, click the shared folder).
7. Click Finish, then click Yes to All .

Note. You will be overwriting any files of the same name that exist, and you are restoring returns as they were at the time you performed the backup. You can click Yes or No for each file, or Yes to All or No to All, but the only way to restore all the files you selected is to click Yes for each one, or to click Yes to All.