TurboTax Error 190: Unable to Open Data File
Error 190 appears when TurboTax can't open your tax data file, usually because you're using the wrong year's program or the file is on a drive it can't reach. Opening the matching year and copying the file locally typically fixes it.
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Symptoms
- •TurboTax reports "Error 190" or that it's unable to open the data file.
- •Your return won't load even though the file is right there.
- •The file opens in one year's program but not another.
What causes it
- ▸You're opening a file with a different tax year's program than the one that created it.
- ▸The .tax file lives on a network drive, cloud folder, or USB stick that's not fully accessible.
- ▸The file extension doesn't match the program version.
- ▸The file is partially corrupted.
How to fix it
1Open the file in the matching tax year
- Check the file extension; a .tax2023 file needs the 2023 version of TurboTax, for example.
- Open the correct year's program first.
- Use File, then Open to load the return from inside that program.
2Copy the file to your local drive
- If the file is on a USB stick, network share, or cloud folder, copy it to your Documents folder first.
- Open the copied local file rather than the original.
- This rules out access problems with external locations.
3Verify the file and extension
- Confirm the file name ends in .tax followed by the year, not a backup or temporary extension.
- If you have a backup copy, try opening it instead.
- Make sure the file isn't open in another program at the same time.
Still stuck?
If error 190 persists even with the right year's program and a local copy, your data file may be damaged. Official TurboTax support at ttlc.intuit.com can advise on recovering a corrupted return, and you can ask here whether a backup or auto-save copy might exist on your system.
Frequently asked questions
Can I open last year's return in this year's TurboTax?＋
You can transfer last year's data into the new year, but you can't directly open an old .tax file in a different year's program. Use the transfer feature when starting a new return.
Is my return lost if I get error 190?＋
Usually not. The data is still in the file; the program just can't open it as-is. Matching the year and copying it locally resolves most cases.
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