If you used TaxSlayer Pro in any of the two previous years to prepare a client's tax returns, a prior year comparison of tax return data is automatically prepared for you. To see how this year's tax return compares with the prior two years' returns, from the Main Menu of the tax return select:
- View Results
- Prior Years Comparison
If you did not previously use TaxSlayer Pro to prepare a client's prior year returns, or if this is the first year preparing a particular client's return, you can manually complete the two prior year columns in the comparison. From the Main Menu of the tax return select:
- Miscellaneous Forms
- Enter Prior Year(s) Data for Comparison
- Select the year and enter the information needed.
Troubleshooting prior year information not showing
The Prior Years Comparison prioritizes the data you enter in the report over the data pulled from prior year returns, if any. If you prepared a client's tax return in TaxSlayer Pro in a prior year and aren't seeing its data in the comparison, you may have selected to manually enter data. To confirm this, select the prior year comparison report here:
- Miscellaneous Forms
- Enter Prior Year(s) Data for Comparison - Look for double arrows >> beside either of the prior years. For example, here is the menu in a 2020 tax return:
In the above report, the 2019 prior year data is being entered manually, as indicated by the double arrows. To instead pull in the actual data from the 2019 return, select Remove 2019 Return Data.