How to find your ".tax" file

For each NETFILE-certified software, we provide instructions on how to find your ".tax" file.

If you choose to save your file somewhere other than the default location, these instructions will not be useful to you. Please see our How to search for my .tax file feature.

The exact location of your 2009 ".tax" file will depend on the operating system you are using. Our instructions provide the location of your file if you are using either the Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT and Windows Vista operating system.

For Macintosh users, our instructions provide the location of your file if you are using the operating system Mac OS X.

Note: In this example, "Joe Smith" is the name of the taxpayer.

In Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT Operating System:

Assuming that your default drive is your C: drive, then the default location of "My Documents" would be:

C:\Documents and Settings\JoeSmith\My Documents\JoeSmith.tax

Joe Smith would be the currently logged-in individual. This mechanism allows each registered user account in Windows to have a different "My Documents" folder.

In Windows 98 or Windows ME Operating System:

Assuming that your default drive is your C: drive, then the default location of "My Documents" would be:

C:\My Documents\JoeSmith.tax

In the Windows Vista Operating System:

Assuming that your default drive is your C: drive, then the default location of "Documents" would be:

C:\Users\JoeSmith\Documents\JoeSmith.tax

Note: In Windows XP and Windows Vista, when you are looking for your ".tax" file, make sure you are looking in the same user account that you prepared and saved the return.