UNLOCK THE TAX RETURNS - what's the benefit to the tax preparer by denying future accessibility to the calculation functions of the tax return?

[helovector]

Tax return retention has been required by the IRS for decades, why bother with locking the return and denying the preparer a tool to which to answer client's "what if" tax scenarios?

[itonewbie]

There's a clear benefit and that's to protect the integrity of the return that was e-filed, for example, in case you need to amend that return later, only to find that something has changed either by another user inadvertently or by a subsequent system update.

That is independent of paper or electronic copies everyone should retain on the file as part of their record retention policy.

[PhoebeRoberts]

The IRS technically does not require preparers to retain a copy of the tax return. A list of names / SSNs / main form filed is sufficient to meet the IRS retention requirements.