What Is a TXF File? Format, How to Open It, and How to Create One

You're trying to import investment transactions into TurboTax, a guide tells you to use a "TXF file," and you have no idea what that is or where to get one. A TXF file is one of the most useful — and least understood — formats in tax filing. Here's what it is, how to open one, and how to create one from your 1099-B.

Once you know what a TXF file does, importing a year of brokerage trades stops being a mystery and becomes a two-minute step.

What a TXF File Is

TXF stands for Tax Exchange Format. It's a plain-text file designed to move tax data — like capital gains transactions — from one program into another. Think of it as a standardized envelope: your 1099-B transactions get packaged in a structure that tax software knows how to read and drop into the right forms.

TXF has been around for decades and is supported as an import format by TurboTax Desktop, H&R Block, and other tax programs. When you import a TXF file, the software reads each record and populates your Schedule D / Form 8949 automatically — no typing.

The file extension is .txf, and despite looking technical inside, it's just text.

What's Inside a TXF File

If you open a TXF file, you'll see lines of plain text organized into records. Each record uses short field codes:

• A header identifies the file version and the software that made it
• Each transaction is a block of lines, where codes mark the pieces of data — the security description, dates, proceeds, cost basis, and which tax form/section it belongs to
• Lines typically start with a single character (like V, D, N, $) that tells the importing program what the value means

You don't need to read or edit this by hand — the format exists so software can exchange data, not so humans type it. But it's helpful to know it's readable text, not a mysterious binary blob.

How to Open a TXF File

Because it's plain text, any text editor opens it:

• Windows: right-click → Open With → Notepad
• Mac: open with TextEdit
• Anywhere: any code or text editor works

Opening it is useful for a quick sanity check — confirming it has records in it and isn't empty. But you rarely need to. The real use of a TXF file is to import it into tax software, not to read it.

How to Import a TXF File into TurboTax

In TurboTax Desktop (the TXF import is a desktop feature, not available in every online version):

1. Go to File → Import → From Accounting Software
2. Choose TXF File (Other Financial Software)
3. Select your .txf file
4. Review the imported transactions on Schedule D / Form 8949

For the full walkthrough with screenshots of each step, see how to import a 1099-B into TurboTax with TXF.

How to Create a TXF File from Your 1099-B

Most people don't have a TXF file lying around — their broker sends a PDF 1099-B. To turn that PDF into a TXF file:

1. Download your 1099-B PDF from your broker's tax documents page
2. Upload it to a PDF-to-TXF converter
3. Preview the extracted transactions to confirm they match
4. Download the .txf file

The converter packages every transaction — proceeds, cost basis, holding period, wash sale adjustments — into the TXF structure that TurboTax reads. Then you import as above. If you're weighing TXF against other formats, see CSV vs TXF vs Excel for a 1099-B.

TXF vs CSV: Which to Use

Both carry your transactions; they differ in how software consumes them:

• TXF imports directly into TurboTax Desktop and some other programs with the transactions already mapped to the right form — least manual mapping.
• CSV is a universal spreadsheet format, better for handing to a CPA, reviewing in Excel, or importing into software that expects a spreadsheet layout.

For a straight TurboTax Desktop import, TXF is usually the smoothest. For flexibility, CSV.

FAQ

What is a TXF file used for?

A TXF (Tax Exchange Format) file moves tax data — commonly capital gains transactions from a 1099-B — into tax software like TurboTax Desktop or H&R Block, which reads it and fills in Schedule D / Form 8949 automatically.

How do I open a TXF file?

It's plain text, so any text editor opens it — Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac. You mainly open it to sanity-check the contents; its real purpose is to be imported into tax software.

How do I create a TXF file from my 1099-B?

Download your 1099-B PDF from your broker and upload it to a PDF-to-TXF converter, which packages your transactions into the .txf structure. Then import that file into TurboTax Desktop.

Can TurboTax Online import a TXF file?

TXF import is a TurboTax Desktop feature. TurboTax Online generally doesn't support TXF import, so for online you'd use a CSV import path or summary entry instead.

Is a TXF file safe to open?

Yes. A TXF file is plain text with no executable code — it's just tax data in a structured format. You can open it in any text editor to inspect it without risk.

What programs support TXF import?

TurboTax Desktop and H&R Block are the most common, and various other tax programs accept TXF as an import format. Check your software's import menu for a "TXF" or "Other Financial Software" option.

What does the .txf extension mean?

It marks a Tax Exchange Format file — plain text structured for tax software import. The extension signals to programs like TurboTax Desktop that the file is importable tax data rather than a document to open and read.

Can I edit a TXF file by hand?

You can open it in a text editor, but you generally shouldn't edit it. A wrong field code or misplaced value can break the import. TXF is meant to be generated by software, not hand-edited.

Is a TXF file the same as a CSV?

No. Both are plain text, but TXF uses coded records already mapped to specific tax forms, while CSV is a generic grid of columns. TXF imports more directly into TurboTax Desktop; CSV is more flexible for spreadsheets and CPAs.

Bottom Line

A TXF file is just a plain-text Tax Exchange Format that lets tax software import your transactions without you typing them. You open it with any text editor, import it into TurboTax Desktop through File → Import, and create one from your 1099-B by converting the broker's PDF. It's the quiet workhorse behind a clean capital-gains import.

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Need a TXF file from your 1099-B? Convert it free — upload your broker's PDF, preview the transactions, and download a ready-to-import .txf for TurboTax Desktop in minutes.