Archive a return and its related records

Tax Delivery 2 min read Updated Oct 12, 2026
On this page
  1. Before you begin
  2. Step-by-step instructions
  3. Step 1: Choose Archive
  4. Step 2: Choose what else to archive
  5. Step 3: Click Archive
  6. Step 4: Find archived returns
  7. Step 5: Open the archive drawer
  8. Step 6: Restore
  9. What happens next
  10. Troubleshooting
  11. Related articles

Who this is for: Firm owners, admins, managers and staff who manage tax returns.

What you’ll learn: How to archive a return together with its organizer, workpaper binder and workflow card, what the client sees afterwards, and how to restore archived records.

Before you begin

  • Archiving hides records from your working lists. It does not delete anything, and archived records can be restored at any time.
  • To remove a record for good, use Delete instead.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Choose Archive

Open the row’s More actions menu and click Archive. You can start from a tax delivery, an organizer or a workpaper binder.

The Archive item highlighted in the More actions menu of Madrigal Electromotive's tax delivery row

Step 2: Choose what else to archive

The Archive window names the client and year. Under Also archive for this client and year, Debits lists the related records it found and how many of each: Organizer, Workpaper binder, Tax delivery and Workflow card. If the client has more than one record of the kind you started from, they appear as, for example, Other workpaper binders. Untick anything you want to keep.

For a business return, the list includes records filed under the business owner, such as the organizer and binder, as long as they belong to this return.

The Also archive for this client and year list highlighted in the Archive window, with Organizer, Workpaper binder and Workflow card ticked

Step 3: Click Archive

Click Archive. The records leave your working lists, and the workflow card leaves the board.

The Archive button highlighted at the bottom of the Archive window

Step 4: Find archived returns

On the Delivery tab, click the Archived chip to list archived tax deliveries.

The Archived chip highlighted above the Delivery table, listing the archived Madrigal Electromotive return

Step 5: Open the archive drawer

To restore a record, click the View archived icon in the tab bar. The Organizers, Workpapers and Delivery tabs each have their own drawer, with search, year and form filters.

The View archived icon highlighted in the Organizers tab bar

Step 6: Restore

Click the Restore button next to a record, or tick several and click Restore selected. Restoring brings back only that record, so restore the related organizer, binder or delivery from their own tabs if you need them too.

The Restore button highlighted next to Madrigal Electromotive in the Archived organizers drawer

What happens next

An archived organizer stays visible to the client on their Tax Organizers page with an Archived badge. They can open it to read their answers, but they cannot change it.

Troubleshooting

  • A related record was not listed: it may belong to a different client or year. Archive it from its own tab.
  • A record is still showing after archiving: check whether you unticked it in the Archive window.
  • A business return’s binder was left behind: records archived before this was improved were not always grouped together. Restore the delivery and archive it again, or archive the leftover binder directly.
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