What happens on that date
Thomson Reuters says it plainly on their own help page. After December 31, 2027 there are no more updates and no more support for FileCabinet CS. No patches, no new versions, nobody to call.
That is not the same as the program shutting off, and the difference changes what you do. If you think it shuts off, you rush the move and land it in the middle of tax season. If you think nothing changes, you do nothing, and the problem turns up two years later on a Windows update, after the one person who knew the cabinet has retired.
What actually happens is simpler than either. The copy on your server keeps working the way it works today. What you lose is anyone whose job it is to keep it working while Windows, your antivirus, and your hardware all move on around it.
What still works once your license runs out
Thomson Reuters publishes the exact list. Read it before you decide how long you can leave this, because the half you lose is the half that keeps the cabinet current.
| What you want to do | With an expired license |
|---|---|
| Open a document you already have | Works |
| Print a document you already have | Works |
| Back up and restore | Works |
| Send to file | Works |
| Send to email | Works |
| Put a new document in | Does not work |
| Upload or download through CS Connect | Does not work |
| Send a document to NetClient CS | Does not work |
Thomson Reuters also says it cannot promise this lasts, because Windows updates and security changes can stop the program running.
Why leaving it alone does not work
A cabinet you can only read is an archive, and an archive on software nobody supports is only as safe as the computer under it. Thomson Reuters says as much itself. A change to Windows or to security requirements can stop the program running, and nobody is going to fix it when that happens.
There is a more immediate problem, and firms hit this one first. Once the license runs out you cannot put a new document in. So the cabinet stops being where this year's work goes and becomes a second place your staff have to look. Nobody wants two filing systems for one client.
So the question is not whether you move the files. It is whether you move them on a date you pick, or on a date some Windows update picks for you.
What to sort out first
Work through these in order. You can answer the first four in an afternoon, and the answers change which option is sensible.
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Find out how your copy is set up
A copy on your own server, a hosted desktop, and a Virtual Office or SaaS subscription all cancel differently and export differently. Work this out first, because it decides whether you control the timing or your host does. Do not cancel a hosted subscription until you have run an export and looked at it.
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Measure the cabinet
Get the size on disk, the number of drawers, and the number of documents. Every option is priced off those numbers, and you cannot compare two quotes without them.
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Export one drawer and look at what comes out
Use File > Send to > File on a single drawer, then open the folder. The file names you see there are the file names you get for the whole cabinet. This surprises people, so find out now rather than after you have chosen.
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Decide what you actually need
Two different jobs hide behind the word migration. One is keeping old years readable. The other is running this year's documents. Plenty of firms need both, and not always from the same place. Write down which one you are buying before anyone gives you a demo.
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Decide who checks that it all arrived
Agree up front how you will prove nothing is missing. Which report you compare against what was delivered, and who signs it off. If nobody checked, you have nothing to tell a client the day a file cannot be found.
When to start
Work back from your busy seasons, not from the deadline. Moving documents wants the same weeks as tax work, and the firms that regret the timing are the ones that started in January. December 2027 is the last possible date, not the plan.
For a sense of scale, use the one number Thomson Reuters publishes about its own work. On the GoFileRoom migration its team runs, it says eight weeks is typical from the day it gets your data, and it loads up to 30,000 documents a night. That is a firm-sized job done by the people who wrote the file format. If somebody quotes you far less than that, ask them how.
One more reason not to leave it. An expired license can still export, but it cannot take anything new in. Wait too long and you are exporting a cabinet that already stopped being useful, and you have spent the gap filing this year's documents somewhere else by hand.
Questions people ask
Does FileCabinet CS stop working on December 31, 2027?
No. Thomson Reuters stops updates and support after that date. The copy on your server keeps running, but nothing gets fixed, and Thomson Reuters says it cannot promise the program keeps working as Windows and security requirements change.
Can I still open my documents once the license runs out?
Yes. Thomson Reuters lists open, print, back up, restore, send to file, and send to email as still working with an expired license. You cannot put a new document in, use CS Connect, or send anything to NetClient CS.
Is UltraTax CS going away too?
No. This is FileCabinet CS, the place your documents live. If you are staying on UltraTax CS you still need somewhere for the documents FileCabinet CS holds today.
What does Thomson Reuters offer instead?
Its own products, either way. There is a tool you run yourself that moves drawers into Onvio, and a paid service where its Technical Services team loads your documents into GoFileRoom. You can also export the cabinet yourself and keep the files wherever you like.
Sources
Everything above about how the software behaves comes from the people who make it. Go and read it yourself. We print the addresses instead of linking them, with the day we read each one.
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FileCabinet CS functionality with expired licenses
Thomson Reuters · read September 18, 2026
https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/help/filecabinet-cs/miscellaneous/expired-license-available-functionality
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Exporting data from FileCabinet CS
Thomson Reuters · read September 18, 2026
https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/help/filecabinet-cs/printing/exporting-data-from-filecabinet-cs
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Use FileCabinet CS Document Migration Service to migrate documents to GoFileRoom
Thomson Reuters · read September 18, 2026
https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/help/gofileroom/work-with-documents/use-filecabinet-cs-document-migration-service