Unable to print 2015 returns on MAC Desktop version

[MikeResar]

I need to print my state 2015 returns using the MAC Desktop version. Why do I keep getting this error and how do I fix it?

There was a problem connecting to Intuit's Secure Print Service. Please check your Internet connection or try again later.

[VolvoGirl]

Are you sure it's for 2015?  I thought only 2014 Mac had that problem.  Anyway....here's an answer.  It's for 2014 but applies to 2015 too.  Replace .tax2014 with .tax2015.

See macuser post here

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/after-you-file/discussion/i-am-unable-to-print-a-prior-year-return...

Or try to find a Windows computer.  The .tax files can be opened by both the Windows and Mac programs.  But you would have to install the 2014 program which might be impossible.   Even if you have the CD you wouldn't be able to update the program or download any states you need.  Unless you know someone with 2014 still installed on Windows.  

Or try www.taxprinter.com .  They say they can convert 2014 to pdf.  They are not related to Turbo Tax and it does cost.  You send them the .tax2014 file.

[savetacks4me]

Intuit has stated (apparently without clear warning, but with shortsightednes) that the printing function for TurbotTx 2015 was going to suddenly and somewhiat secretly end after October 15, 2019. That itself was a bad decision.

However, it is worse. It appears that such print support ended at 12:00 AM CST on September 30, 2019. I printed out a form at 11:57 PM on September 29, but got the error cited at the beginning of this thread, when I tried to print my next form.

Please fix this immediately. It should be trivial to do. Two more weeks is critical, because October 15, 2019 is the last day that a taxpayer can claim a refund for Tax Year 2015.

Actually, TurboTax 2015 really should work even longer.

Surely this curtailed print support was instigated by your engineers, not by anyone who understood taxes , IRS rules or Intuit’s business.

I have (very loyally and trustingly) used TurboTax (or its predecessors), since the mid-80s, starting with the first version of MacInTax. I have always been concerned over the potential obsolescence of versions of the software, as well as the platforms they run on. I have kept every edition of this software and maintained access to old machines that still run them. I realize that TurboTax eventually has to stop supporting older machines and OSes with their newer software, but never imagined that it would kill its own product on a machine on which it does run, and on which it was so purchased.

Note that it is not sufficient to tell people that they should save all their sax forms and worksheets as PDFs. In fact, I was using your tax products 6-8 years before PDFs were invented. I’m not even sure that your early software allowed users to do anything but print the files. And the files themselves are not sufficient. They are static. Users need the engine that generated them, so they can interact dynamically with them, to see and recall how the info was being used and be able to manipulate it.

Moreover, Intuit has now (perhaps accidentally) cut off support before users could even generate the files at all. The workaround – try Windows – leaves many users trying to figure out out to install you CD/DVD-based software on a drive-less computer. I know there’s a way, but it’s yet another hassle that is not warranted as users are trying meet a hard deadline. As a Mac evangelist for 35 years, I am left trying to find a Windows maachine.

Please rethink the decision to terminate print support, or other support, during periods in which the product could still be very useful, even necessary. And do announce any reductions of service long and loudly before they occur.

[mesquitebean]

@savetacks4me 

This is mainly a user community forum, not a direct route to TurboTax Support.   I don't use a Mac, but I'll see if @macuser_22 wants to add anything to this thread in regards to your 2015 printing issue.  I know he's been complaining about it to TurboTax.

Addendum:

BTW, since you said October 15, 2019 is your filing deadline to get a 2015 refund due to the 3-year statute of limitations, did you timely file an extension request prior to the April 2016 deadline for a 2015 return?

[macuser_22]

This was refereed to TurboTax a long time ago and they are yet to respond with a solution.

It seems that in 2014, in order to sell the product in the Apple store there was some 3rd party software used for the print function and Apple insisted that it be removed in order to sell in the Apple store.   The TurboTax solution was to simply remove that 3rd party software and move to to an internal server called the "Secure Print Service".   Since all support for 2014 has ended, it appears that someone decided to remove that server, possibly without realizing that the same server was also required to print 2015 for the same reason.

Now is is impossible to print either 2014 or 2015 without that server. (Note that 2016 and later are not affected since new print software has be incorporated in the product).

TurboTax only supports products for the same  statute of limitations that the IRS applies for filing for a refund.  For 2015, that ended on April 15, 2019 unless ans extension was filed, then it is Oct 15,2019, as you know.  That has been the policy for many years, but it has never had this consequence before.

Other than using a non-Mac product that does not require the server, I know of no other workaround.  I can only suggest calling customer support.   I personally doubt that this can be resolved in the next two weeks, even if they wanted to, since the hardware probably does not even exist any longer.

[savetacks4me]

Alternate workaround? It may be preferred to the patronizing “Use Windows”, as it is Mac based.

Executive Summary:

I opened my file on on a "different Mac platform". Voila! I was able to print!

Details, adventures and caveats:

People, who are up against the critical Oct. 15, 2019 deadline may be desperate, due to Intuit’s (unwise) premature cutoff of printing services for TurboTac 2015 on Mac. So I’m rushing out this personal workaround, without investigating it.
It may require a different Mac platform. In my case, I succeeded with different Macs or different partitions on the same Mac. It might also also be possible to reinstall TurboTax, get the updates and check that out. However, I already had another Mac that already had TurboTax 2015, with all the updates. So I went with that.
Unfortunately, after I had printed about 10 files, I got the same rude Secure Print Service message, That may have been due to a file limit or a timeout (It had been 10-15 hours.). Maybe Intuit is trying to print-disable every copy of TT15 🙂 :(
However, I switched to a yet another platform, in this case, a different partition (or bootable drive?) on the same Mac and was once again up and printing. That situation has continued for the past couple of days.
I have another theory. The printing seemed to go away immediately after I made a change in TurbotTax. I think that may have been the case when printing was blocked the first time, midnight Sept. 29. [Aside: It as a simple change, hiding the printing of a Supporting Detail.]
Anyway, I have been printing successfully, being careful not to make any changes at all. When I notice a needed correction, I annotate the printed file (a PDF, actually). After I print everything, I will go back and make the corrections and find another workaround platform to reprint those few forms. Or manually correct the files or use a little image processing,
Note this is only a theory. I am among the desperate people trying to meet this Oct. 15 deadline, so do not want to do anything that might interrupt my current success. Only after I have everything I need, can I dare to test my theory.

[savetacks4me]

Thanks, @macuser_22, for your insightful Oct. 1, 2019 note.

I thought I was going to add a post mortem, but then I discovered an apparent resurrection.

I decided to check to see if my workaround was still effective. It initially appeared that it was, as I was able to print from my "tricked" TT2015 . But I went 2 steps further. I went to a dysfunctional TT2015 and found it worked, too! I then went back to TT2014. Surprisingly, that worked, as well. Maybe someone at Intuit listened to the concerns and either reinstated the Print Service or an Intuit substitute. I am almost certain that Intuit did not update my old TT apps.

A point of info: That IRS statute of limitation for filing for a refund is indeed 3 years after the initial filing deadline plus extension.  For 2015, that would usually be April 15, 2019, or, with the automatic extension, Oct 15, 2019. However, one can apply for additional extensions (which are case-by-case, not automatic). The wording of the statute suggests the time limit would be 3 years after the latest date of such extensions. Moreover, just because you cannot get a refund beyond any such date does not mean that you won't need to revisit your return, making changes and printing out forms. E.g., a user might need to file an amended later. Or IRS could audit someone after such dates. I think there is generally a 3-year limit on standard audits, which starts only when the return is due or filed (though it can be longer: I've heard 7 years, or no limit at all if IRS is investigating fraud.

[macuser_22]

@savetacks4me 

I just tested it in both 2014 and 2015 and it appears that TurboTax has indeed reinstated the "Secure Print Service" server.  I do not know when that was done since I have not seen any announcement about it,  but it is indeed up and running.