Starting last year for 2023 even if you installed the CD you had to go online and setup an online account. And you have always needed to go online when you install the CD to get the first updates. And starting in 2019 you needed to go online to activate the License Code. If you want a CD, you can burn the installation file to a CD or save to a usb flash drive.
The download is the same way and you can still work offline. Since you now have to log into an Intuit Account when you first install it, all your downloads and licenses are listed there (even if you bought it from somewhere else) so if you need to install it again or install on another computer, even on the other operating system (Windows, Mac) you can download it again.
I'm an old timer too and resisted doing the download method. But last year I bought the download from Costco for 2023. It went fast and easy. Most of the laptops and computers now don't have a CD drive. And I had to get a new laptop with Windows 10 to run Turbo Tax starting for 2022.
But even if you have the CDs you won’t be able to reinstall 2020 or prior. They only support the last 3 years. And the License Code started in 2019. So 2019 and 2020 needs to connect to Turbo Tax to verify the License Code. But they only support the last 3 years. So you can’t install and activate 2020 and prior and adding a new year going forward.
One confusion people have, is that the Online version is NOT the Download program. The Download program is EXACTLY the same Desktop program as the CD. You buy it the same way directly from Turbo Tax or in stores like Costco. When you installed the CD you still had to go online to update it. It's only the method you use to install it. Even when I bought the CD I used the download method to install it.
