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i.e.......ignore the "Finish Line". Only you know if you have sources of income that you have not entered yet.   If you have retirement income, or any other income type you have not entered yet....then,,..,Do Not file until you've entered it all.   Yes, not all areas of the tax software are ready for entry of $$ yet.  Wait until you have ALL your tax forms from the various issuers they come form every year....then in early-to-mid February, make sure all your income $$ are entered.   Then run thru the Deductions&Credits area to make sure you've covered everything that might reduce your taxable income.   THEN go thru the error checks & State sections before filing.   Do Not file before mid-February  (First of March is safer)

Nope that doesn't work.  Saving it anywhere on the C drive generates that error.  Strangely, saving it to a F drive that's a backup disk does not.   Yes, I can open the file by double clicking on the original file from last week.  That doesn't solve the problem with saving changes.

You do not mention what date you are trying to use---keep in mind that the IRS will not open to accept e-files until January 26 and your state return cannot be accepted for processing by the state until after the federal has been accepted.  You must use a date that is later than January 26----realistically---sometime mid to late February.

@colin_mccrossin wrote: box 7 only includes tips I reported to my employer but there were more qualified tips that my employer reported themselves on my pay stub.    I'm trying to figure that situation out.  Do you have Allocated Tips in Box 8 of your W-2?  If not, I can't think of why the employer would not put all known tips in Box 7.   If there were tips that you did not report to your employer (and therefore not reflected on your W-2 at all), you should fill out Form 4137 as part of your tax return to report those Unreported Tips.

I manually completed Schedule 1-A, and no deduction is available. The TurboTax form is confusing. Congrats! you get a deduction of $0 is not useful. Here is everything I found for anyone else who may be confused.   “No Tax on Car Loan Interest” New deduction: Effective for 2025 through 2028, individuals may deduct interest paid on a loan used to purchase a qualified vehicle, provided the vehicle is purchased for personal use and meets other eligibility criteria. (Lease payments do not qualify.) Maximum annual deduction is $10,000. Deduction phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $100,000 ($200,000 for joint filers). Qualified interest: To qualify for the deduction, the interest must be paid on a loan that is: originated after December 31, 2024, used to purchase a vehicle, the original use of which starts with the taxpayer (used vehicles do not qualify), for a personal use vehicle (not for business or commercial use) and secured by a lien on the vehicle. If a qualifying vehicle loan is later refinanced, interest paid on the refinanced amount is generally eligible for the deduction. Qualified vehicle: A qualified vehicle is a car, minivan, van, SUV, pick-up truck or motorcycle, with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and that has undergone final assembly in the United States. Final assembly in the United States: The location of final assembly will be listed on the vehicle information label attached to each vehicle on a dealer's premises. Alternatively, taxpayers may rely on the vehicle’s plant of manufacture as reported in the vehicle identification number (VIN) to determine whether a vehicle has undergone final assembly in the United States. The VIN Decoder website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides plant of manufacture information. Taxpayers can follow the instructions on that website to determine if the vehicle’s plant of manufacture was located in the United States. Taxpayer eligibility: Deduction is available for both itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers. The taxpayer must include the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the qualified vehicle on the tax return for any year in which the deduction is claimed Reporting: Lenders or other recipients of qualified interest must file information returns with the IRS and furnish statements to taxpayers showing the total amount of interest received during the taxable year. Guidance: The IRS will provide transition relief for tax year 2025 for interest recipients subject to the new reporting requirements One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act: Tax deductions for working Americans and seniors | Internal Revenue Service   Here is a link to the Schedule 1-A form 2025 Schedule 1-A (Form 1040)

Only your employer can provide your W-2.  Contact them.   Some employers allow turbotax to access the data and download it, I don't know if HP is one of them, or how you would validate security (that you are who you say you are).  If the W-2 is available in Turbotax that is usually not until the end of the month. 

If there is something in your return that is triggering the form, it will keep being recreated.   Did you have excess contributions on your 2024 return?  The form will be needed in 2025 to either close out the penalty or carry it forward.  Did you enter a 1099-R when your age is less than 59-1/2?  That will trigger the form unless you meet certain conditions that you note in the interview on the followup questions  (if you enter the 1099 and then immediately skip to something else, you might miss important followup questions). 

@DoninGA wrote: they would not have any taxes owed if their unearned plus earned income for the year was $15,750 or less.   That is not true.  With over $1350 of interest, there will be tax due.   As for the original question, in most cases claiming it on the parents' return is easier but often results in a little more tax.  Having the child file their own tax return definitely takes more work, but will usually save a little tax.