topic Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

TomTerrific22 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 07:24:56 GMT

(I know I will never get any answers to any of this, but I thought I would try again regardless.) I am a new TurboTax customer, and used the desktop product for the first time for 2021 taxes, after decades of using H&R Block software. Overall, I found the product itself to be very good, although I did find an error in it. The IRS found it, too. I tried to report the error, but no one seemed to be interested. Communications seems to be the primary problem with TurboTax. If I have a question, I have to search endlessly to find the 800 number, then sit in a wait queue for anywhere from 10-15 minutes to several hours during tax season. This is frustrating, and provides no way to send screenshots. A ticket or chat system is a default requirement for proper customer support in a technical environment. I feel Intuit is not interested in communicating with its customers after they get paid for the product. Even buying the next year's version is difficult. I bought the desktop version, yet every marketing email I receive comes from a universe where desktop does not even exist. All product information is for the online product. There are ZERO links to the desktop products. I finally found how to purchase next year's software tonight, and there's no discount for a returning customer. Boo. Hiss. Very bad at twice the HRB price. Before I commit to using TurboTax again or ever again, I have to solve the support issue - how to receive support via a ticket system or even just a chat window. I see they have SupportID's, and I think the ticket system is just hidden, or typically difficult to find and access. The best bet for finding anything about these topics, even the support hours, is to Google it. That's how I found this page (https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/contact-turbotax/L2y9ZKpQB_US_en_US?uid=lbhn7grt) The instructions seem to be incorrect and non-functional however. I will continue the struggle to get real support tomorrow.

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

xmasbaby0 — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 15:02:12 GMT

Purchasing the CD/download software can be accomplished in a number of pretty easy ways:

CD/DOWNLOAD (This requires a full PC or Mac—-cannot be used on a mobile device)

https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/

You can also purchase the CD/download from various retailers such as Costco, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Staples, Sam’s Club, etc. etc. etc.

This link Where can I obtain authentic TurboTax software? has a list of authorized TurboTax resellers.

When you use desktop software, there is an additional fee to e-file a state return. You can avoid that fee if you print, sign and mail the state return. The state e-file fee is $19.99 and increases in March.

As for support or help with your tax questions, when you use desktop software you can always use this forum, which you have already discovered, or you can contact customer support. The customer support hours will become longer during full-blown tax season. Right now you can contact customer support during normal weekday business hours.

To call TurboTax customer support

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

Customer support is available from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time daily Monday- Friday

https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax

https://www.facebook.com/turbotax

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

Anonymous_ — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 15:03:55 GMT

You can always post any question you have on this board and may get an answer more quickly than contacting Support. Try this board first.

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

TomTerrific22 — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 23:57:43 GMT

Thanks. I was already aware of most of this. I remember trying Twitter (before it died [RIP]) , and they were unable to answer my question and referred me back to the telephone line that was backed up for days. It's an old story, repeated by many software companies before they go out of business -- cut back on support to save money, maximize customer dissatisfaction, close doors. Easy as 123.

~~~

I found the "CD/download" links yesterday -- when I needed them they were impossible to find. That's because Intuit is making a basic marketing error -- referring to the same product by multiple names. They sold it to me as "the desktop version" but online they rarely even use the word "desktop" and call it "cd/download." That's a failing grade in marketing 101. I am a software developer, amongst other things, and I've had clients who (literally!!) used six (count em 6) different names to refer to exactly the same entity. It's a recipe for total chaos, like what I experienced online with TurboTax.

~~~

The cd/download links are hidden in some of the web page footers, not all of them. The product line is not featured in any of the mainline marketing text nor any of the product headers. My best bet is that Intuit wants to scrap the cd/download product, and is side-lining it to kill the sales, to justify scrapping it. All the more reason to switch to some other tax prep software. Or (egads!) hire a cpa to do this mess for me.

~~~

I might try the Tax Advantage deal -- its supposed to have a dedicated support phone line (better than nothing). If this turns out to be the same support phone line they published before, I'm gonna be really annoyed.

~~~

Oh, and once again, no one cares about the error I found.

~~~

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

NCperson — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:05:13 GMT

@TomTerrific22 - I suspecft that Intuit makes a lot more money on the online product than the legacy desktop product.

Online is one user and one fee. Desktop is one user who can complete multiple tax returns. So Intuit has a lot more control of the product online. Not surprising the desktop is harder to find the links to.

Also, and there are other articles on this, Intuit is the market leader and been at this longer than any other players, so they have some pricing power. THey are not the cheapest on the market, but you get what you pay for.

What was the bug?

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

VolvoGirl — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:07:34 GMT

Did you ever post the error you found? We can alert the moderators. Please give details. We can probably figure it out here or help you understand what it's doing.

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

Critter-3 — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:13:19 GMT

First the ADVANTAGE plan has no real advantages. It is better to get the program from an authorized reseller for a good price.

Here is some information on the TT program that may help :

This is my mini version of a tutorial that should be in the downloaded program:

What is Forms Mode?

Forms Mode lets you view and make changes to your tax forms "behind the scenes."

If you're adventurous, you can even prepare your return in Forms Mode, but we don't recommend it. You may miss obscure credits and deductions you qualify for, and you may forget to report things that will come back and haunt you later.

Forms Mode is exclusively available in the TurboTax CD/Download software. It is not available in TurboTax Online.

Related Information:

If you want to play around with different figures and tax scenarios without affecting your original return you can ….

>>>In the TurboTax CD/Download software by creating a test copy:
1. Open your return in TurboTax.
2. From the File menu, choose Save As.
3. Give the copy a new name to distinguish it from the original (for example, by adding "Test" or "Example" to the file name).
4. Click Save. You are now safely working in the test copy and anything you do here will not affect the original.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900642-how-to-make-a-test-copy-of-your-return

>> use the WHAT IF tool:
- Click Forms Icon (upper right of screen) or Ctrl 2 (forms view)
- Click on the Open Form Icon
- In the “Type a form name.” area type What-If (with the dash), click on the name of the worksheet - click on Open Form
- You will see the worksheet on the right side of the screen; enter the information right into the form
- To get back to interview mode - click on the Step-by-Step Icon (upper right of screen) or Ctrl 1

Once you have filed successfully … you can shut off the auto updater function and then save the return & .taxfile.

For Windows, up in the top menu, you can set the "Updater Preferences" to "Always Ask" or more commonly set to "I don't have an internet connection" (even if you do), and then you are not forced to update....and can manually force an update when you choose to do so. And then you can open the file(s) at any time with no forced upgrade.

But that's the Windows software.....not a MAC. For a MAC you cannot turn off the auto updater HOWEVER you can simply disconnect from the internet before opening the tax return.

It's always a good idea to make a backup copy of your tax data file, in case your original gets lost or corrupted. Here's how:

From the File menu in the upper-left corner of TurboTax, choose Save As (Windows) or Save (Mac).
Browse to where you want to save your backup.
- Tip: If you're saving to a portable device, save it to your computer first to prevent data corruption. Then, after completing Step 4, copy or move the backup file to your device.
In the File name field, enter a name that will distinguish it from the original tax file (for example, add "Backup" or "Copy" to the file name)
Click Save and then close TurboTax.
Restart TurboTax and open the backup copy to make sure it's not corrupted. If you get an error, delete the backup and repeat these steps.

If you make changes to your original tax return file, repeat these steps to ensure your original and backup copies are in-synch.

Related Information:

AND save it as a PDF so you have access to a copy even if you don’t have the program still installed and operational :

AND protect the files :

How can I protect the tax files on my computer?

*** Other clues to the downloaded program ***

In the forms mode ... double click or right click on a box on a form to data source it ... sadly it doesn't work on all boxes.

What's the meaning of all the different colors in Forms Mode?

When you look at an onscreen tax form using Forms Mode, you might wonder why one figure is blue and the one next to it is red or black.

These colors indicate the source of that data.

Color	Meaning
Blue	You entered this data, either in the interview or Forms Mode.
Black	The program entered this data or calculated this amount.
Red	This data has either been overridden or is invalid (for example, a ZIP code that doesn't exist).
Red italics	You marked this amount as estimated.
Black italics	The program calculated this amount from an amount you marked as estimated.
Purple	This information has supporting details.
Aquamarine	This data was transferred over from last year.
Green	This data was imported from Quicken or QuickBooks.
Yellow fields (Windows)	Yellow fields allow user input. Anything you enter here shows up in blue.

Re: Support, Lack thereof, reporting errors, getting help

SteamTrain — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 00:41:59 GMT

Yeah, with all the choices they dump onto the various TTX web pages, it's sometimes hard to know what to click on to get exactly what you want.

Happening upon the "link" in the forum to the CD/Download ( i.e. Desktop) selection & purchase pages is of course one way.....but I really didn't have an issue finding it on several versions of the TurboTax website pages, depending on how you got to them (but not within the Forum itself).

I can't know which ones you encountered, but I found several different TTX web pages where access to the CD/Download page selection & purchase page was the same.

Clicking or hovering on the "Do It Yourself" created a dropdown, where you could select the CD/Download route and get directly to where you wanted to be. (Pictures below)

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And then you get a dropdown to select what you really wanted