"Let's Download Your Free State" does not work

[Hangtime31]

I installed Turbotax Deluxe 2019 and went to download the state return for Arizona.  It said to wait, it's not available until December 19.  On December 19 I download it and the download seems to work.  Except - when I click on "See Amount" up top, in the box already correctly labeled "Arizona," it prompts me to "Let's continue your purchase online."  I click Continue, and it shows I have already downloaded Arizona.  There's an option to "check the box next to each state to add it to your return.  You won't be charged for this."  So I check the box for Arizona and download it again.  It again says it was downloaded successfully.

After all this, it does the same thing over and over.  I click on "see amount" under Arizona up top, it prompts me to do all this again.

How do I get it out of this loop?

01/03/2020 Update:

As suggested, I waited until today and opened Turbotax 2019 - as usual it wanted to update itself right away and I noticed it downloaded "Arizona."  Sure enough, my state is now available for me to use.

So this is solved, but I have a few observations: 

1.  The app shouldn't say my state is available on Dec 19 when it's actually not going to be available until January 3.

2. The app should not go into a continuous loop and make me think it's trying to download my state when it's not going to work until January 3, it should simply tell me to wait until January 3.

3. One of the helpful responders who told me Arizona would not be available until January 3 provided a helpful link to the page where it says so, however, it doesn't actually say so.  What it gets me to is a page of "Individual Form Availability" showing which forms will be available to use in my state for filing a printed return or an e-filed return.  It does not explicitly say "you can't even download this state at all until this date," which would have been more clear.

In any event, this issue is solved for me.

Til next year ...

Ciao.

[bluedeb · Accepted solution]

Not sure why your software stated Arizona is available 12/19 but according to TurboTax it will not be available to 1/3/19 (subject to change)

 https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/forms/help/state-forms-availability-table-for-turbotax-individual-...

[bradnyk]

I have the same problem.  I try to download it, it appears to download, but then goes into the same loop of "Let's continue to your purchase online."  Maybe a bug in the software that hopefully they will fix.

[curtrhoades]

I have the exact same issue

[bluedeb]

For anyone else click on the link in my post above, click on your State and it will show the date your State program should be available to download.

[Hangtime31]

Ah, that is weird.  I'll wait til then and check it again.  Odd how it told me Dec 19 though, apparently it should not have indicated that date.

[johnnydebt]

This is not the correct answer. My desktop has the same symptoms in that it's looping in the same way and I don't get to start my free state return. The link you provided is for the state download to e-file or print your return. You should be able to start your state taxes without the download associated with information on your link.

Initially I installed turbotax premier on my desktop and am having the same issue with it looping. I then proceeded to install turbotax on my laptop (you have 5 activations), to see how it would behave, and lo and behold the state section is accessible and you can prepare your state returns.

This is definitely a glitch in the 2019 program. I called turbotax support and the only answer was to uninstall and reinstall turbotax. However because Intuit has not implemented the 5 activations per license, they could not guarantee that the uninstall and reinstall would use up another activation. This is truly unfair if a glitch in the program is preventing us from completing the state return and that we would need to up activations to test this. Intuit support did nothing to help me other than that I should complain to Amazon, the provider I acquired the license from. 

Anyone else have any ideas?

[johnnydebt]

This doesn't work. I installed the program on my laptop and I can do my state return (no print or e-file). Something is wrong with the program that is causing it from glitching.

[kenpdx]

I have the same problem. It says Oregon is available. I now wants me to pay $39.99 for my free State.

[Lisa995]

Oregon wont be available until at least Jan 9th.

[Critter]

All dates are subject to change ... that is how things work.  And due to the last minute tax law changes signed into law just last week many things will be delayed as the IRS & tax prep software companies scramble to get things updated.   

Filing early with TurboTax before the IRS opens  is a really BAD IDEA for many reasons...

1) If you discover something that is wrong on your return, receive a W-2 that is different, receive some other tax document that was not on the return that you filed then there is NOTHING that you can do about it other than wait to see if the IRS accepts or rejects the return after they open.  If rejected you can correct and file again, but if accepted then the only remedy is to amend which can take 4 months to process.

2) You must remember to check back after the IRS opens (or check for an e-mail) to confirm that the IRS has accepted or rejected the return.  If rejected, then it was never filed at all and must be corrected and re-filed.  Every year many taxpayers that file early, forget to check back and only discover months later that they never actually filed because if was rejected by the IRS but they had forgotten about checking back after filing with TurboTax.

3) While the IRS does conduct some pre-opening tests and does accept some returns early (ONLY for TESTING purposes), they will not actually  process those until after the official opening date.  There is a reason to test and that is to discover any problems with it's systems.  A couple of years ago a test went bad and several thousand "test" returns were lost.   The IRS was able to recover those but it delayed refunds for some by months.

There is no real advantage to file before the IRS opens  but there are several disadvantages to do so.

When will my forms be ready?

Historically, IRS tax forms start becoming available in January, with a few stragglers (most notably Form 1040X) getting finalized in February.

State tax forms can become available for filing any time between December and late February, depending on the state and the tax form.

For specific forms and dates, refer to the Forms Availability Table for your TurboTax product, see the related information below.

Can I Still Work On My Return Before My Forms are Ready?

Yes, according to the following:

Federal Taxes
You can still work on your return and finish most of it. Once your forms become available, we’ll create the forms and include all of your info.

You’ll only be able to e-file or print your return once the forms are available.

While you’re working on your return, we’ll ask if you want to receive email updates when your forms become available.

State Taxes 
If your forms aren’t available, you’ll get a message asking you to return once they become available.

While you’re working on your return, you’ll have a chance to let us know you want to receive email updates when your forms become available.

Related Information:

           IRS Forms Availability Table for TurboTax Individual (Personal) Tax Products

·         State Forms Availability Table for TurboTax Individual (Personal) Tax Products

·         IRS Forms Availability Table for TurboTax Business

·         State Forms Availability Table for TurboTax Business

·         What does "Tax Form Under Construction" mean?

 

Click on the REVIEW tab and the program will tell you what in your return is still NOT ready and the estimated date it will be (subject to change of course ) ... you can put in for an email alert when they are ready ....

[johnnydebt]

The endless loop of downloading forms is not a result of the forms not being available. I just installed my downloaded desktop version on my laptop and I am able to do my New York taxes, I just can't print or e-file but I am able to complete them. My install on my desktop (not my laptop) is experiencing the endless loop of 'getting state' but never being able to complete my state taxes in the program (not e-file or print).

[kenpdx]

The only way I got this to work was by doing a system restore. When I reinstalled the State was downloaded with the initial updates. There must surely be a better way to fix this problem

[johnnydebt]

Agree, I did reinstall windows after a format and it worked. There is something going on with the windows registry or the files that was preventing the state from starting. I tried reinstalling the program multiple times and it didn't cure the issue. I also do not know if the reinstalls trigger the activation counter on the program.

[Vanessa A]

Try these steps in the following link. 

Solved: Update and state download not working. Update ...