Corrupt File Every Year

[Someone-Trying-To-Do-Taxes]

I have used TurboTax for years. Every single year, every single time I save my progress on TurboTax, it is corrupted. This has happened on MULTIPLE different computers. I have literally never successfully opened a file that TurboTax has created. It is really maddening. The only way I can possibly read a TurboTax file is when it's been saved to PDF which is absolutely insane.

Today, I finished filling out all my tax information for 2025 in TurboTax. The program prompted me to update TurboTax and I just followed its instructions... Once again, the file it saved minutes before opened as corrupted (including the filename that starts with a tilde). What is wrong with this software? How come this issue hasn't been fixed for 5+ years running?

[Someone-Trying-To-Do-Taxes]

I would absolutely love to fix this issue. Last year I had to fix it the day that taxes were due before the post office closed... Seriously, are there any suggestions? I'm a programmer, so I'm pretty tech-savvy. The only thing that's been in common with this and my prior computer is that they had SSD's.

[dbe2022]

I have been using TurboTax for 30 years now and I have never encountered this issue of file corruption. The only root cause I can think of is an issue in your storage (encrypted filesystem?) or RAM. How old is your computer? Which OS does it run?

[mesquitebean]

 There are very few forum threads about file corruption of the *.tax2025 data file with every file save.    You didn't say if you are using a Windows 11 PC or a Mac (Sonoma 14 or higher.)  I'm suspicious it may be a Mac, however.   If so, have all the computers over the 5 years been Mac?

If you are using a Mac, is your data file unknowingly being encrypted in the keychain?  TurboTax will sometimes say a file is "corrupted" if it's password-protected/encrypted.

[Someone-Trying-To-Do-Taxes]

The computer I'm on now is a Windows 11 MSI laptop that I bought 2 years ago.

I created a blank file with nothing in it and it opened fine, so that's ONE time opened successfully. That mean there's absolutely been some bug with the software for years. This has driven me crazy because in prior years, this issue happened the due date when I needed to make a quick fix (so I couldn't use the PDF) before I tried printing. That was before I knew I could import from PDF so I had to rush to redo everything...

I might need to test every single one of my types of incomes and deductions saved as its own file to find out what the issue is. I'll report back when I figure it out.

[mesquitebean]

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@Someone-Trying-To-Do-Taxes wrote:

The computer I'm on now is a Windows 11 MSI laptop that I bought 2 years ago.

I created a blank file with nothing in it and it opened fine, so that's ONE time opened successfully. That mean there's absolutely been some bug with the software for years. This has driven me crazy because in prior years, this issue happened the due date when I needed to make a quick fix (so I couldn't use the PDF) before I tried printing. That was before I knew I could import from PDF so I had to rush to redo everything...

I might need to test every single one of my types of incomes and deductions saved as its own file to find out what the issue is. I'll report back when I figure it out.

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Oh, I see there are now 2 users in this thread, which confused me at first.  😁    If this was a common occurrence in the software, with millions of users, the forum should have a lot of postings like yours, when I find only few about file corruption.  If you used Mac computers  up until that Windows 11 you've now tried, I would think it's something in the Mac OS settings.  But you'll know more about Macs than me.  But I know folks need to check for encryption/keychain issues, etc.

[Someone-Trying-To-Do-Taxes]

I just updated my display name. I've never filed my taxes with TurboTax on a Mac. It's been Windows 11, and before the the earliest would be Windows 8 on my prior computer. I'm going to try my best to reproduce the problem. But this has literally happened to me every year. Though right now it's saving and opening fine... 

[Someone-Trying-To-Do-Taxes]

I couldn't reproduce the issue. However the old file could not be read as "corrupted" when I saved it before restarting TurboTax to complete an update. Every year there's some update, and any work I completed in March is lost.

Anyways, I'll see if the saved files can still be opened after restarting my computer. Since I saved every step along the way, maybe I'll be able to tell what portion of it was the issue. But either way, there is nothing I changed compared to when I saved my work earlier tonight (well except grouping my capital gains). Next time it asks me to update, I'll see if I can refuse the update and save my work as a PDF (for my records). Then hopefully, when the TurboTax file is inevitably shown to be corrupted upon opening it again, I can at least open it from a PDF...

[mesquitebean]

You may or may not already know this, but at least in the Windows version you can set your Updater Preferences on how you receive updates.    Launch your software, and in the the top TurboTax menubar there should be an ONLINE menu.  Click that, and in a dropdown choose Updater Preferences, then there's a popup where you can configure it.

[dbe2022]

Your observation that a blank file saves correctly is the definitive clue that the hardware is not to blame. The issue is almost certainly software-related. That is, either your environment (antivirus?) or data (one or more  fields within your tax return contain a value, character, or format that triggers a bug in TurboTax's save routine?)

Your plan to test sections of their return is the right approach. The next time you have a working, uncorrupted file, follow these steps in order:

1. Save to a Local, Non-Synced Folder: Explicitly use "Save As" to save a copy of the working file to a location that is not synced with any cloud service, such as `C:\Temp\TurboTax_Test\`. This isolates the file from any potential sync conflicts.

2. Disable Antivirus Temporarily: Before saving, temporarily disable all real-time antivirus and anti-malware protection. This will determine if security software is interfering.

3. Run as Administrator: Right-click the TurboTax icon and select "Run as administrator." This ensures the program has all the necessary permissions to write to the disk.

4. Methodically Test the Return: If the file still corrupts after the above steps, the issue is within the data itself. Use the "blank file" that worked and, one by one, begin entering data, saving, and re-opening after each major section (e.g., "Personal Info," then "W-2 Income," then "Deductions," etc.) until the file corrupts. This will pinpoint the exact form or data entry causing the problem.

Good luck!