Turbotax has gotten terrible. I have used it for years to prepare multiple returns we own. Their customer service people are not IT people - so they are very unhelpful. If you download one license on multiple computers and efile five returns from one computer, then purchase another license and download it the one of the computers with the first license, Turbotax will tell you that you have reached your efile maximum. There is no way to change the activation code. Turbotax blames the IRS stating it's tracking the computer that efiled the first 5 files. However, this makes no sense. I used one of the computers to file 2021 and 2022 returns and Turbotax also blamed it on that. After 20 some odd years of using this software and dealing with their late updates and bugs, I am done.
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Please provide us with a reference from the IRS that says you are allowed to e-file more than five federal returns if you are using "do-it-yourself" tax software.
The limit of 5 e-files is imposed by the IRS, not by TurboTax. TurboTax has tightened up the enforcement of the IRS limit this year. (They might have done so at the insistence of the IRS, but I don't know that for sure.) The fact that you found a way to get around the IRS limit in the past does not mean that you can do it this year. You may be done with TurboTax, but you will not find any other do-it-yourself tax software that allows you to e-file more than 5 returns, because they are all subject to the same IRS limit.
Were you able to activate the second license? Here's how to activate a different version. There is a way to have 2 licenses. Under Help - Switch Product - Activate new product. Don't know what that will do or what benefit you will get. Don't think it will allow you to efile more than 5.
IRS Publication 1345, Handbook for Authorized IRS e-file Providers of Individual Income Tax Returns page 31, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1345.pdf
#5. Ensure that it doesn’t accept transmission for more than five electronic returns originating from one software package or from one e-mail address
The 5 efile limit is from the IRS. It's to prevent fraud and people filing fake returns. To do more you have to sign up as a ERO - Electronic Returns Originator and be an authorized E-file provider.
https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/become-an-authorized-e-file-provider
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