Activation Code

[xpgong]

only save the forms need ti file is the defaut choice turbotax use

if you design this as default and blame customer using the default choice...i do not see the rational here

[xpgong]

1. saving the pdfs for the filed form is the default choice turbotax provided

2. a paid software should work, not just for a few months unless it was explicitly stated how long it is valid

blame the customer not choosing the default option when save in pdf.   i do not understand the rational

using that as an excuse for your software needs reactivation is not the right thing to do

the correct solution is... if it was activated validlly before.. the company reactivate it instead of blaming customer did not do things other than the default choices you provide

[xmasbaby0]

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899779-what-s-the-difference-between-the-tax-data-file-and-the-pd...

[stevekayak]

 @xpgong  Sorry you're having troubles.  Hope you get them worked out.  I can't help you with your current situation as the barn door is already open but here are some tips for moving forward.

In the future, due to IRS lookback and audit rules, it is best to save at least 7 years of CD's, activation codes, etc. in case you've got to go back and audit/change or review the steps you took to produce that year's return.  Why throw anything away that you could potentially need in the future, especially as you are likely to upgrade your pc in the future and may have to reload the software from a previous year, from scratch?  I have had clients that come to me for versions of TT that are 3, 4 even 5 years old so they can reload them on a current or new pc.  Doesn't happen often, but my library of TT CD's dates back to somewhere in the mid 90's!

Another tip is to 'print-to-pdf' all 3 different copies of the same return each year; the 'forms necessary to file', the 'key calculations' version AND the 'all calculations' option.  'Print-to-pdf' and save them for at least 7 years so that you can go in and look at the worksheets, etc., or just verify final numbers, etc.; whatever you need and you won't find yourself in this situation.  All three print options are available at the end of the program and it is wise to save all three, as you are finding out.  And, it goes without saying, but save the TT data file for each return you prepare, along with these pdf's.

Good luck!

[omnipheasant]

I have a similar problem.  I trying to start up TT 2021 -- it's now 2025 -- and it wants an activation code I no longer have.  I don't have the email from Amazon and I'm not sure it it contained the code in the first place.  Getting help for this is astonishingly difficult.  I would like to start a thread on this but "lack sufficient privileges."

[fishenthusiast]

Go to amazon

Click on returns and orders

Search for turbotax

Click go to your software library, it'll show the key there.

[omnipheasant]

Thanks for responding.  Your suggestion was on target for our last purchase of TT for 2024, but for all previous purchases there's no button to go to My Software Library.  Are activation codes only kept for software not on a cd? 

[DoninGA]

@omnipheasant See this TurboTax support FAQ for the license code - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/product-system-requirements/find-license...

[fishenthusiast]

With the CDs the activation comes on a piece of paper in the box with the CD.

[omnipheasant]

Right, and I used it when I first installed to do my taxes in 2022.  However, I tossed the CD later that year and didn't keep the code because I assumed that having installed it I wouldn't need the activation code again.   What I don't understand is why TT wants me to reauthorize so long after I installed and used it.   (yep, there's some irritation over this.)   The immediate question, I guess, is if there is some way to get around this requirement so I can access the final version of my taxes for that year.

[DoninGA]

@omnipheasant Sign onto your TurboTax account and see if the 2022 license code is available on your account - https://accounts.intuit.com/app/account-manager/productsBilling/turbotax

If not contact TurboTax support for assistance with this problem.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for contacting support - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/turbotax-phone-number...

[stevekayak]

@omnipheasant   Read through this entire thread as there are multiple suggestions you can try to get you where you need to be.  Most of the suggestions are as 'simple' as making sure all of the same hardware is plugged into your computer, ie:  usb drives, memory sticks, printers, etc.   
Is this the exact same computer you used to do your taxes back in 2022? 

If so, have you done a scrub and reinstall of the operating system on the hard drive in your pc?  Or, replaced the hard drive and had to re-install all your software?

Good luck, and my final post in the thread contains some suggestions that will prevent this disaster from happening in the future.  Plus, purchasing TT on a CD is no longer an option as of this year, it would seem, as I was forced to go the 'download' route for the first time in 25+ years.

[omnipheasant]

Thanks for responding DoninGA.  The activation info isn't at my account.  The phone number you gave me is one I've tried to use.  The bot at that number sends me a link that informs me the activation info is in the vendor email, or on the sleeve of the cd etc.  Using the phone number does not appear to raise the possibility of talking with a human being who can address this.  

Again, I can show proof of purchase from Amazon if the system allows that option.  

[DoninGA]

@omnipheasant You will need to speak with a TurboTax support AGENT.  You can trying just using the word agent multiple times or you should be able to use the key words Billing Issue to get you through to an agent.

[omnipheasant]

Thanks for responding, Steve.

I cloned the hard drive in the old computer in 2023 to the one I am using now.  They are both Lenovo Thinkpads.  Are you suggesting that TT is picking up on the switch, regardless of the fact that the comps are similar?