bought turbo tax at costco. No idea where activation code is at. Utterly stupid. Code should have been on cardboard purchase.

[BrittanyS]

The license code for TurboTax products purchased from a retailer, is printed on the front of the box insert.  

If you are still having trouble finding the activation code, you can contact TurboTax at the link below:

• Contact Us

[DaveinCharlotte1]

At Costco, the card you take off the display rack says "exchange this for product code - see cashier."  Don't ignore this!  Once you have checked out, paid for your Costco purchase(s) and obtained your receipt, take the receipt and the display card to the nearby Costco rep, who will exchange the card for a product card.  Do this before you leave the store.  At home, open the product card and pull off the tab inside.  Extract the "Welcome to Turbotax!" insert, which will have the 16-digit product code prominently displayed.  If for some reason you left the store without exchanging the cards, take your display card and receipt back to Costco.

[VolvoGirl]

Yes after you paid did you go to the customer service pickup window and get the actual package?  It's always been that way, even when they sold the CD.  You probably need to go back to Costco with your receipt and cardboard.

Then when you get the 16 digit License Code.  How to get started with the Desktop program, install and activate it
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/product-delivery/download-software-turbo...

[martymart17]

I purchased mine at staples.  I can't get the application to except the license code.  is the License Code the same as the Activation Code?

[VolvoGirl]

Yes they are the same.  The License Code is 16 digits.  Do you get an error message like code is invalid or has already been used, etc?

Where to find the License Code
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/i-can-t-find-my-license-code/01/852973

[TightLines]

As an FYI, just spent 90 minutes online with Intuit. They do not have records of License Codes if bought thru a 3rd party. Unfortunately deleted my emails from Intuit for the purchase back in February of 2025

[VolvoGirl]

@TightLines   Where did you buy it from?  Did you install it after you bought it?  Or are you installing it for the first time now in November?   If you did install and activate it then it should listed in your Turbo Tax account even if you bought it somewhere else.  I've always buy mine from Costco and they are listed at Turbo Tax and I had to redownload 2024 again from Turbo Tax.  

I bought 2024 from Costco and it is listed in my account here

[TightLines]

Interesting.

@VolvoGirl Bought at Costco in February and downloaded and used in tax season. Because I was running Windows 10 I just purchased a new laptop running Win 11. I've lost the license code and when I pull up "order history" it only shows the past 3/4 years of Federal/State submissions but no downloads. Called Costco and they don't have the license code and I'm surprised that it is nowhere within the application.

[VolvoGirl]

Then it should be in your account.   OH, maybe you activated 2024 in a different account?  That's common.  And they should be listed under Products, not purchases or orders.

How to view all your accounts
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/many-intuit-accounts-...

It's common to end up with multiple accounts. First LOG OUT of whatever TurboTax account you're logged into right now. Then use this TurboTax account recovery website to get a list of user ID's for an email address. Run the tool against any email addresses you may have used
https://myturbotax.intuit.com/account-recovery/

Here's a better screen shot of my purchases (which all were from Costco)

[VolvoGirl]

@TightLines   Oh why do you need to install 2024?    All you need is the tax data file ending in .tax2024 to transfer into the 2025 program.   Did you file 2024?  Do you need to open your 2024 return for something?  You should have saved the pdf each year so you don't need the program to open the tax file. 

What I would do on the old computer, is copy the whole Turbo Tax folder that is under your Documents. That should be where the .tax files and pdf files are stored. Also if you haven't done it, I would open each year in the program and save it as a pdf file, go to FILE - SAVE TO PDF so you don't need the program installed to view your return. Copy that folder to a flash drive or best yet is to burn it to a CD or DVD and then you will have a backup of them. Then on the new computer copy the folder (or files) from the flash drive to your Documents folder.