How do I turn off autosave for 2024?

[galgier]

In previous tax years Turbotax did not keep changing my saved copy.   Now when I change a value to see "what if" it autosaves and screws up my taxes.   I can't quit without saving. I only want to to change the file when I explicitly tell it.

How do I turn off autosave?

[xmasbaby0]

You cannot turn off autosave.   You should not be making any changes to your return after you e-filed it.   When you make changes to a return that you filed using online software you are just permanently messing up your return.    It is only with the desktop download that you can play around and create "what if" situations using forms mode.   

[galgier]

It is the desktop version. 

I am not changing the filed copy.  I am trying different options and I want to easily "rewind" to what I had before the change.   The old way, changes weren't saved so I did not need to decide ahead of time before entering a value.  Now, if I enter something and don't like the results, I am screwed.

It now seems that Turbotax requires me to:

1. Before making any change, quit TT.
2. Open the folder where the tax file is located.
3. Copy that file to a a new name.
4. Open the copy.
5. Try my change.
6. If I  like the results:
   1. Save as the old name.
   2. Quit TT
   3. Go back to the folder and delete the copy I made before because it is redundant.
7. Else, if I don't like it:
   1. Quit TT.
   2. Go back to the folder and delete the copy I made before because I don't want it.
8. If I have any more to do, go to step 2.

The big problem will come after I file.   In the past I would open the file months later just to look at it.  TT would "update" the software and make some subtle change to my taxes and when I went to exit it would ask if I wanted to save it.  Because I knew that I didn't changing anything,  I would say "no".   Now it will just blindly change my filed taxes.  This is a very bad design.   When one files taxes, it should somehow mark the file as "this has been filed, don't change ANYTHING  without warning".

I will need to remember to make the file read-only to prevent updates.  Or I hope it will prevent updates.  I have used some MS software in the past that would replace read-only files with writable files by silently saving to a temp file, deleting the original file and renaming the temp file.

An example of why I would use "what if" before filing: I am doing my taxes and I realize I have medical bills I could itemize.   I want to know if it would be worth itemizing them so I plug in an estimate.   I see that it does not make a difference so I want to roll back to before I made that change.  I am not going to spend the time adding up all the small amounts just to have TT tell me it was not worth doing.   TT should have a summary page that pops up before itemizing that says something like "based upon your income, you will need to find $xx,xxx dollars before it it worth itemizing".  Same before each category such as SALT and donations.   I spend time uselessly itemizing.

[VolvoGirl]

I think what you should do is first find, open and save your good file.  Go up to File-Save.  Then make a copy of it, File - Save As and give it another name to work or test in.  Like name it TEST or something to tell apart.    You can have unlimited files.  Are you on Windows or Mac?  Mac is Duplicate.  You'll have to pay attention to which file you are working in.

[galgier]

I was jumping through hoops at the Finder level (or even in the shell) because just opening the file in TT could change it:

70% ls -l sample.tax2024 
-rw-r--r--@ 1 gaa staff 2021284 Feb 13 13:18 sample.tax2024
71% md5sum sample.tax2024
0992c9502594c023cc2006a9137ac6f3 sample.tax2024
72% open sample.tax2024 
[Here the application ran and I chose Quit as soon as I could]
73% ls -l sample.tax2024 
-rw-r--r--@ 1 gaa staff 2021284 Feb 13 13:21 sample.tax2024
74% md5sum sample.tax2024
0a34098ce414fd8eae9d62f2e9f31aeb sample.tax2024
75% 

So, what did TT do to my file when I opened it and quit?   Oh yeah, it "updated it".

Silly question: Why is there a "Save" under the file menu if you can't NOT save?   They could just eliminate the action from the File menu.

[VolvoGirl]

Are you on Windows or Mac?  Regarding updating the program when you open your file l ike for past years.  

I know Mac automatically updates when you start the program.  I think you can first turn off your internet or wifi so it won't check. 

For Windows.....

You can try booting your computer and first then turn off your WiFi or unplug the internet before you start the program and open the return. Don't know if that will work.

In the Windows program you would have needed to disable the updates before closing the last time. That's the first thing I do when I install the program.

You can only disable the Updates in the Windows version. As soon as I install the Windows Desktop program and it updates the first time then I go to Online-Updater Preferences and select Ask me before getting updates.

[Fred_R]

Same problem using Mac DESKTOP App version.  The "Revert Changes" does not work.  I made changes to test a new value in one TT form, then I closed the TT file using basic Mac file close procedure. A standard Pop-up window(see attached) asks Do you want to "Save", "Revert Changes" or "Cancel". I said "Revert Changes". It did not revert, instead the test values I entered were kept in the desktop file. The date and time of the closed file was updated as well, so "Revert Changes" did not work.  This is a serious BUG since may users may not realize that unwanted changes are actually saved!

[MonikaK1]

I am reporting this issue for further review.

What steps did you take to get to the window that asks if you want to Revert Changes?

[Fred_R]

Steps I took:

1. Opened existing in progress TT file, not yet filed.

2. I modifed Schedule E with couple small value changes.

    I noticed in the Mac's Finder that the date & time of the file changed while this file was still open in TT.

4. I Quit Turbotax, got the usual "Save", "Revert" or "Cancel" message.

5. I Selected "Revert Changes" and TT quit but the file was modified, it did not Revert.

[MonikaK1]

Thank you. I have also seen where it doesn't provide the question about saving changes.

We will look into this further.

[Fred_R]

I think with MacOS 15 (Sequoia) the Mac's Finder autosaves document files that are open. The ability to turn Autosave off no longer exists in the System Preferences as it did in prior OS versions.

With autosave on, the App's File Menu supports a function to "Revert to Saved" as long as that file has not been Saved in the session.  It seems that TurboTax might be Saving the file periodically inside the App?  If it did that, the "Revert to Saved" function is disabled because prior versions no longer exist.   Or put another way; whenever a User or an App saves a file, it defeats the ability to "Revert to Saved" versions. Perhaps your developers could check to see if periodic "Saves" are being done within the TT App?

Just a hint based on the behavior I am seeing.

[MonikaK1]

I now have more information. In order to use "Revert to Saved" and not keep changes from the current session, Mac users can adjust the setting for Autosave as follows:

1. Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock
2. Scroll down to find the option to disable automatic saving of changes
3. If "Ask to keep changes..." is turned off, turn it on in order to prompt the question (see screenshot below)

With this function turned on, you can make changes you don't intend to keep. 

When you tell TurboTax "File / Close", the option whether to save the changes will appear (see screenshot below):

Choose "Revert Changes" if you don't want to save the changes.

When you reopen the file, the changes from the last session should not appear.

@Fred_R 

[Fred_R]

On my system, the option "Ask to keep changes when closing documents" has been turned ON as you suggested and I do get the pop-up window that you show but when I choose the "Revert Changes" option, it does not work because TT seems to be saving the file without asking to Save while the App is running.

[MonikaK1]

I tried this with my Mac, by turning on the choice not to save, then opening a file and adding to an item of income. When I closed the file, the option came up and I chose "Revert Changes" . After closing and reopening the file, the item I had changed was back to the prior version.

I don't know why it didn't work on your device. You could try the workarounds mentioned by other users (e.g. saving "what if" files separately). 

If you still need assistance, see this help article and this one for instructions on how to contact TurboTax customer support depending on which product you are using.

[Fred_R]

Thank you very much for testing and following up on this.  Much appreciated.  My Mac has the latest MacOS 15.3.2 and latest TT Premier. I noticed that TT saves the file without asking but not with every change.  So, I kept open the Finder window while making changes in a couple of TT forms then after a while I noticed the Finder showing a current timestamp indicating it had just saved the file. It does not happen immediately after every change, but it seemed to save the file after a calculation resulted in new values in the Fed or State summary.  Once this happens, the Revert Changes will no longer work.