Import from Financial Institution -- Why does it force me to "Delete Old Data" when importing Spouse's Tax Forms?

[Polkadot1]

@aysoref I am using TT Deluxe Desktop on Windows 11 Pro.  Was kinda shocked when I was able to do the second Fidelity import without the "Delete Old Data" screen.  Instead, I got a new "Upgrade to Premier" screen (which wasn't necessary, and allowed me to "Continue").

[aysoref]

@Polkadot1 very interesting. Was your TT Deluxe desktop updated in the last few days, and did this new (sort of better) behavior appear in this recent update ?   If so maybe there is hope that it will propagate to other TT flavors as well...

[Polkadot1]

@aysoref Intuit typically updates TT Deluxe Desktop on a weekly schedule, and the software update drops in the overnight hours prior to Thursday morning.  However the change in the software that dropped the "Delete Old Data" code was not part of last week's software update (i.e., I tried after applying last Thursday's update and was still having the issue). 

Therefore, my gut tells me that this is partner-specific code that is having to be rewritten for each financial institution.  That makes sense, because each partner has their own popups and dialog boxes, depending on whether their 1099 forms are available yet, and their various login / 2FA processes.  So it is possible that it will be a quite tedious thing for Intuit to fix. 

Another data point.  I've yet to see anyone with this issue saying that they are using TT Online.

[ttjack]

I have the same issue with Morgan Stanley E*Trade 1099 imports.  Even when I select 1 account TT deletes all previously imported and reconciled accounts .

[aysoref]

Someone described earlier this TT behavior as "ill conceived and poorly executed". Very true. We all expect the multiple imports to behave just like copying a few files from one folder to another: if a file already exists in the destination folder, ask me whether to overwrite it or leave it as is and continue to the next file in line.

As a career software engineer, I would say this part of TT "escaped from the lab" as opposed to being "properly released".

That said, I CAN see some of the TT rationale related to multiple imports. Let us remember that TT assures us the return will be correct or they promise to make it right, implying they might have - at the extreme - to compensate us for duplicate data that leads us to pay unnecessary taxes. Someone at TT MIGHT have told the engineers to make sure that imports never result in duplicated data. Fair enough... but some engineer(s) might have taken the lazy way out: removing previous imports achieves this goal. Clearly illogical, but what the heck, they achieved the requirement AS STATED.

All this is just guesswork and conjecture from a SW engineer who has been around this block more times than I care to count...  Bottom line for us = will TT realize the acute problem and fix it quickly enough, in time for filing this year.

[Polkadot1]

@aysoref I think your hypothesis as to how this ill thought out code came about is spot on.  I get that TT would want to simplify things for the average user and help them not make mistakes.  But I highly doubt they would reimburse someone for overpaid tax who duplicated a 1099 import.  They would however recommend an amended return / refund, which the taxpayer would be entitled to.

I would have to imagine there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of users who are flummoxed by not being able to download a 1099 that they legitimately need to pull into their return -- particularly for married filing joint folks where both taxpayers have separate accounts at the same brokerage.  This is very common.  I would recommend they code a warning, along the lines of "We see that you have already downloaded one or more tax forms from this financial institution.  Please review to ensure you are not duplicating previous entries.  Do you wish to proceed?"

I really hope they can get a fix in quickly.  No one wants to manually enter their asset sales, line by line.

[msloss]

I installed the new update just now and tried a single checked import again.  Same  result, deleted everything.  Here is a screen shot of the false"requires an upgrade to Premier" message:

[user17715921857]

So does anyone know if you actually do the update to TT Premier, does this issue of deleting already imported data go away? Is that the solution to this problem?

[aysoref]

@user17715921857 I know. I have Premier desktop. Same behaviour over there, an import deletes all previous imports.

[MarilynG1]

There's an update every Friday, so there was one today.  You can also do a Manual Update.  You can certainly import using TurboTax Deluxe (that's what I'm using).  If a second import wants to overwrite your prior import, it's imperative that everything is disconnected from the first import (broker link, TurboTax link).  When the import flow opens a new browser window to enter your Sign In, try using an incognito window. 

If the update doesn't resolve your issue, remember that the IRS already has copies of all your 1099's.  Using the Category Summary to report on your tax return is perfectly acceptable.

@msloss 

[aysoref]

@MarilynG1 with due respect - this has nothing to do with resolving the built-in, deliberate behavior of Turbotax software. I have the latest [= couple of days ago] TT desktop premier update and its nonsensical overwriting of previous data imports is still here. Let us all understand and admit the simple truth: TT engineers have to change this code segment. No external sequence of steps will help. I say this with some understanding of how software  [any software] works, having decades of software engineering background.

People have suggested all kind of attempts, to no avail. Some methods being actually humorous, for example: (*) close and restart TT; (*) log in, then log out of the financial institution web site, repeat 3 times; (*) shut down your computer and restart it then try again; (*) make sure you have the latest TT update; (*) after a first import of financial data, DO NOT import again, change your data manually [duh... then what is the point?].

For grins, other ideas are just as humorous and just as ineffective: (*) stare intently at the TT import screen, close your eyes and say your morning prayer; (*) perform a rain dance in your kitchen; (*) meditate in a corner for an hour then try to import again; (*) and my favorite - pound the keyboard forcefully, let my cat sniff and scare the mouse and look at the TT screen while singing the National Anthem.      All these can bring you some emotional support and relieve some frustration but the TT built-in behaviour cares not at all.

Smile and have a blessed day.

[msloss]

I was hopeful when I saw another update was available this morning. Alas, same result as before.  I guess my rain dance needs some work *grin*.  

Since all my Merrill 1099's are now available, I am officially giving up on waiting for a fix to import just the last ones (DIV, INT, and B), so I created them manually using a summary for the 1099-B in order finish my return.

I have used TurboTax every year since 2004, but this may be the last time  Looks like it is time to explore other options.  Every so-called "Expert" response in this thread has completely missed the mark and repeats the same nonsense as if their answer is coming from a bot.  Where is an actual acknowledgement that they made a mistake and are working on fixing it?

[user17718139457]

I have the desktop version I've tried logging off closing the TurboTax form deleting cookies out of my browser and even using a different browser but nothing seems like it works need to have a option to say you know import anyway give me all that you can give me all the warnings but at least Don't Force It to clear out my good data from the different account

[msgregor06]

I am having the same problem with Discover.

I uninstalled and re-installed Turbotax 2025 Premier today but the problem persists.

[aysoref]

@msgregor06 I feel your justified frustration. As I opined above, there is absolutely nothing one can do externally to get the required TT behavior. The TT engineers need to change their code.