“‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’ is a maxim often attributed to Winston Churchill during World War II. It reflects the idea that periods of disruption break inertia and create opportunities for changes that would otherwise be difficult or impossible.”
Intuit’s decision not to support Windows 10 is not a technical necessity — it is a business decision. Cloud-based products are simply more profitable for Intuit. Subscription models and add-on fees generate recurring revenue, and TurboTax’s cloud offerings are particularly lucrative in that regard.
Consider the numbers. As of January 1, 2026, Microsoft reported that fewer than 30% of devices were still running Windows 7, even though official support ended back in January 2020. At the same time, Microsoft estimates there are approximately 1.4 billion Windows devices worldwide.
Industry analysts estimate that roughly 500 million of those are personal devices, and that about 44% are still running Windows 10. Even capturing a small fraction of that user base — say 1% — represents a massive revenue opportunity.
Seen in that light, Intuit’s decision is entirely rational from a business perspective, regardless of the inconvenience or cost imposed on long-time users.
