Turbo Tax Formet

[billyd_53214]

Anyone else wish Turbo Tax  would not end the CD downloads, as per the email I just received?

[Anonymous_]

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@billyd_53214 wrote:

Anyone else wish Turbo Tax  would not end the CD downloads, as per the email I just received?

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Probably quite a few users, but the decision has already been made so it's a moot point.

[Opus 17]

Your statement is perhaps confused?  Whenever would you download a CD?

The Turbotax Desktop version will still be available to install on your own Mac or PC, they just aren't going to sell physical CDs.  You can buy the download directly from Intuit, and you also can get keys to download the software (usually for a discounted price) from retailers like Costco, Amazon, and Staples.

Also, remember that the CD version released in November is always an incomplete beta version that often has old forms and can't file any tax returns until you update it with digital downloads, usually several times during tax season.  So even if you had the physical CD, you can't reinstall the program on a new computer without the license key and an online connection to update the software.  So this doesn't seem like a big loss.  

And lastly, you could burn a copy of the installer to a CD if you wanted to create your own physical backup copy. 

[Anonymous_]

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@Opus 17 wrote:
And lastly, you could burn a copy of the installer to a CD if you wanted to create your own physical backup copy. 

There are those who believe that the CD versions are somehow different than the Download versions. We actually had a post re that subject that recently.

[Opus 17]

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@Anonymous_ wrote:

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@Opus 17 wrote:
And lastly, you could burn a copy of the installer to a CD if you wanted to create your own physical backup copy. 

There are those who believe that the CD versions are somehow different than the Download versions. We actually had a post re that subject that recently.

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They are definitely the same, people may need to be informed or reminded.  Online is certainly very much different (as is the Android and iOS versions, since they are only access points for TT online), but the version installed on your Mac or PC is the same, whether the installer came from a physical CD or a download. 

[billyd_53214]

Thank you for the information. Kindly excuse the way I phrased my posting. Apparently you were able to ascertain what I meant.

[Anonymous_]

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@Opus 17 wrote:
They are definitely the same, people may need to be informed or reminded.  

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Apparently, some do need to be reminded (or otherwise informed).

[Opus 17]

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@billyd_53214 wrote:

Thank you for the information. Kindly excuse the way I phrased my posting. Apparently you were able to ascertain what I meant.

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Maybe back when I started using Turbotax (when it was still MacInTax) the physical copy was worth something.  But for at least the last 5 years or more, the version of TT on the physical CD is a barely functioning "starter" copy that still contains prior year forms and tax tables, and needs to be updated before it can be used.  Basically, the box you see in the store around Thanksgiving is a marketing ploy to lock customers in to Turbotax before they go to another product.  It takes a major update, usually around January 7, before the program can actually prepare a functioning tax return.  

[Bruce in Maine]

The point everyone seems to be missing is the upcoming unavailability of Turbo Tax in future years should you need to do additional work on a past year's return .. let's say you need to file an amended return in tax year 2024 for a 2018 return .. according to an Intuit web page that I just read, Turbo Tax prior year tax software packages and updates are not available in perpetuity .. according to this web page, Intuit is currently making the previous three years prior to the current tax year available for downloading and updating the software again .. so for 2024, only tax years 2021, 2022, and 2023 are still supported .. (you can read all about it right here: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/how-long-is-a-turbotax-download-usable-for-re-ins...) .. apparently, if you need to amend that 2018 tax return and need to reinstall the software onto your computer because you upgraded computers or deleted the 2018 software from you old computer, you are out of luck unless you still have the physical CD you bought back in 2018 when you purchased the  CD version of Turbo Tax from Staples or whomever .. I have Turbo Tax CD's and floppies going back to 1995 when I started my construction sole proprietorship and have had to occasionally go back into a previous tax year to do some updating of an old return due to an IRS question or perhaps file an amended return .. this has only happened a few times in 30 years, but it has happened .. by having the original CD bought in that particular tax year sitting on my shelf, I can reinstall the program and fuss around with my original return from that year and update the return as required .. and save the result as a pdf file for my own usage and submit the updated tax package to the IRS if necessary to answer their question or file an amended return .. and I can do this regardless of whether my tax return that I need to fuss with is inside or outside Turbo Tax's (arbitrary) 3 year support for software downloads and updates .. my point here is that Turbo Tax's refusal to make CD's available for any of their products beginning in this tax year 2024 completely handcuffs you from making changes to tax returns older than the current 3 year support period offered by Turbo Tax .. I have also read reports on this Forum from some folks who tried to reinstall Turbo Tax onto a new computer simply by using the .exe file created by burning an earlier version of Turbo Tax download software onto a personal CD not being able to reinstall the old year's software .. so it appears that trying to burn the current year of Turbo Tax download software onto your own personal CD copy for posterity might not even be a workable solution .. bottom line, Turbo Tax is screwing a ton of their own long time customers by deleting the CD in the box purchase option beginning in 2024 .. that is my rant and I am sticking to it, Intuit.

[VolvoGirl]

Even if you install or reinstall  2018 or prior from a CD you will not be able to update the program or download any state programs you need.  So you might not be able to even open the .tax2018 tax file.  And since you can’t update your return might not be the same as you filed.

For 2019 and going forward,  you will never be able to install and activate the 2019 program with the License Code.   The License Code started in 2019.  So 2019 needs to connect to Turbo Tax to verify the License Code.  But they have stopped supporting 2019.  So don’t uninstall 2019 etc.  Then this fall the will put 2021 in the past years section and discontinue 2020.  

[Anonymous_]

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@Bruce in Maine wrote:

.......Intuit is currently making the previous three years prior to the current tax year available for downloading and updating the software again .. so for 2024, only tax years 2021, 2022, and 2023 are still supported....

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I have an Intuit account and, as a volunteer on this board, have received a copy of the software each tax year.

At the site below, after I log in, I can see TurboTax install files going all the way back to 2014.

https://accounts-tax.intuit.com/app/turbotaxdesktop

Of course, Intuit is not going to officially support those earlier tax years but then customers will face exactly the same issue if they purchased the product on a CD. Further, the CD would need to be updated while the downloaded install files are reasonably current (for that particular tax year).

As far as recent years, it's true that Intuit will currently only support tax years 2020-2023, but that is applicable regardless of whether the product was downloaded or the customer has a CD.