TurboTax 2024 keeps asking for Activation Code on the SAME EXACT PC. Every time I launch the product on the same computer, I get prompted to re-active the product and consume a license. The tax season has not even started, and since I downloaded the product a week ago, I have consumed 3 of 5 licenses already. It appears there an issue with the way Intuit developers are trying to ID the computer. The product thinks is on a new PC when it is not. I am using a standard Win 10 PC with Norton 360 AV. I do not have a USB storage device plugged and nothing is changing on my PC H/W wise. Only standard windows security and AV updates. My tax files are stored on OneDrive. None of the recommend "fixes" from past year work. IP addresses change and AV/Firewall are not something that should ever be disabled! Although I tried disabling both and it made no difference. Please fix your product or remove the license requirement until you do. Thank you.
You will have to contact TurboTax support for assistance with this problem.
See this TurboTax support FAQ for contacting support - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/turbotax-phone-number/L0Od33nMQ_US_en_US?uid=lfgviwbm
Support can also be reached by messaging them on these pages https://www.facebook.com/turbotax/ and https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax
Norton is almost like a virus in itself (as are many other anti-virus programs these days). Dump it with a complete and total uninstall and just use the free Microsoft stuff. My guess is that Norton is blocking stuff that is preventing TurboTax from properly functioning.
I'm a software developer and run into stuff like this a lot when people try to use my software. All you really need is to be smart and use the free Microsoft antimalware stuff included in Windows 10 and 11.
Almost sounds like you are clicking on the installation file not the program shortcut.
I am 100% running the installed app, not the installation program. For some reason the app thinks it's on a different device from previous launch. They're relying on something to identify the computer, but whatever that may be changes. However, that's not accurate since I'm running it on the exact same Windows 10 PC. The kicker is I just ran it and no activation request this time. So still holding at 3 of 5 licenses used on same PC. If this does not hold, I will have to give them a call as noted in previous post. This is not a new issue as this has been reported in previous years. The older fixes do not work.
You're not running on a virtual machine are you? Just a thought.
Hi, thanks for taking the time to post a reply. No VM. What's interesting is the issue has stopped occurring. I made no changes to my PC (other than standard MS OS, AV, and TurboTax updates).
Probably a typical anti-virus issue where they fix it in a background update so it stops interfering with legitimate software (that it should have never interfered with to begin with).
I've been dealing with this exact same product on my Mac for at least the past 2 years. I have to keep contacting Intuit support and explaining what's going on to get another license sent to me and get into past and current tax forms with the different turbotax versions. It's frustrating and a huge waste of time.
There's something really off with how they're doing machine identification, because there's no reason this computer should be looking like a new install every 3rd or 4th time I run the application. I don't have that issue with any other software, and I have a lot of limited seat software installed. I also don't have Norton installed.
What I have found that cause TurboTax to ask for activation again despite being the same PC (likely other inconsequential changes; really incompetencey of Intuit engineering)
Any difference between activation (typically after initial installation) and re-launch of TurboTax
Same issue is happening on me.
I have 2 user logons (admin, guest) on the same PC. Installed TT with admin acct. Switched it to guest acct and is required to activate TT again.
I made the guest logon with admin access but still no go.
We should not need to be asked to activate the same product on the same PC again. Please advise how we can resolve it.
Issue just reoccurred for me as well. It was not happening for a few weeks, but today when I launched turbo tax I was forced to logon to my Intuit account and then my 3rd of 5 license was activated ON THE EXACT SAME PC. I did not switch users and made no changes to my PC.
Intuit support, what is being done to resolve this issue? Whatever you are using to ID the PC is not reliable.
Thank you.
Same thing is happening on my Dell XPS 8950. Burned already 3 activations on the same PC and have not even started my taxes yet.
Very Frustrating.
JvdA/01-27-2025
Please call TurboTax Customer service. Here is a link: Turbo Tax Customer Service
I encountered the exact issue. Bought TT Deluxe 2024 from Costco 5 days ago, installed and I was happily using it for a few days until this afternoon. When I clicked on the TT shortcut, it took me to Activate Your License page. Without paying too much attention, I selected my license code and clicked on the "Activate" button. It now says 2/5 machines installed, though I have it installed on this laptop alone. When I called Intuit Customer service, I was very unlucky to get assigned a very rude customer service agent. She came up with the smartest idea and asked me to reinstall it. When I asked her "Wouldn't it be treated as though I was installing it on another machine which might force me to lose another license?" she got angry and disconnected my call. As reported by others, I had very similar issue last year as well. If anyone has solved this issue, kindly update other victims of this intuit scam.
When you originally installed your software, did you have a thumb drive in one of your USB drives? Or do you have your software installed in OneDrive instead of a local drive?
I keep my TurboTax files in a secure personal vault on OneDrive. It appears that OneDrive might be related to the issue. I moved my saved file to the local computer drive and launched by double clicking the saved file. This bypassed the repeated activation codes, and when I closed Turbotax and then used the normal icon it did not ask for activation. However it comes back as a problem, when it does I just close out, and opening from the local saved file is needed to get back to normal.
> When you originally installed your software, did you have a thumb drive in one of your USB drives?
> Or do you have your software installed in OneDrive instead of a local drive?
Not me. Nothing unusual about my setup. Installed it on the internal drive, where the saved files are as well.
The 2024 version of Home and Business, which I've only launched 3 times on this machine has now made me authenticate again and used up a second seat of the license. My 2023 version, which I tried to view last year's taxes in, has 0 seats left, and I'll need to get a new code from Intuit for that version as well. I hate wasting my time on customer support calls about this, and yes they've had me reinstall before as well. It doesn't help. The support agents never know what's going on and are less familiar with the problem than the people on this message thread.
Can anyone at Intuit confirm that this is a known bug, and give us something to reference when we call? It's been a problem in Turbotax versions for years. How can we report bugs in Turbotax so they get some attention?? Clearly this support forum isn't sufficient.
Here is an update on my issues with burning TurboTax activations:
My configuration: Dell Win 11 Pro on a Dell 8950.
Installed TurboTax 2024 (TT) locally and store program and data files files locally on my C: drive. No USB Drives installed during installation, but I do use Onedrive for other things. However, I DO NOT USE ONEDRIVE FOR TT AT ALL.
I have verified on my computer that IF I unlock my Onedrive's personal vault, starting TT causes TT to think that this is a new install. Locking my personal vault and starting TT does NOT require a new activation. I can repeat this lock/unlock process, and sure enough, every time my personal vault is unlocked TT asks for activation.
There you have it.
JvdA/02-05-2025
This same issue is happening to me. Turbotax, please post a fix.
Here are several troubleshooting steps that you can try:
Uninstalling and/or reinstalling is not really a solution - the only guarantee is consumption a new license activation. Once activated again, as long as the conditions for identification won't change, it likely will not ask for reactivation again but would already consume one more license.
Repeating an earlier post, the key solution to avoid reactivation again is to try to mimic the same "identification of the same pc" condition in which activated originally occured. i.e.,
As others have noted - using or not using thumb drives, mapped drives, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, Vault, etc for TurboTax to store files or not has NOTHING to do with this problem of reactivation.
It is the appearance of these drives vs. not during startup of TurboTax compared with original activation - that delta that the program thinks it is not the same computer (which is idiotic) and asks for reactivation.
None of these "solutions" will make a difference. People need to stop with the "unplug it and plug it in again" type of suggestions. They are completely unhelpful and it's frustrating to hear them over and over.
There is a bug related to computer identification in TurboTax. I realize it doesn't happen for everyone, but for those of us it does happen to, it's repeatable across versions of Turbotax.
Also, I'm on a Mac; it's happening on both Windows and Macs. I only have one user account on my system, so it's the same one I'm using to run Turbotax.
Once again, I'll ask: Is this in Intuit's bug tracking system and is the issue being worked on?
I'm happy to provide a system report, capture logs, test bug fixes or whatever else Intuit needs, but Turbotax has a problem, and it has for years. I can easily reproduce this issue and someone needs to debug and fix it.
I suggest people leave bad reviews at Amazon and elsewhere warning other users of this problem... if there are enough bad reviews about this, then Intuit might notice, figure out the problem, and provide a solution.
Same issue here. Never used the install on another machine, but I'm about to activate my 3rd code. So I called customer support as suggested.
Let me articulate the details of the call for entertainment purposes.
After spending 10min on the phone with the support rep, just going through verification, I explained the situation. I said its asking me for a license code now for the 3rd time on the same machine. And I reiterated multiple times to him I have never uninstalled the software.
He goes whats the issue then?
Well its the same machine and it shouldn't ask for a license code again on the same machine after the first install, and if it continues I'm going to run out of codes.
He asks for the code to check on his end, I give it to him.
He goes well it says here its been installed on 2 machines (insert face palm here). After some more painful explanation and now 30-35 minutes in he finally agrees to escalate to next agent.
Here is the best part, next tier agent picks up, breathes into the phone, and then hangs up on me after I say hello.