Why sign in to the Community?

  • Submit a question
  • Check your notifications
Sign in to the Community or Sign in to TurboTax and start working on your taxes
Level 2
posted Jan 8, 2020 6:55:13 PM

Why is TurboTax so slow to launch?

Maybe it's posted elsewhere, but the forum is hard to search. 

For years now TurboTax, particularly right after installation, is super slow to launch. The not so helpful and almost annoyingly taunting splash screen says "yes we know it's slow," but the performance never improves. What's up with that TurboTax? Why can't you make the app launch faster?

7 28 8270
24 Replies
Level 7
Jan 11, 2020 5:13:07 PM

The speed of the launch depends on the number of people accessing the TurboTax server.  The beginning of "tax season" and the week or so before April 15 are the busiest times of the year.

Level 2
Jan 29, 2020 7:56:42 AM

I'm running on a high-performance desktop. AMD 3700x, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB high-performance SSD and it takes 79 seconds to launch Turbo Tax (Run as Administrator).

 

I regret purchasing TurboTax.

Level 2
Jan 29, 2020 10:51:24 AM

Does sever activity affect desktop launch time? That seems nuts. I am using the desktop version with Windows 10. Why would TT be going to the server just to launch a local app?

Level 2
Apr 1, 2020 9:38:22 AM

I purchased the CD version of TurboTax 2019 and it took a long time to install.     It still takes app forever to open.   And and now it keeps asking me to update it, and then freezes over and over.  

 

If I'm using this on my desktop I don't know why it would be on the Intuit server and it better not be.  

 

Perhaps the slowness folks mention is for those entering data on line.  

 

This is the worst Turbotax I've ever used and I've been using it for over 20 years.

Expert Alumni
Apr 2, 2020 8:54:07 AM

If you continue to have problems please contact Technical Support using this form: 

 https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/ 

Not applicable
Apr 13, 2020 1:48:41 PM

Same issues. so bad, help chat no use. The whole things is a waste of time. 

Level 2
Feb 20, 2021 9:08:49 AM

TurboTax 2020 now takes 105 seconds to launch! 

 

It gets slower and slower each year. 😩

Level 15
Feb 20, 2021 9:15:54 AM


@DK14 wrote:

TurboTax 2020 now takes 105 seconds to launch! 

 

It gets slower and slower each year. 😩


Must be a local issue.  I am using 2020 Premier desktop on a Windows 10 PC and it only takes 11 seconds to open the program and another 20 seconds to start a saved tax return.

Level 3
Feb 26, 2021 1:45:38 PM

"Must be a local issue. I am using 2020 Premier desktop on a Windows 10 PC and it only takes 11 seconds to open the program and another 20 seconds to start a saved tax return."

 

Nothing local about it. My 2020 Deluxe desktop on a Win 10 PC takes 75 seconds to launch. TT tech support is useless. As someone else said, this gets worse every year. :(

Level 2
Feb 26, 2021 4:55:28 PM

Good to know. I simply have to pay an extra $40.00 to get a poor startup time of 11 seconds instead of +100 seconds.

 

I can start up Microsoft Excel 365 in less than 1 second.

Level 3
Feb 26, 2021 5:05:10 PM

DK, sorry but how does your $40 get you a faster launch time? Again, I'm using the desktop/CD version in Win 10.

New Member
Apr 30, 2021 5:14:40 PM

I agree, extremely slow. To the point it seems like a tactic to get you buy on of their upgrades. Im a CPA so I know how to file my tax return. What should have been 30 to 45 min process, has taken me 4 plus hours. It takes almost 30 to 60 seconds to load each thing. Will not be using this next year

Level 15
May 1, 2021 8:06:05 AM

TurboTax uses JAVA.

When a JAVA program starts, everything you see or might see has to be initialized.

TurboTax is a hugely complex application. That's why it is so slow to launch.

 

If it is slow in operation, that shouldn't be,  something else has gone wrong for you.

Level 2
May 1, 2021 12:08:53 PM

I've spent 14 years developing enterprise-class Java applications. I would have been fired if any of my projects were so slow on startup.

New Member
May 11, 2021 6:35:10 AM

I'm a programmer myself. There is no good reason why TT should be this slow!

Fire all the current "programmers" at TT.

STOP using TurboTax people!

It SUCKS!

It should just ask the user for a bunch of tax-related numbers and run them through a "calculator", a set of routines. Why should that take so long??????

Level 15
May 14, 2021 1:08:36 PM

I launch the NetBeans IDE 8.1 implemented in JAVA on my powerful PC. It takes 30 seconds to come up, with only a few tiny projects that I play around with.

New Member
Aug 19, 2021 5:13:19 PM

As this doesn't appear to have an adequate answer...

 

It appears that TurboTax is scanning the entire Documents folder while starting up.  Depending on the number of files you have here, this could take a very long time.

 

Level 15
Aug 19, 2021 7:55:23 PM

The TT program is a bit of a memory hog so closing other running programs usually helps and making sure the OS is up to date and run a defrag.   Also the more information you enter into the return can also slow things up especially if you have hundreds of stock sales  ... enter them last if you can.  

New Member
Jan 22, 2023 5:47:34 PM

Wow 79 seconds, try 46 minutes and counting. 

Dear Intuit, this is a consistent problem with TurboTax in previous years. I could not recommend Turbotax to Anyone at this point.

Intuit Alumni
Jan 23, 2023 9:28:04 AM

Please try to log out and log back in.  Also, please use the Online tab to check if there are any updates.  

 

If issues persist, please reach out to us directly using the Help Article here.  This ensures you will get to the correct department as quickly as possible.  

 

@TurbTxLoadsTooSlow

 

[edited 1/23/23; 11:29 AM CST]

New Member
Jan 27, 2023 3:23:12 PM

I have installed desktop version of TurboTax Deluxe 2022.  After launch, there is a screen with a a spinning starburst the expands/contracts labelled.  “TurboTax 2022 - Activation”.  It sits there for at least 30 minutes, and NEVER GETS ANY FARTHER.

Intuit Alumni
Jan 28, 2023 1:13:17 PM

Please see this Help Article which will assist you in troubleshooting this blank screen during the activation process. 

 

@PowerHouseSLO

 

[edited 1/28/23 3:15 PM CST]

Level 2
Apr 2, 2023 9:24:02 PM

That's not it. I am using my desktop. 

Intuit Alumni
Apr 3, 2023 8:42:30 AM

There are a few issues stated within this thread. Can you please post specific details about the issue you're experiencing so that we can better assist you?

@carraed