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Why does TurboTax Desktop slow down when I enter W-2Gs?

SOLVED•by TurboTax•Updated March 30, 2022

Some TurboTax Desktop customers may experience an issue when entering multiple W-2Gs. The system may slow down and make it more difficult to add multiple entries. If this happens to you, first, close the program and reboot.

If the system remains slow, try the following.

From a Windows desktop:

  1. Right-click on the Start button.
  2. Select Search.
  3. Enter Disk cleanup.
  4. Select Drive C and select OK.
  5. Select the following options for deletion:
    • Downloaded Program Files (includes Java and ActiveX as well as *.exe files from your Downloads directory. Move any files you would like to keep prior to running this tool.
      • Note: If you aren't comfortable deleting these, you can de-select this option, but it's open helpful to optimize PC performance.)
    • Temporary Internet Files
    • Temporary Files
    • Thumbnails
  6. Select OK.
  7. After the prompt, Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files? select Delete Files.

To bypass many common issues, including slow load times, launch TurboTax with administrator permissions. This is different than running the program under an administrator account.

To launch TurboTax administrator permissions:

  1. Right-click on the TurboTax 2021 icon.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Select the Compatibility tab.
  4. Select the checkbox Run this program as an administrator.
  5. Select Apply.
  6. Select OK.
  7. Sometimes a message will appear after running a program for the first time in Compatibility Mode that says Program Compatibility Troubleshooter – Troubleshooting has completed. Is the problem fixed? It will present three options:
    • Yes, save these settings for this program
    • No, try again using different settings
    • No, report the problem to Microsoft and check online for a solution
  8. Select the first option, Yes, save these settings for this program.
  9. When you run TurboTax, you may see a User Account Control that asks if you want to make changes to Windows.
    • If you see this, select Yes each time

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