Is it Apple (iMAC) or is it Turbo Tax??

Bob13018 wrote:

I have contacted both hoping one of you might recognize the problem and offer a solution....besides "contact the other party". Are you stating that this is not Apple's problem?

This is a user-to-user forum. We are not Apple.

You can try loading macOS 26.7.2, removing the app, restarting the Mac, and re-installing the app, and see if that resolves these app issues. I’d have expected Intuit to have suggested all that, though.

macOS 26 itself has been available to Intuit since June 2025, and in full release for over a year. I would think most app-relevant issues with that macOS version are known to the app vendor.

Or shorter: for issues with the TurboTax app, including with accessing or recovering its license keys, importing data, I’d still contact Intuit.

Nobody here has access to the app itself and to its source code, nor to the Intuit back-end servers, nor the Intuit license servers, nor does Apple have that access.

Are those records stored locally, on your Mac, or on a TurboTax server somewhere i.e. not on your Mac?

If you are not certain, you're at a disadvantage because you are not only asking the limited number of Mac users who even know this user-to-user website exists, a tiny percentage of whom occasionally peruse it for the purpose of helping others, an even smaller number who might have used the product in question, and a statistically insignificant number who might know the answer. That's like... zero.

If you are certain that product stores its records on your Mac, then you ought to be able to restore them from a Time Machine backup. TurboTax ought to know the answer to that question, so ask.

I finally was able to purchase and download the desktop version of TurboTax 2026.

I started it up and had no problems migrating the common data and starting a new form.

Is your 2025 TT form named "Your Name 25.tax2025"?

Give this a try: download and run the shareware file Find Any File to search for any files with the TurboTax extension: ".tax".

Name contains .tax

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages that the Fionder and Spotlight can't.

This should find any TurboTax for previous years.

If it was properly saved, then it should be saved in your User Documents Folder as your "Name 25.tax2025"

If it is not in your User Documents Folder, try using a Finder or Spotlight search using your "Name 25.tax2025"

If it not found that way, then see if you can find it in your Time Machine backups.

Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac

If you are not using Time Machine, CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper for backups...?

Then I recommend that you get a couple of external drives and start using at least two of those backups ASAP.

Importing last year's tax data has never been as straightforward as it should be with TurboTax desktop.

The main problem is it doesn't show last year's file, even when it's right in the same folder you would do a Save, Save As to.

Below the empty list, click the small blue link, "Find your tax return". A standard Finder window will open where you can choose last year's return. You'll get this box.

Rather obviously, click the Transfer button to import the data.

And almost stupidly, if you start another new return, then it will show you the return you chose before.

Make that make sense, Intuit.

For assistance with TurboTax, contact the vendor.

I think I may know why it doesn't find them. Quite simply, it doesn't have old information available to tell it where to look.

When each new version of macOS comes out, I rebuild everything from scratch on a new volume so I can test all of my apps to make sure they're working before committing to the new OS. Once they do, I can simply delete the entire volume the previous OS was on.

But, what's likely missing is the previous prefs it would use to know where to look. In the user Library folder, there's a TurboTax 2026 folder in the Application Support folder. That one mainly (going by the file names) holds the licensing data. I'm sure if I moved that folder out to the desktop and launched TT, it would think I haven't registered the software yet.

In the Preferences folder, there's the file, com.intuit.turbotax.2026.plist . I tried moving that one to the desktop to see what would happen, but TT still knew where the data files were (once you've selected your data in a Finder window, it always remembers after that). So I'm not sure yet where it's hiding that info.

Although your TT documents may show in your documents folder when you try to open them TT has you do the security check connection to their web site. I have to enter a PW or they will send me a text with a code to start up. The window shows my activation number so I did not have to enter that. I haven't yet downloaded TT26 yet so perhaps that is the issue. Let us know what Intuit says.

Here in California when I go to the TurboTax web site it tells me the desktop version is not available yet, only the online version.

I was hoping to get it and confirm your problem. I'll keep trying.

TurboTax web site it tells me the desktop version is not available yet

Yeah, I saw that, too. But it's available now at Costco and Amazon. Likely others, but here's the two I looked at.

https://www.costco.com/s?keyword=turbotax%202026

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=turbotax+2026&crid=1B4ABNISJSUWF&sprefix=turbotax+2026%2Caps%2C225&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

About $25 cheaper at Costco for the same Federal/State personal version.

I was hoping to get it and confirm your problem.

??? No problem for me. I already have it.

Unless you mean a copy on physical media? I just went for the direct download. After purchase, you get an email with a link to download the desktop software and an activation number.

OldToad wrote:

Here in California when I go to the TurboTax web site it tells me the desktop version is not available yet, only the online version.

I just purchased Turbotax 2026 desktop directly from Intuit about 2 days ago. It was available on both Amazon & Intuit but $10 off directly from Intuit. All went smoothly. Downloaded the .dmg as soon as purchased but haven't installed it yet.

Checked the website again just now and it's available.

I started it up and had no problems migrating the common data and starting a new form.

Me either. What doesn't work though is TurboTax finding last year's return by itself. I've done our own taxes three years in a row (this being the fourth), and never does it show up in TT's list to choose last year's return. I've always had to click the link to manually choose it in the Finder.

Is your 2025 TT form named "Your Name 25.tax2025"?

No. I've always let it use the default name, Tax Return 2x. The extension is there, just hidden.

Give this a try: download and run the shareware file Find Any File to search…

No need. I already know where last year's return is in the drive. In fact, the easiest place possible to find it - the Documents folder in my user account. And yet, TT can't find it by itself.

At least Intuit got one thing right this year. It's finally a Universal app instead of Intel only.

Are you using the Online TurboTax version?