If you have used TurboTax in the past, either buying the disc in a store or getting it as a digital download, be prepared for a big snag. Intuit now requires anyone who uses TurboTax to have or create an Intuit account just to be able to install the program from the disc.
The big problem is, if you have used the program in the past and have never had an account, it won’t let you create an account if you have given them your email address previously to get notified of your return being accepted by the IRS.
For the past svereal years, I have bought the TurboTax disc in a retail store, and used it to fill out and file my taxes by e-file. Turbo would notify me by email that the return was sent and when it was accepted. I have never had an account with TurboTax or Intuit.
When I installed the disc, it prompted me to sign in to my account. Since I’ve never had an account, I clicked on create an account. I put my email address in an it said that address was already in use. I tried to click next to see if I could get a “forgot password” option, but there was not. It gave me the option to sign in using a code sent via email, so I clicked that and a six-digit code was sent. I entered that and it said they needed more info to verify who I was. There were no questions or other options to do this.
Frustrated, I called support. The rep told me this was a problem a lot of people were having. Because I had given them my email address in the past to get notified of return acceptance, it won’t let you create an account using that email address. The only option was to upload a copy of my passport or driver’s license to verify my identity (which I still don’t see how that would since I have never had an account in the first place!). I told her I was not doing that and she said the other alternative was to create an account using a different email address. I said I wasn’t going to do that either and that I would not be using TurboTax or any other Intuit product ever again. I asked what I could do about getting my money back for the disc I bought, since it had been opened I wouldn’t be able to return it. She told me I could return it even though it had been opened as long as it was not activated, which it wasn’t. I haven’t gone to the store yet, but I have my doubts they will give me a refund.
Just wanted to let folks know. Probably not a big deal for folks to just use a different email address to create an account, but I have to make my stand. There is no reason for you to have to create an account, everything worked fine previously without one.
