Turbotax 2017 & 2018 Software
Installation and
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! Note !
Notes and images and links may be
added to this page --- if/when
I re-visit this page.
Sections of this page, below :
INTRODUCTION
TURBOTAX-INSTALL (as 'admin')
START-DATA-ENTRY (as 'user')
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION : I run most of my computers (desktops and netbooks) using Linux. I used Ubuntu 9.10 (2009 Oct ; 'Karmic Koala') between 2009 and 2019. BUT, there is one piece of software for which I require a Microsoft Windows operating system --- Turbotax (Wikipedia link). I avoid Microsoft operating systems like the plague. There is too much monkey business going on underneath the covers --- and out of my control. BUT I have to stifle my frustrations and use MS Windows once a year. The cause : The only program that I use that requires a Microsoft operating system --- Turbotax --- has no equivalent on Linux. So, once a year, I have to hold my nose and use a Microsoft OS. I have installed Turbotax software on a Dell desktop computer (with Windows 7) for about 7 years --- since 2012 -- including installs in March 2018 and March 2019 --- for the 2017 and 2018 tax years. The following notes on Turbotax installation come from notes that I used in those March 2017 and 2018 Turbotax installs. I also installed Turbotax one year (spring 2017) on a laptop with the Windows 10 operating system. On a Windows 10 Bloatware Removal page, I described how I removed the bloatware (and dealt with the horrible 'Metro' desktop interface). The following notes are presented in two sections:
I hope that these notes will help me as I install Turbotax in the future on a Windows 10 desktop computer --- that will replace the old Windows 7 computer. Besides the appeal of upgrading to a computer with more up-to-date hardware components, I am mainly motivated (forced?) to migrate because Microsoft is stopping support of Windows 7 in January 2020. So, in 2019, I will, finally, migrate files from that old Windows 7 computer to a Windows 10 computer. In that process, I will need to transfer
I will probably provide a page on this site that describes that 'Windows7-to-Windows10' migration process --- with details on moving those various types of files and 'importing' them into the newer versions of the applications that use those files. |
Turbotax Install Preliminaries: Each year, I buy the Turbotax Premiere software DVD disk --- NOT Turbotax 'Deluxe' --- because 'Premiere' supports the entry of investment information (information from 1099-B forms). The following install steps would probably apply (with no changes) to dealing with 'Deluxe' as well as to dealing with 'Premiere'. Before presenting the install-steps, I need to point out that on this Windows 7 computer, I had, long ago, set up two user accounts:
The install of the Turbotax software was done using the 'admin' account. An outline of the install steps follows. Turbotax Install Steps:
Next, I switched to the 'user' account, to start entry of data into Turbotax. On Windows 7, I clicked on the lower-left 'Start' button, and in the 'Shutdown' drop down menu, I chose 'Switch user'. An outline of the first steps in Turbotax data-entry --- when logged into the 'user' account --- follows. |
START OF TURBOTAX DATA-ENTRY
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CONCLUSION: In the early days of installing Turbotax, a great concern of mine was how to handle installing the software using an 'admin' login --- and then use the software under a non-admin login. The steps above outline what I found worked well in handling that concern. In subsequent years (after learning how to handle the 'admin' and 'user' logins), my main concern was whether my internet connection would be steady and bug-free --- thus allowing for all the software updates that are typically downloaded from a Turbotax site at the start of each installation. Another concern of mine has been that a bug in the Turbotax software might cause a problem in the installation --- or a problem later when using the software. One year, I DID have a problem in using the software. At some point, the estimated tax, that Turbotax shows at the top of the panels as you work through the data-entry sections, blew up to a ridiculous size. I had not been watching that 'estimated tax' display. I had never noticed it in previous years. In any case, although I first thought it might be a bug in the Turbotax software, I ended up having to start a new data-entry session. I ended up with a good outcome --- a reasonable-and-expected tax bill. It was probably the case that I failed to enter a decimal point in some figure that caused the subsequent calculations to go haywire. I was not able to find where I may have made a data entry error --- but starting over 'with a fresh slate' got me out of that mess. In summary, I have been able to use Turbotax successfully over at least 7 tax years (2012 to 2018), and my three main concerns :
have proved to be surmountable. The install-and-use notes here may be used to guide me through use of Turbotax in future install-and-use sessions --- on a Windows 10 computer, instead of a Windows 7 computer. Furthermore, a few notes above may help in getting 2018 (and before) Turbotax data files from a Windows 7 computer to a new Windows 10 computer --- for use to minimize data entry for the next tax year. Unfortunately, Turbotax does not provide a guide that deals with several of the issues that are considered on this page. (And my web searches did not fill in the blanks.) I would like to have had a guide like this from Turbotax. By a series of experiences, I had to come up with my own guide --- to help me with a task that I do only once a year --- and whose details I forget over the course of a year. (Some tasks --- like migrating data from one computer to another --- I do even less frequently --- like once a decade.) Hence, this web page --- to help me, and perhaps others. |
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Page was created 2019 Mar 26.
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