How do I turn off autosave for 2024?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
February 13, 2025
4 replies
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In previous tax years Turbotax did not keep changing my saved copy. Now when I change a value to see "what if" it autosaves and screws up my taxes. I can't quit without saving. I only want to to change the file when I explicitly tell it.

How do I turn off autosave?

xmasbaby0

Employee

You cannot turn off autosave. You should not be making any changes to your return after you e-filed it. When you make changes to a return that you filed using online software you are just permanently messing up your return. It is only with the desktop download that you can play around and create "what if" situations using forms mode.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

galgierAuthor

It is the desktop version.

I am not changing the filed copy. I am trying different options and I want to easily "rewind" to what I had before the change. The old way, changes weren't saved so I did not need to decide ahead of time before entering a value. Now, if I enter something and don't like the results, I am screwed.

It now seems that Turbotax requires me to:

Before making any change, quit TT.
Open the folder where the tax file is located.
Copy that file to a a new name.
Open the copy.
Try my change.
If I like the results:
1. Save as the old name.
2. Quit TT
3. Go back to the folder and delete the copy I made before because it is redundant.
Else, if I don't like it:
1. Quit TT.
2. Go back to the folder and delete the copy I made before because I don't want it.
If I have any more to do, go to step 2.

The big problem will come after I file. In the past I would open the file months later just to look at it. TT would "update" the software and make some subtle change to my taxes and when I went to exit it would ask if I wanted to save it. Because I knew that I didn't changing anything, I would say "no". Now it will just blindly change my filed taxes. This is a very bad design. When one files taxes, it should somehow mark the file as "this has been filed, don't change ANYTHING without warning".

I will need to remember to make the file read-only to prevent updates. Or I hope it will prevent updates. I have used some MS software in the past that would replace read-only files with writable files by silently saving to a temp file, deleting the original file and renaming the temp file.

An example of why I would use "what if" before filing: I am doing my taxes and I realize I have medical bills I could itemize. I want to know if it would be worth itemizing them so I plug in an estimate. I see that it does not make a difference so I want to roll back to before I made that change. I am not going to spend the time adding up all the small amounts just to have TT tell me it was not worth doing. TT should have a summary page that pops up before itemizing that says something like "based upon your income, you will need to find $xx,xxx dollars before it it worth itemizing". Same before each category such as SALT and donations. I spend time uselessly itemizing.

VolvoGirl

Employee

Are you on Windows or Mac? Regarding updating the program when you open your file l ike for past years.

I know Mac automatically updates when you start the program. I think you can first turn off your internet or wifi so it won't check.

For Windows.....

You can try booting your computer and first then turn off your WiFi or unplug the internet before you start the program and open the return. Don't know if that will work.

In the Windows program you would have needed to disable the updates before closing the last time. That's the first thing I do when I install the program.

You can only disable the Updates in the Windows version. As soon as I install the Windows Desktop program and it updates the first time then I go to Online-Updater Preferences and select Ask me before getting updates.

VolvoGirl

Employee

I think what you should do is first find, open and save your good file. Go up to File-Save. Then make a copy of it, File - Save As and give it another name to work or test in. Like name it TEST or something to tell apart. You can have unlimited files. Are you on Windows or Mac? Mac is Duplicate. You'll have to pay attention to which file you are working in.

galgierAuthor

I was jumping through hoops at the Finder level (or even in the shell) because just opening the file in TT could change it:

70% ls -l sample.tax2024 
-rw-r--r--@ 1 gaa staff 2021284 Feb 13 13:18 sample.tax2024
71% md5sum sample.tax2024
0992c9502594c023cc2006a9137ac6f3 sample.tax2024
72% open sample.tax2024 
[Here the application ran and I chose Quit as soon as I could]
73% ls -l sample.tax2024 
-rw-r--r--@ 1 gaa staff 2021284 Feb 13 13:21 sample.tax2024
74% md5sum sample.tax2024
0a34098ce414fd8eae9d62f2e9f31aeb sample.tax2024
75%

So, what did TT do to my file when I opened it and quit? Oh yeah, it "updated it".

Silly question: Why is there a "Save" under the file menu if you can't NOT save? They could just eliminate the action from the File menu.

Fred_R

Same problem using Mac DESKTOP App version. The "Revert Changes" does not work. I made changes to test a new value in one TT form, then I closed the TT file using basic Mac file close procedure. A standard Pop-up window(see attached) asks Do you want to "Save", "Revert Changes" or "Cancel". I said "Revert Changes". It did not revert, instead the test values I entered were kept in the desktop file. The date and time of the closed file was updated as well, so "Revert Changes" did not work. This is a serious BUG since may users may not realize that unwanted changes are actually saved!

MonikaK1

I am reporting this issue for further review.

What steps did you take to get to the window that asks if you want to Revert Changes?

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Fred_R

Steps I took:

1. Opened existing in progress TT file, not yet filed.

2. I modifed Schedule E with couple small value changes.

I noticed in the Mac's Finder that the date & time of the file changed while this file was still open in TT.

4. I Quit Turbotax, got the usual "Save", "Revert" or "Cancel" message.

5. I Selected "Revert Changes" and TT quit but the file was modified, it did not Revert.

Fred_R

This is a very real problem and has been reported by others for a few years now.

I have observed that autosave occurs regardless of the on/off state of MacOS System settings: “Ask to keep changes when closing documents”. I have verified that autosave is happening by observing the modification date of the original file while using the TT App. It periodically overwrites your original file while the App is being used.

In my opinion this autosave problem can adversely affect customers using the Mac desktop version. The problem begins when the TT App periodically saves your tax file without asking. When the file is saved, it then defeats the ability to perform “Revert changes” later when Quitting the App.

The most serious customer impact occurs when you Quit the App and still get prompted with an option to “Revert changes”. If you select that, you assume your file will be reverted back to when you first opened the file, BUT in fact it has been modified (by TT autosave) and you don’t realize it. Worse, you do not get a message that “Revert changes” was ineffective. Your tax file may now be corrupted with undesired entries and you don’t realize it. You could possibly file a return with incorrect data because of this design flaw.

I suggest Intuit provide a new App setting that allows users to toggle on/off the autosave feature for desktop versions. Ensure that both the App and the MacOS honor the "Save or Revert" function when Quitting the App.