TurboTax Desktop CD Discontinued - What Alternative Options Do I Have?

TurboTax discontinuing their desktop CD is definitely frustrating for many long-time users. You're not alone in this situation. The good news is you still have several good options that don't require cloud storage of all your data. H&R Block still offers a downloadable desktop version that handles all the forms you mentioned - Schedule C for self-employment, Schedule E for rental property, and investment reporting. It's available as a direct download from their website, so no CD needed, but you can still keep everything on your local computer. TaxAct also has a downloadable option that's generally less expensive than TurboTax was. Their deluxe and premier versions should cover your needs with self-employment and investments. If you're really committed to keeping your data local and have moderate computer skills, you might also consider something like TaxSlayer which has download options, though their interface isn't quite as polished.

After TurboTax discontinued their desktop version, I had the same frustrations trying to find something that would work for my complicated tax situation. I actually found a service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped with my transition. I was worried about switching software since I had years of returns in TurboTax format, but their tool analyzed my previous returns and helped identify which alternatives would support all the forms and schedules I needed. It even showed me which data would transfer cleanly and what I'd need to manually enter in the new system. The analyzer identified some deductions I'd missed in previous years too, which was a nice bonus. It saved me hours of research comparing different software options.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai since I was initially skeptical. After trying it, I'm actually impressed. It analyzed my previous returns with the LLC and foreign investments and specifically identified that TaxAct Premium would handle all my forms, but flagged that I should be careful with the K-1 import features since they work differently than TurboTax. It saved me from making a bad choice that wouldn't have supported my situation. The form-by-form breakdown showed exactly which tax documents would transfer easily and which ones might need special attention. Genuinely helpful for making the switch from TurboTax desktop.

After struggling to get answers about my missing refund when TurboTax support couldn't help, I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. I was initially calling about my refund, but while I had the IRS on the phone, I asked them about alternatives to the discontinued TurboTax desktop. Surprisingly, the agent was super helpful and mentioned that the IRS Free File program has partnerships with several software providers that might meet your needs, especially if your income is under certain thresholds. The agent walked me through which providers had desktop options. Might be worth giving them a call to get the most current information directly from the source.

I need to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself because I've been trying to resolve an issue with my amended return for weeks. Not only did I get through to the IRS in about 20 minutes (instead of the 2+ hours I spent on previous attempts), but the agent was able to pull up my information and confirm that switching from TurboTax desktop to H&R Block desktop wouldn't cause any issues with my amended return process. She even gave me specific advice about which forms to pay attention to during the switch. I'm genuinely surprised this worked so well.

I was in the same boat last year when I found out about TurboTax discontinuing their CD. I switched to FreeTaxUSA and have been pretty happy with it. It's not a desktop version, but it's MUCH cheaper than TurboTax and handles all the same forms. I had rental property and investment income too. The interface isn't as pretty, but it gets the job done and their customer service was surprisingly responsive when I had questions. It imported my previous TurboTax return without issues. Just another option to consider.

Anyone know if you can still buy older versions of TurboTax desktop somewhere? Maybe I could use the 2023 version and just manually adjust for any tax law changes.

I'm dealing with the exact same situation! Been using TurboTax desktop for years and was completely blindsided by this discontinuation. Like you, I have a complicated return with rental property and self-employment income, and I really don't want to move everything to the cloud. I've been researching alternatives and so far H&R Block's desktop version seems like the most direct replacement. It handles all the same schedules and forms, and from what I've read, the data import from TurboTax works pretty well for most situations. The interface is different but not terrible to learn. One thing I'd recommend is downloading the trial versions of a few different options (H&R Block, TaxAct, etc.) and seeing which one feels most comfortable with your specific forms before committing. Most of them let you get pretty far into the process before requiring payment, so you can test how well they handle your rental property depreciation and Schedule C items. It's frustrating that we're being forced to make this switch, but at least there are still some decent desktop options available that don't require putting everything in the cloud.

Just checked with Sam's Club and Turbo tax still has a desk top version that you download via email. No hard copy so I made one by down loading to thumb drive.

I've been dealing with this same frustrating situation! After years of using TurboTax desktop, I was forced to find alternatives this tax season. I ended up going with H&R Block's desktop version and it's been a decent replacement. For your specific needs with Schedule C, rental property, and investment income, H&R Block handles all of those forms without issues. The import process from TurboTax worked well for about 90% of my data - the main things I had to manually re-enter were some of the more detailed rental property expense categories, but the depreciation schedules transferred over correctly. One tip: when you import your TurboTax data, make sure to carefully review the rental property section. Sometimes the room-by-room expense allocations don't transfer perfectly, but all the important numbers like basis and accumulated depreciation came through fine. The interface is definitely different from TurboTax but not hard to learn. The estimated tax calculation feature for self-employment is actually pretty robust - it walked me through the quarterly payments just like TurboTax used to. I'd also suggest looking at TaxAct as a backup option. Their Premier version handles complex returns and is usually cheaper than both TurboTax and H&R Block were. Both offer free trials that let you import and see how your data looks before committing to purchase.