TurboTax error 70001: TurboTax is already running for another user

What error 70001 means

TurboTax error 70001 is a lock message. Intuit says it appears when TurboTax Desktop is already running under a different user account on the same computer. The program allows one running copy per computer, so when a second Windows user tries to open it, TurboTax stops and shows error 70001.

Nothing is wrong with your license or your return. The error is about the program, not your .tax2025 file, which stays where it was saved. Intuit publishes a single cause for it, which makes it one of the easier codes to clear. For codes with other causes, see the TurboTax error code list.

Why does TurboTax say another user is running it?

Windows lets several people stay signed in at once. When you choose Switch user instead of Sign out, the first person's programs keep running in the background. If that person left TurboTax open, even minimized, it is still running when you sign in, and your copy cannot start.

A common household case: one partner starts the return on the family PC under their own Windows account, then walks away. The other partner signs in under a separate account that evening to add a W-2, and gets error 70001.

Close TurboTax in the other Windows user account

This is the gentler fix because it saves the other person's work. Use it when you know who left TurboTax open and they can sign in, or you know their password with their permission.

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and choose Switch user, or open Start, select your account picture and pick the other user.
2. Sign in as the user who has TurboTax open.
3. In TurboTax, save the return, then close the program from File > Exit or the window's close button.
4. Open Start, select the account picture and choose Sign out, not Switch user, so none of that user's programs stay running.
5. Sign back in to your own account and open TurboTax.

Check which users are signed in

If you are not sure who else is signed in, open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc and select the Users page. It lists every signed-in account on the computer. An administrator can select another user there and choose Sign off, but that closes their programs without saving, so any unsaved TurboTax entries in that session are lost.

Full shutdown versus restart

Intuit's second fix is to shut down the computer completely, restart it and try again. On Windows 11 the choice of button matters because of a feature called Fast Startup.

Microsoft says Fast Startup is turned on by default. When you choose Shut down with it on, Windows signs users out but saves the core of the system session to disk so the next start is faster. Restart does not use that shortcut, so it gives TurboTax a clean system session. For error 70001, choose Restart.

If no other user exists

Sometimes error 70001 appears on a computer with only one Windows account. That usually means a TurboTax process from an earlier session did not close, for example after a crash or an update that stalled.

1. Open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc and look on the Processes page for any TurboTax entry. Select it and choose End task.
2. Check the Users page anyway. A remote desktop session still signed in counts as another user.
3. Restart the computer using Restart, not Shut down.
4. If an update was running when this started, Intuit says a frozen update can take up to 15 minutes; let it finish before ending anything.
5. If 70001 still appears on every launch, run through the TurboTax Desktop troubleshooting guide and, if the program then will not start at all, TurboTax won't open.

If a restart clears 70001 but the program then asks for your license code again, that is a separate problem; see license code troubleshooting. If it opens but refuses a return with missing state forms, that is error 190.

How do I fix error 70001 and keep it from coming back?

The lasting fix for TurboTax error code 70001 is a household habit rather than a setting. Anyone who uses TurboTax on a shared computer should exit the program and sign out, not just switch users, when they finish a session.

• Pick one Windows account for the return and have everyone use it, so the file and program stay in one place.
• Save and exit TurboTax before stepping away from the computer.
• Use Sign out instead of Switch user when you are done.
• Restart the computer once before a long session, such as the day you plan to e-file.

Your return file follows the account that saved it. Intuit says it goes to Documents\TurboTax by default, and that folder is separate for each Windows user. If you switch to a shared account, copy the .tax2025 file there first; the tax file guide explains how.