Error 539 when opening or saving a tax return

Error 539 when double-clicking your tax return file to open is fairly common, which is why we recommend opening your tax file from inside the running program. To resolve, open your TurboTax program first, then open the tax return file.

Tip – It's okay to open the TurboTax software program by double-clicking its icon. Program icon names always start with TurboTax (e.g. TurboTax 2010, TurboTax 2011, etc.). Tax return file names, on the other hand, start with a tax year – for example, 2010 Doe J. These shouldn't be double-clicked.

More tips:

• If you were trying to open last year's tax file so you could transfer the info over into this year's TurboTax program, open the current version of TurboTax and then transfer the file.
• If you were trying to open an older tax return file (without transferring), open the prior-year version of TurboTax and then open the tax return file. If you uninstalled the TurboTax program that corresponds to that file's tax year, you'll need to reinstall it.
• Were you trying to open a personal (1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ formset) tax file in TurboTax Business, or vice-versa? That's a no-no. TurboTax Business cannot read personal tax files, nor the other way around.

Remember, you need to open a tax file in the same-year program with the same formset to avoid getting Error 539.

You may have created your federal and state tax returns in TurboTax Online but later transferred the file over to the CD/Download version. Error 539 will occur if your state desktop version hasn't been installed yet. Fortunately, it's easy to fix:

1. In the TurboTax CD/Download version, choose New Tax Return from the File menu. (Don't worry, you're not starting over; you're just creating a dummy file needed for the next step.)
2. Download your state program(s). Click No if asked to save the dummy file.
3. Reopen your original tax file by choosing it from the File menu. As long as you've installed all the state(s) in the tax file, there will be no 539 error when saving.