Intuit Account 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

QuickBooks Online and TurboTax both sign you in with an Intuit Account, and Intuit says a change to its sign-in settings applies to all your Intuit products (Intuit). Its two-step pages are written for QuickBooks and TurboTax and don't mention Credit Karma.

The catch: you can't start with the authenticator app. You first turn on two-step verification with a text or voice code to your phone, then add the app (Intuit). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Intuit steps come from Intuit's own QuickBooks, TurboTax and accountant help pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on an Intuit Account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Two layers of verification

Intuit runs two separate checks (Intuit):

• Multi-factor authentication is always on and can't be switched off. When you sign in on a device Intuit doesn't recognize, it sends a one-time code to your email or phone.
• Two-step verification is optional. Once it's on, you enter a code at every sign-in, on every device. The authenticator app belongs here, and TurboTax's help warns you may face personal questions while setting it up (Intuit).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

First, two-step verification with your phone (Intuit):

1. Sign in to your Intuit Account at accounts.intuit.com and select Sign in & security.
2. In the 2-step verification section, select Turn on, then Set up.
3. Confirm your phone number, pick Text message or Voice message, and select Continue.
4. Type the code you receive and select Continue. Enter your password, select Continue again, then Close. A confirmation email follows.

Then the authenticator app:

5. Back in Sign in & security, select Authenticator, then Set up authenticator app.
6. Follow the on-screen steps. Intuit's help stops here and doesn't say whether you'll see a QR code, a text key, or both.
7. For a QR code: in Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. On the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo (how).
8. For a key only: tap +, then Enter key manually, type Intuit as the Service and paste the key into Setup key (what a setup key is). A typed key gives 6-digit, 30-second codes, so prefer the QR code if there is one.
9. Enter the code Novaz shows when Intuit asks for it.

An older Intuit page for Lacerte and ProSeries users has another label: under the Text message option, Turn On Authenticator app (Intuit). If you don't see Authenticator, look for that.

Signing in afterwards

After setup, you sign in with your password plus a code from the app. Intuit's pages don't say whether the sign-in screen lets you switch to a text code instead. On its codes, Intuit is blunt: "Intuit will never ask for this code" (Intuit). Treat anyone who asks as a scammer.

If a trusted device keeps getting prompts, Intuit blames ad blockers and suggests allowing *.intuit.com (Intuit).

No backup codes, and a number change resets it

Intuit's pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. If you lose the phone and have no Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), your phone number and email are your way back in: keep them current.

Changing that phone number turns two-step verification off automatically (Intuit). Since turning it off also disables the authenticator, expect to redo both parts of the setup afterwards.

If Intuit rejects your code

Intuit's troubleshooting covers text and email codes: only the newest one works, and closing the tab where you type it means starting over (Intuit). For app codes, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Intuit doesn't describe moving the authenticator. If you back up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and your Intuit codes keep working (new iPhone guide). Without a backup, while you still have the old phone, you can chain the documented steps: switch two-step verification off, turn it on again, and set up the app on the new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Intuit's help has no section on a lost authenticator. Its route when you can't sign in:

• Self-service: on the sign-in page, select I forgot my user ID or Password, enter your phone number or email, and get a code by text or email (Intuit). TurboTax's version adds Try something else if that fails (Intuit).
• Recovery form: without that phone or email, you send a clear photo of a driver's license, state ID or passport (QuickBooks also lists a notarized document). TurboTax rules out military IDs, Social Security cards and expired IDs.
• Timing: QuickBooks says Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific; TurboTax says every day, 5 AM to 9 PM PT. Neither says how long a decision takes or whether recovery clears the authenticator.

See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

With the same phone number: Sign in & security > 2-step verification, switch off Use 2-step verification, enter your password and select Continue. If your number has changed, send the Proof of identity form first; once Intuit confirms the new number, do the same. New devices still get checked (Intuit).

Official Intuit help

• Secure your Intuit Account and prevent lockout with extra verification methods
• Update your Intuit account's security settings
• Update or change your Intuit Account sign-in information
• Recover your Intuit Account if you can't sign in
• What is two-step verification? (TurboTax)
• How to recover access to your Intuit Account (TurboTax)
• Safeguarding your online account with two-factor authentication (Lacerte and ProSeries)