state e-filing with Turbo Tax

[Spanky]

TurboTax Charges $20 for MN state e-filing. Why spend $20 for e-filing instead of $1 for postage fee via mail return? The only advantage is that you might be able to receive the refund faster.

 

[W2R]

I wasn't happy with that $20 charge either! Like many here, I upgraded to Premier for the first time. In my case I misunderstood what Premier was giving me, and for some reason thought I'd get to e-file my state taxes for free.

Then after going through the state tax question-and-answer tree, TT told me I had to pay $20 to e-file. I was so tired by that time that I capitulated and spent the $20 rather than going through it all over again on the Louisiana state website. It didn't occur to me to print out the forms and mail them in. Next time I'll know better and won't do anything on my state taxes in TT.

 

[easysurfer]

For me, I e-file and get my taxes done out of they say. Though my state has free state e-filing, I just go with TT too. I know it is easy to bash TT, but remembering back in the dark ages of going to the post office or library to photocopy tax forms and instructions and buying tax guides from the book store, I don't mind indulging on the state e-file for $20 and let Intuit get a little something for that.

Plus, I like having the immediate electronic confirmation. Also, aren't paper filed returns more likely to get audited? Or is that just a myth?

I haven't started my 2014 taxes yet

 

[ERD50]

TaxAct online is just $7 for a State (added to $13 for Fed).

I agree with easysurfer, though I'm a cheap-skate, and you can do a free state file, at tax time, the $7 seems cheap as a bit of de-stressing. A 'luxury' I can afford.

It's also nice that I can either get the refund quicker, or schedule a direct withdrawal for 4/15. Maybe you can do that w/o spending extra though?

 

[target2019]

I have three sets of taxes to do. I e-file the Federal packages, then print the state forms and mail them. Usually there is a small amount owed, so no motivation to e-file.

 

[mn54]

with the premier version you get one free state return (not e-filed). What is the cost for a second state return filled out?

 

[Alan]

I do my State tax on TT and then go online and enter the figures using the Louisiana IRS on-line system which is e-filed for free.

Last year, as well saving the e-file cost of $20, it actually saved some more because in TT I had neglected to indicate that the IBond interest was Federal Debt so when I entered the data directly on the LA website I discovered that the taxes owed was over $20 less than what TT had calculated.

 

[nash031]

Could be wrong, but I think to even print and mail it's going to charge you for the state prep. I have to do fed +2 states, and I use premier... I get Fed and California for the initial $65, then IL for $35, even though I print and mail IL due to weirdness with the married/military rules and e-filing.

 

[meierlde]

Have folks noticed that Turbo-Tax now requires that state returns be e-filed at the same time as federal returns. This is an attempt to reduce the fraud that was occuring, it appears that it was partly done by e-filing state only returns.

 

[target2019]

I can speak to one product - Turbo Tax Home & Business 2014. I bought the ful product at kingdeals4u for $44.99. This includes 5 Free Federal E-Files and one download of a TurboTax State product. This does not include efile for the state you choose. I printed a PDF just before performing the Fed efile, and then print the state portion to sign and mail.

One important feature missing from this edition is downloading of 1099, etc. from your institution. Intuit has turned tax time into a mine field, where you always seem to be missing something necessary, and it costs you more.

 

[LauAnn]

Hmm. I just e-filed my Pennsylvania state taxes using TT for free. Maybe it varies by state. When it came time to pay, there was a second button that read 'Does Not Apply To Me'. So I clicked it and encountered no payment requirements.

 

[clifp]

Have folks noticed that Turbo-Tax now requires that state returns be e-filed at the same time as federal returns. This is an attempt to reduce the fraud that was occuring, it appears that it was partly done by e-filing state only returns.

I just did my Mom's taxes with turbo tax. They made it really difficult to print and mail the state taxes and efile the federal, but after futzing around a bit I succeeded.

Last year mom just took a standard deduction, this year she had $5K worth of hearing aids, and quite a few other medical deduction so she actually could itemize for an extra $1,000 worth of deduction. I'd have been annoyed, if it went though a years worth of credit card statements and checks, and had just missed qualifying.

 

[Spanky]

I just did my Mom's taxes with turbo tax. They made it really difficult to print and mail the state taxes and efile the federal, but after futzing around a bit I succeeded.

All you have to do is to save it to a PDF file and then print it using Adobe Acrobat Reader or Chrome browser.

 

[pb4uski]

I used to print and file my state return rather than pay the $20 e-filing fee but finally I decided to just splurge and have the convenience of e-filing and be over and done with.

 

[clifp]

All you have to do is to save it to a PDF file and then print it using Adobe Acrobat Reader or Chrome browser.

I did that first but the state tax form was labeled as an efile form, and since I was not sure if there were difference between efile and non....
I went back and selected print and mail forms, skipped the federal and printed the state from

 

[audreyh1]

Have folks noticed that Turbo-Tax now requires that state returns be e-filed at the same time as federal returns. This is an attempt to reduce the fraud that was occuring, it appears that it was partly done by e-filing state only returns.

Yes, it was the unlinked state filing where most of the state tax return fraud was coming from. And Turbotax was the only product allowing people to file unlinked returns. Which is why it looked so suspicious for Turbotax.

 

[RE2Boys]

Another who saves $19.49 by printing and mailing the state return after e-file the federal with TurboTax. Must do local with pen and paper.

 

[Sand101]

My state has announced a minimum 12 week timeframe to get a refund. Not much incentive there to go paperless.

 

[Al in Ohio]

Have folks noticed that Turbo-Tax now requires that state returns be e-filed at the same time as federal returns. This is an attempt to reduce the fraud that was occuring, it appears that it was partly done by e-filing state only returns.

TT Deluxe did not. It suggested you did and defaulted to filing both at the same time, but was easy to just deselect one or the other and it confirmed that it knew you desired to either not exile the one now or would mail the one later.


I chose to just go online to my states website and enter the TT figures in. Last year the same TT Deluxe package I bought from Costco included free Fed AND state efiling. I was a bit miffed this year to discover it asked for a $20 fee to file my state ( which takes 20 mins online). I even discovered the state website uncovered another deduction for me that reduced my payment by $19 more.

Next year I'm just getting TT standard from say Fido or Vanguard.

Another thing that erked me was the online password crap that was added.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[bUU]

It is the cost of convenience, like paying for a newspaper when you can read news online, or paying a few cents extra per gallon of gasoline so you don't have to get out of your car to fill up on a snowy day.

One thing I wonder about state e-filing: Are the "attach this with that" requirements waived? ... or is the convenience offered such that it is effectively handled for you by TT? If the latter, that alone could be worth the $20 to some folks.

 

[harley]

I personally print and mail my federal taxes, even though I use TT. And I wait until 4/15 to do it, too. I used to really enjoy going down to the main PO in Arlington for the big tax protest party on 4/15. Beer and live music takes a bit of the edge off of paying taxes.

There's only been one time in my tax filing life that I got a refund, and that was a mistake. I figure why make it any easier on the gov't than they make it on me, and why give them my money ahead of time? I considered e-filing at one point because I heard that paper filings increased the possibility of an audit, but then I read a number of times that that wasn't so. I haven't been audited yet (knock on wood), even though I've got a number of audit flag situations, which is why I use Home and Business. I figure if I do get audited, I'm not cheating so all it will be is an annoyance. And I'm mostly retired. I have more time to deal with it than the IRS does. Bring it.

I also used to file state taxes via USPS, but then I moved to a no income tax state, so no issue any more.

 

[grasshopper]

I use the free Fed efile, but mail my AZ state form. If I remember correctly the AZ form I sent in looked nothing like a 1040 AZ, more like a data form and a big barcode. While the pdf copy I made looked normal.

 

[jfn111]

I'm in the print and mail camp. The $400 State refund isn't worth a 5% cost of e-filing.

 

[rbmrtn]

I also used to print and mail when the the efile was an extra charge. The efile fee was more than the stamp costs so why bother. Now the efile comes with the software purchase so I use it. I used the IRS freefile for my mothers return and it was all free.

I probably could have qualified for the IRS freefile, have to check that next time.
I never understood why people seem to be so attached to TT.

 

[bUU]

I never understood why people seem to be so attached to TT.

It is mostly a matter of how much one's own leisure time and effort is worth to that person - just like any matter of convenience.