Well, now there’s a new wrinkle. Earlier, Turbo Tax (TT) had figured that I was 61 days late on the 1st Q estimated tax payment and that I was 6 days late on the 2nd Q estimated tax payment. According to the 2210: Underpayment Penalty Worksheet, it had calculated a $5 penalty for a 61-day late payment and a $1 penalty for a 6-day late payment. There were figures in the Form 2210: Part III: Penalty Computation (lines 10-19) to show how the $5 and $1 penalties were calculated. And the TT return shows that the $6 penalty is to be subtracted from my refund.
Today, I reached the Federal Review stage and there was 1 error. (I had not reached this section earlier because there were some forms that TT had not released yet and some 1099s that I had not received yet). The reported error was that on Form 2210 “C: Check to have the IRS figure the penalty and send a bill if a penalty is due” was not checked. Given the figures I had seen earlier in Part III: Penalty Computation (lines 10-19) of the form, the penalty had already been calculated, but it was a TT calculation and not an IRS calculation.
But, given the particulars of the error (i.e., it says “have the IRS calculate it”, not let TT do it). and the difference between the result when the box is not checked (i.e., TT calculates it and it’s $6 and this is subtracted from the refund) and when the box IS checked (i.e., let the IRS calculate it and send a bill), which means that there’s no penalty in this TT return and there’s nothing subtracted from the refund and the IRS will send a bill later when the IRS (and not TT) does the job.
I don’t know what to make of this. Will this TT return (assigning a $6 penalty) be successfully transmitted? Or am I forced to check the box in order for the TT return to be electronically submitted, and then be forced into dealing with a bill later from the IRS?
I’d rather have the $6 subtracted from my refund than have to deal with the IRS later. And that could happen, if I don’t check the box. But, the question now is: Will TT submit the return, even though the Form 2210: "C" box is not checked?
Or is it the case that the box must be checked in order for the TT return to be successfully submitted, but when the IRS gets this electronic submission, it will do the calculation itself and take the $6 (or whatever) from the refund on the spot before the rest of it is a refund to my bank account (i.e., no dealing with it later after an IRS bill is sent)?
