Are your grandsons in New York? In the Desktop program only NY has free state efile. Otherwise it is $25 to efile each state return. So I don't know why their state efile is free and yours are not if you are in the same state.
You can print and mail state for free in the Desktop program. For the Online versions it is free to efile but you have to pay to prepare federal and state returns separately. Although if they have a very simple return with no extra schedules they can probably use the Online Free Edition which is free for both federal and state. Or even do it directly on the IRS.
It will probably be a lot more expensive to use the Online version if you are doing multiple returns. Online is only good for 1 return per account. You will have to setup a separate account for each person with a username and password. You can use the same email for 5 accounts. And you have to pay for Online before you can print or view all the forms. And state is a separate charge to prepare.
When you start a new online return you can transfer from their 2024 file that's on your computer. So make sure you have all the tax files ending in .tax2024 on your computer. They should be in your Documents in a Turbo Tax folder. Yes if you transfer 2024 into Online it will keep the year-by-year comparisons going.
If you used the Desktop program before you may notice several differences and not like the online version. It has less features and no Forms Mode. The Online versions don't have all the same forms so you might have to upgrade to a higher Online version. You can only do 1 return per account. Your return is only saved online so be sure to save both the .tax2025 data file and the pdf file to your computer when you are done. In case you need to amend in the future or if you need a copy to get a loan or something. You might not be able to access your online return when you need a copy.
