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@Damay wrote:

I tried the "Best Answer" to opt out the "Audit Defense Charge $44.95". When I clicked "file", I only saw 2 "Remove" options under "remove state return" and "remove imported data"'

There was not a "remove Max benefits" at all.

Therefore, the "Best Answer" did not work at all.

We, as a Turbo Tax user community must resolve this problem all together and hope Turbo Tax resolves this forced sale error. 

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You appear to be using the desktop version (CD/download), so that's why you didn't see the steps in that answer you mentioned which was for Online TurboTax, and your situation has nothing to do with MAX.  MAX is a product only for ONLINE TurboTax.  The desktop software does not have MAX, so ignore anything you see about MAX, which pertains to Online TurboTax only. I can tell you how to avoid or remove Audit Defense in the desktop product.

You didn't say anything about your situation, so I'll make some assumptions.  How to remove Audit Defense depends on whether you are in California or not.    Since I don't know if you are in California or not, I'll mention both methods below.   This problem seems to crop up more for California filers, however, as explained below.

If you are in California and choose to pay the state efile fee of 24.99 out of the Federal refund, then that requires the addition of Premium Services for 44.99.   Premium Services is a bundle of benefits that includes Audit Defense, ID monitoring and restoration, the ability to pay out of the Federal refund, etc.     If you are being billed for Premium Services (with Audit Defense), then you were not being billed for standalone optional purchase of Audit Defense.   And thus you cannot remove Audit Defense independently by the usual method.   You have to either decline or remove Premium Service (and thus Audit Defense) by paying upfront with credit/debit card instead of paying out of the Federal refund.

You may not have actually ended up with Premium Services if you didn't actually select to pay your fee out of your Federal refund.   It may just be showing that and offering you that possibility of paying by that method.  If you are going to pay upfront with credit/debit card, you can just continue on to pay the 24.99 on subsequent screens, and that will prevent it from adding Premium Services (and Audit Defense.)

i.e., the correct way to remove Audit Defense in California when it is bundled in Premium Services is to choose to simply pay your 24.99 state efile fee by credit/debit card.  If you chose to pay the fee out of your Federal refund, go back and change it to credit/debit card instead.   Or if you haven't chosen to pay out of your refund, simply proceed forward and pay by credit/debit card.   When you review your order, be sure it is only charging you the 24.99 plus possible sales tax.

For those filers NOT in California who want to remove add-on Audit Defense chosen in error, one can go to the REVIEW tab, select the subtab "Audit Protection", navigate past the Audit Risk meter, and then scroll way down on the Audit Defense screen and decline Audit Defense.  

Again, that method will not work in California where Premium Services is used, unless a California filer did happen to select standalone Audit Defense purchase in error in the same way that another state might select it in error.   In California, the usual method to remove or decline Audit Defense (bundled in Premium Services) is to simply choose to pay the state efile fee of 24.99 by credit/debit card.  That avoids Premium Service and thus Audit Defense.