To inform the community at large, I feel I should post the current status of the problem that I reported earlier on this thread.
An Admin person promptly contacted my after my initial post and asked for details, which I provided. This person was (and remains) very helpful, and I appreciate that. The issue that I reported was clearly a program bug.
Yesterday, the Admin person contacted me back and asked if my problem was resolved. I checked for updates, and there were none. Nevertheless, I tried, and (because program bugs do not just magically disappear by themselves) Turbotax still wanted $250 to e-file my California return. I reported back that the issue was not resolved.
This morning, I checked again, and there was a Turbotax update. My program successfully downloaded and installed the update, which included a program update and a California state return update. This raised my hope that I could now finally e-file my California return.
However, it seems like Turbotax people have now resolved the earlier bug (demanding $250 to e-file my California return) by introducing another bug (that prevents me reaching the point in the program where it used to demand the $250 state e-filing fee). <Sarcasm> Pretty clever, guys! </Sarcasm>
For the record, here is what I go through:
1- Check e-file status: it says my 2020 Federal return has been accepted. (So far so good.)
2- Final steps: I click my way to "We are ready to file your taxes" page. I click Continue.
3- E-file Your Federal Return for Free: I select the E-file (recommended) option; click on Continue.
4- Select the Returns You're Ready to E-file: I select the "E-file my state return now" option.
4.1- Below the state options, I see it says: "The following return has been transmitted. - Federal Return"
4.2- I click on Continue.
5- Here is the problem: I get to a page titled "E-file requires federal return" where it says: "To e-file, you must also select the federal return. Click Back to select federal and any other returns you'd like to file." BUT I ALREADY DID THAT IN STEP 3, ABOVE!!!
So, I cannot e-file my state return, because the program itself:
A- decides to exclude my federal return (because it knows that it has already been transmitted to the IRS), even though I selected it for e-file in Step 3, above; and
B - needs to e-file my federal return along with my state return. (Yes, it needs to e-file my federal return together with my state return with the California FTB, although it does not need to e-file it with the IRS.)
I also repeated the same sequence of steps, selecting the "File by mail" option in Step 3, above. Understandably, I end up on the same page, with the same message.
So, I am now dealing with a new bug in the Turbotax program. I have already e-filed my federal return (but was unable to e-file my California return at the same time, because of the Turbotax bug that demanded a $250 fee). I now want to e-file my California return. This is nothing out of the ordinary. But the latest bug introduced in today's Turbotax update puts me in a Catch 22 situation:
(1) Turbotax prevents me from e-filing my California return because this requires e-filing my federal return as well, while (2) it refuses to e-file my federal return because it has already e-filed it with the IRS.
