When e-filing my 2020 return, TurboTax said this:
Signing your Pennsylvania return on paper
This is a state of Pennsylvania requirement. You are required to sign your return on paper using Form PA-8453. We'll take care of this later, after you transmit your return and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue accepts it. You'll need to print out this form and keep it with your records.
This statement refers to a form named: PA-8453 PENNSYLVANIA INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC FILING
The form is not submitted with the tax return. After you e-file your state return, you are supposed to sign the form and keep it for your records for three years.
Based on the statement above, I assumed that after submitting the state return I would get an email from TurboTax explaining how I can print the form.
But I did not receive any information about Form PA-8453 from TurboTax.
I thought the form might be included in the PDF copy that can be downloaded from TurboTax.
So I signed in to TurboTax and downloaded the PDF, but the form is not included.
This is true whether you choose “returns only” or “returns & worksheets.”
Form PA-8453 and instructions are available here:
https://www.revenue.pa.gov/FormsandPublications/FormsforIndividuals/PIT/Documents/2020/2020_pa-8453....
It turns out that TurboTax is wrong in saying the form is “required.”
Instructions on the form say it’s only required “if a taxpayer elects not to use the federal self-select PIN.”
In the final step when filing returns, TurboTax asks you to enter a “5-digit signature ID.”
This number is what the IRS calls a “self-select PIN.”
Entering this number means that Form PA-8453 is not needed.
Apparently the reason I did not receive any followup from TurboTax about Form PA-8453 is that I entered the 5-digit number and so the form is not needed.
To avoid confusion, TurboTax should revise its information about Form PA-8453.
Saying that Form PA-8453 is “required” is incorrect & misleading.
TurboTax should say the form is required only if the 5-digit number is not used.
It would also be helpful if TurboTax explained that the “5-digit signature ID” it asks for is what the IRS calls a “self-select PIN.”
