Deductions & credits

@DaveF1006 @MishawakaKirk @JES33 @Sonnyof42 @mesquitebean @turbokarst @PGH @MarilynG1 @GeorgeM777

Update:  I managed to e-file my returns and 20 minutes later, they were accepted by the IRS and the state of California, thanks to the helpful comments and suggestions by some of the normal fellow victims/users on this forum.  (And no thanks to the useless, clueless, aggravating TT tech support people, 8 out of 9 of whom that wasted more than 10 hours of my time over 4 days in a span of two weeks, lacked even common sense, let alone technical knowledge.)

I use the downloaded Delux version of TT on Windows 11.

My case: although my returns had no error, warning, or issue according to the TT program, which would allow me to E-file, my E-file and transmission of my return to the IRS would succeed, but some days later, my return would get rejected by the IRS, because of an issue with the calculation of the carryover of foreign taxes on Form 1116 Schedule B Carryover Foreign Taxes.  I would then receive an email from TT instructing me to check the status of my E-file so that it would fetch the IRS feedback and guide me through fixing the issue flagged by the IRS.  All numbers on this form were pulled from my last year return and all calculations were made automatically by the TT program.  I had not done any manual entry, not done any bypass tricks, nor had overridden anything in my return.  However, my TT program would not fetch the IRS feedback, because in spite of having E-file my return and getting it rejected twice by the IRS, it still claimed that I had not E-filed my return!

The problem: clearly the TT program has two distinct bugs: (1) it had messed up the foreign tax carryover calculation, because the IRS disagreed with what it had produced and verified as perfectly correct; and (2) it still thinks that I have not E-filed my federal and state taxes yet.Current status: following the advice of the users on this forum, I changed my foreign tax option from credit to deduction, followed through to the end, then returned back and changed the option back to credit.  I E-filed and in 20 minutes my returns were accepted. 

So, I succeeded to work around the first bug this way.But, the second bug still persists (why wouldn't it, no one has even acknowledged it as a bug, let alone do something about it, like heaven forbid, fix it?).  My TT program still claims that I have not E-filed my return!  Interestingly, when I close my return, it warns me that I have paid the $25 fee to E-file my state return, and should not forget to E-file my returns! 

TT refuses to acknowledge that it is a bug when their program claims that I have not E-filed (and so still have the state E-file fee credit), even after my E-file has been accepted by the IRS and the state of California. (The 9th "genius" that I talked to at TT insisted that this was not a bug, the program had no issue, because it only sometimes was unable to fetch the status of a return.  She was so busy barking contradictions to whatever I said, that she could not understand her sentence was the very definition of what a bug is!) 

Therefore, I can now go ahead and E-file as many returns as I wish!  The program never realizes that I have E-filed, and still thinks I have not used my $25 state E-file fee.

My plan now is to make my PC available for rent, so that potential TT users can pay me only $5 per person to do their taxes and E-file (federal and CA) using the unlimited E-file "feature" of my TT program.  Imagine, if I get only 2000 such users, then I deprive TT from 2000 x $85 = $170,000, while I receive $10000, the whole sum of which I will happily donate to a charity.  Granted, this devious plan is not practical, but perhaps the potential threat of making a dent in their income if enough users attempt this scheme, each at a smaller scale, will eventually grab the attention of TT and persuade them to fix this bug. 

News flash: Hey, TT, when your program successfully E-files a return, regardless of whether or not the return is accepted, the program should NOT claim that the user has not E-filed; it should fetch and display the correct status of the E-filed return (e.g., submitted, accepted, rejected, etc.).  When you send an email that instructs the user to click on Check E-file status to see the issue that has been flagged by the IRS, and guide the user to fix it, your program should do just that; it is a bug if it still claims that the user has not E-filed!

Look, we get it, US tax laws are complex by design; heck you (TT) spend a fortune lobbying to keep and make tax laws ever more complex.  It is then inevitable that your software products have bugs, especially when new tax forms and regulations get introduced.  We can live with, tolerate, or work around the bugs, if you acknowledge issues promptly, communicate proper information to users and your tech support, take user complaints and bug reports seriously, and spend a little bit of the fortune that you spend on lobbying to hire competent tech support people.