I have an HSA qualified plan now in 2017, and plan to keep it thru out 2017, so my impression is that if the 'last month rule' does apply to me, there should be no penalty because of keeping a qualified plan until Dec. 31st 2017, but to me, the whole concept is a confusing one.

To me, it seems like a better question for Turbo tax to ask would be - "Did you make a contribution to the HSA for the first time during 2016?', and if the respondent answers 'Yes', ask the date the plan was opened/funded, and let Turbo tax figure out the answer to the question 'Was a contribution made on the basis of the last month rule?'.