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DID YOU E-FILE?   Did you e-file?   Did you go through all three steps of the FILE section and click a big orange button that said “Transmit my returns now?”     When you e-file your return you will get two emails from TurboTax.  The first one will say your return has been transmitted; the second one will tell you the IRS has accepted  or rejected your federal e-file.  If you filed a state return, there will be a third email (usually a day or two later) that tells you if the state e-file was accepted or rejected.   Check your e-file status:   https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/    What does it say in your account?  Does it show that the return was accepted?   Or does it say something else---like "rejected," "printed," or "ready to mail?”   If you discover or realize that your e-file was rejected, you will need to print it, sign and date it in ink, and file it by mail now, since e-filing is closed for returns for tax year 2024.       And.....are you using the correct refund amount on the IRS refund site?   You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2024 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:    https://www.irs.gov/refunds  

You have not mentioned who the two adults are, so we do not know if they are related to you.   You cannot file as HOH if those two people are a BF or GF and their adult child, for example, since they are not related to you.     Am I Head of Household?   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household-2021/L0NxUtVc2_US_en_US?uid=m5x19jkx What is a "qualifying person" for Head of Household?   If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.  

You are too late to import 2024 data from financial institutions.   They have removed it from availability to import into tax software.    You can get the information from the bank or brokerage's website, and enter it manually by keying it in.   For certain kinds of information you may need to use summary information.   By mid to late February, they will have 2025 information available for import.   Make sure to import your 2025 information while it is available, even if you will be filing your tax return late.

If you owed back taxes, the IRS would automatically seize your refund to pay the tax owed from a past year; how much did you owe?   How much was your refund that was offset?    If the refund was not sufficient to pay the amount you owed, that is why you are being billed for more interest.   What is shown in your online account with the IRS? https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account  

You received an email with a rejection message or rejection code.  We cannot see your email.   Most rejections are for AGI, which you only need in order to e-file.   E-filing is permanently closed for 2024 returns so AGI does not matter now.   The return can only be filed by mail.  Print it, sign and date it in ink, and mail it in.     When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s.  Use a mailing service that will track it, such as certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.   Federal and state returns must be in separate envelopes and they are mailed to different addresses.  Read the mailing instructions that print with your tax return carefully so you mail them to the right addresses.  

Wait until your original return has been fully processed before you amend, and make sure you have saved a pdf of the original return before you amend. (If you do not save it as a pdf, the amended return will overwrite the original, and the original will be lost forever)   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/amend-change-correct-return-already-filed/L4VjJ9BA2_US_en_US?uid=m76mq6z2    Do not expect quick results from amending. It can take four months or more for the IRS to process an amended return.     You can watch for information here: https://www.irs.gov/Filing/Individuals/Amended-Returns-(Form-1040-X)/Wheres-My-Amended-Return-1  

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2025 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.   Sometimes it helps to just delete the child in MY INFO and then enter them again from scratch.

  You have to access your own account and/or  print it for yourself using exactly the same account and user ID that you used when you prepared the return.    https://myturbotax.intuit.com/   Start a 2025 return online and enter some personal information  so that the menu on the left opens up and lets you access your past year returns.   https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/prior-year-return/help/how-do-i-access-my-prior-year-return/01/27010     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/save-2021-turbotax-online-return-pdf/L8dHfRkpT_US_en_US?uid=m5y4ch1y   Many people have multiple TT accounts and forget how to access them.  Log out of the account you are in now.     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/many-intuit-accounts-turbotax/L9aVfKS1Z_US_en_US?uid=ll5g6zcx Account Recovery     Or did you use the desktop version of TurboTax?  If so, the files are on your own hard drive or any backup device you used like a flash drive.     hhttps://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/find-last-year-tax-data-file-tax-file-computer/L0XJvPaJr_US_en_US?uid=m6gufxei     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/data-systems/find-tax-data-file-mac/L4VNGm33S_US_en_US?uid=m6guhab0 You can get a free transcript from the IRS or for a fee of $30, an actual copy of your tax return. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf

"Is it better"?   The simple answer is to enter everything and let Turbotax pick the best method.   If you don't already itemize (because your normal itemized deductions are less than your standard deduction), adding gambling losses might push your itemized deductions higher than the standard so you would save some money by itemizing.  But Turbotax does these calculations for you.   If you are married filing separately, whether you choose itemized or standard deduction could affect your spouse's return.  But if you are single, married filing jointly, or filing head of household, then just let Turbotax pick the best deduction for you. 

You invest in an IRA or 401k to get the long term tax savings and have money when you retire, not because you might get a couple hundred dollars of a saver's credit from the feds.  The first question is, do you want to invest some more money for retirement? (Knowing that there are limits on withdrawing it before retirement)?   If you do want to invest more money for retirement than you already have, the next issue is that the 401k contribution rules and IRA contribution rules are different and don't add or subtract from each other.   The contribution limit for any kind of IRA is $7500 if you are under age 50.  It doesn't matter if you already contributed $10 or $10,000 to your 401k.    The third issue is that if you were covered by a workplace plan for even one pay period in 2025, then you follow the IRA rules for someone who is "covered" by a plan, even if your plan was not maxed out.   There are three ways you can contribute to an IRA. Traditional IRA pre-tax (deductible) Traditional IRA after-tax (non-deductible) Roth IRA (non-deductible)   At your income, you are probably disallowed from making a deductible contribution to a traditional IRA, but you should be eligible to contribute non-deductible funds to a traditional IRA or to a Roth IRA.  For several reasons, the Roth IRA is preferred if you are eligible.  Mixing pre-tax (deductible) and after-tax (non-deductible) contributions in a traditional IRA has some complications and paperwork issues that you need to know about.  Instead, if you already made a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA, you could reverse that and contribute to a Roth instead (that is called recharacterizing, and you would have your broker do that for you).   Then you could contribute additional funds directly to the Roth IRA.   

@redbullcaddy wrote: It was the California Franchise Tax Board, not the IRS, that assessed the penalty.  The penalty was assessed after I filed.  The IRS advises you to write "Los Angeles County Fires" on the top of the first page of your return if you are mailing the return. Are these returns being similarly flagged as entitled to the automatic extension to October 15, 2025 to file and pay if filed electronically with Turbo Tax?  You're asking the wrong question to the wrong people.  Anything the IRS tells you to do, and any benefit the IRS extends (like an extended deadline) is not automatically passed on to the state or binding on the state.  You would have to make sure the FTB also offered an extension (maybe they did, maybe they didn't, I don't live in CA).  You would have to check the FTB rules to see if there was any special procedure you were supposed to follow, and you need to call the FTB to straighten this out.