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For Form 540 (Residents):Attach a copy of your federal return unless you are filing the simplified Form 540 2EZ. The federal return should be placed after your California-specific forms and schedules. Include a copy of any W-2 and any other form that shows tax withheld. 

Looks like you are posting from the Online version.  You can’t apply the License Code to the Online version.  Do you have the 16 digit License Code from Amazon?   You probably got an email with the License Code.      People who bought the Desktop program have accidentally got into the Online version.  If you have a License Code you need to install the Desktop Download program and not use the Online version.  How to install with a License Code https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/activating-turbotax-cd-download-software/00/852971   If you entered your info into the Online version you can move it to the Desktop program without paying for Online.   To continue in the desktop version see this……. https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/choosing-a-product/help/how-do-i-switch-from-turbotax-online-to-the-turbotax-software/00/26129

This expert answer still does not explain how we get the number in 3b therefore no idea how to explain that number. Now I read the following very helpful discussion and found out that mine is due to HSA.

We see people get confused and they keep logging in to online software which will require them to pay at the end.   You need to use the desktop software.   One way to tell if you are using the right software---your tool bar.   Online software has the toolbar in a black vertical column on the left side of the screen.   Desktop software has the tools up on the top of your TT screen.     You appear to be posting from online software instead of the desktop CD/download software that the license code is for.  If you are using online, you are using the wrong program.  You need to switch to the desktop software to get what you paid for.  You have to download it, update it and open it up from your own hard drive to use it.     https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/choosing-a-product/help/how-do-i-switch-from-turbotax-online-to-the-turbotax-software/00/26129         HOW TO DOWNLOAD FROM AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G2CJPY7HHXBLMR5E

Ok - got it  What about this scenario: Taxpayer chooses to E-File and, subsequently, selects "mail a check".   Because the return was e-filed, the balance will appear within a week or so of E-Filing.  Accordingly, taxpayer waits a week or so, logs into his or her account at the IRS website and chooses to make a payment.  Taxpayer can either: *  pay the full amount due *  request an installment payment plan *  pay a "partial" amount Correct?   Also, has the IRS limited the filing of tax returns to E-File only after September 30, 2025? Can federal tax returns be mailed after September 30th and accepted by the IRS? IRS website is not entirely clear on this issue.       

Did you wait to amend until you got the first original refund (or paid the tax due)?   When you amend you may have to pay back some of the first refund.  How are you calculating the tax?   Go by the actual 1040X.  Line 18 should be your original refund amount and line 22 should be your additional refund.  If you paid on your original return it will be on line 16.  If there is an amount owed with the amendment, it will be on line 20.   When you enter one taxable transaction, you can't just watch the monitor.  You increased your overall adjusted gross income and with that come many other changes in your return, not just the incremental tax on the one transaction.   Like for example it increased your AGI and that would decrease some deductions if you itemized on Schedule A.  And by increasing your AGI it might reduce some credits you were getting like EIC.  And can make more of any Social Security taxable.  

Are you using TurboTax? This TurboTax support community is run by Intuit, the company that makes TurboTax, to help its customers use TurboTax to prepare their tax returns. If you are using TurboTax you should not be filling out Form 8949 or Schedule D yourself. Enter your investment sales using the TurboTax interview, and TurboTax will make the appropriate entries on the forms for you. When you enter a wash sale, check the box that says "I have other boxes on my 1099-B to enter." It will then give you a place to enter the wash sale loss from the 1099-B.  

What do you mean by TurboTax "calculating my tax rate at over 50%"? Is that the overall rate applied to all of your income, or the rate that it is applying to the added short-term capital gain? Where exactly do you see a 50% tax rate? Be specific - form numbers, line numbers, and exact amounts. Depending on your other income, you might be subject to Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT), which increases the total tax rate on investment income (though not to 50%). Is there an amount on Schedule 2 line 12? That is NIIT. You cannot just compare the total amount of tax before and after you add the short-term capital gain. Adding income to a tax return can have side effects besides the direct tax on the added income. The increase in income could reduce or eliminate various deductions or credits that are not related to the income that was added, but that have income-based limits or phase-outs. If you received Social Security benefits it could make more of your Social Security taxable. You have to compare your entire Form 1040 (not 1040-X) line by line before and after adding the short-term capital gain to see what else is changing besides the amount of capital gain. If there's a change in an amount that comes from another form or schedule, you have to look at that form or schedule to see what's happening.  

Did you already file your 2023 return?   Then it’s too late to change it.  If the bank rejects the deposit they will send it back to the IRS or state and then the IRS will mail a check to the address on your return.

You cannot get a loan from TurboTax at this time. TurboTax usually offers refund advances in January and February, but only after your tax return has been filed. They have not yet announced a refund advance policy for 2025 tax returns.  

Your best bet is to obtain an identity protection PIN (IP PIN) from the IRS.  I suggest you go to irs.gov and apply for one online.  If you're married, both you and your spouse should get the ID PIN.  The caveat is that once you've obtained an ID Pin, you will be using that, instead of your SSN, to file every one of your future tax return.  IRS will give you a new ID PIN every year, via email, or you can log back into your IRS account to get it.  You will no longer be able to use your SSN to file your returns.  Click on this link for details.  Save your IRS sign in information.   Get an identity protection PIN | Internal Revenue Service   You may also want to freeze your credit account at all three of the major credit reporting agencies, Experian,  TransUnion and  Equifax.  Make sure you save your sign in information as you will need to unfreeze the accounts whenever you apply for credit.

The reason the Enter Payments You've Already Made screen only asks for  Payments 1, 2, & 3 is that TT will subtract those three payments from the total 2025 ES taxes it calculated to arrive at Payment 4, due Jan 15, 2026.   Withholding is generally considered being paid evenly throughout the year unless you tell the IRS otherwise on Form 2210, 2024 Form 2210.  IRS knows the exact date of when each quarterly ES payment was made.   When you wrote, "If a withholding is made on lets say 10/2/2025", did you actually mean "withholding", if so, enter that on the first screen under "Form W-4 and estimated taxes", Adjust How Much Tax You Pay and answer Yes.   If you meant to say ES taxes paid on 10/2/2025, then I would include that in Payment 3 for this purpose.  However, since the ES were not paid evenly throughout the year before the due date, you will probably be charged an underpayment penalty for 2025, unless you use the annualize method to calculate your penalties.