topic Federal efile for Home & Business should be free, not $40 in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Federal efile for Home & Business should be free, not $40

laoying1 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 15:50:35 GMT

I am using the desktop version of "Home and Business 2020"
I am getting something very confusing when I try to efile my Federal and Idaho tax returns for 2020.
The first screen says "we recommend e-filing". Underneath that it says "There's no additional cost to e-file your federal return" (see 1.jpg)
Then the next screen had me fill in all the PIN, Birthday, Last years AGI information
I skipped the Driver's license info
Then I efiled Idaho. It was my free state. It charged me $26.81
Then I went to efile my federal WHICH SHOULD BE FREE TO EFILE.
However, it says, "Deduct from your refund: There is an additional fee of $40 for this Refund Processing Service." (See 2.jpg)
OR "Use your credit card to charge your fees to your credit card"
I am really confused. I have always efiled Federal taxes with TurboTax Home and Business and was never charged this additional $40.
How do I file my Federal taxes with TurboTax Home and Business for free for tax year 2020?

Re: Federal efile for Home & Business should be free, not $40

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:01:00 GMT

That $40 fee is a refund processing fee that is charged if you choose to have the state e-filing fee deducted from your federal refund---a third party bank handles that. Don't do it. Pay the state e-file fee upfront using a debit or credit card and avoid the extra $40 fee, or better yet, instead of e-filing the state, print it and mail it for free. You can avoid the state e-file fee with the CD/download if you mail the state instead of e-filing it.

Re: Federal efile for Home & Business should be free, not $40

DoninGA — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:01:21 GMT

Apparently you chose to pay the state e-file fee with your federal tax refund instead of paying by credit card.

Remove the Refund Processing Service fee.

Go back and click on File. Go through all the various screens until you land on Confirm your payment decision where asked Do you still want your fees deducted from your federal tax refund? Select NO and Continue. On the next screen click on Charge my Credit Card

Re: Federal efile for Home & Business should be free, not $40

laoying1 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 21:09:59 GMT

Yes, it is Idaho for sure as you say. When I try to efile the federal alone, the $40 charge does not come up. So, why did TurboTax charge me $25 + sales tax ($26.81) up front (which I paid). That seems like a lot of service fees ($66.81) to file a state return. Is it like this for all states or just Idaho. TurboTax allowed me to file Idaho last year for a $26.80 charge but it didn't charge me $40 extra dollars. If I file the Federal first alone, then when I go to file Idaho, will the $40 go away? If not, then I would want to mail it in or file it on the Idaho website. How do I get TurboTax to refund the $26.81 to me, should I just ask them and they refund me? How would I go about asking for them to put the $26.81 back into my checking account (I paid the $26.81 by debit card).

Re: Federal e-file for Home & Business should be free, not $40

laoying1 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 21:11:40 GMT

Re: Federal e-file for Home & Business should be free, not $40

MichelleLO — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 21:26:22 GMT

If you are using TurboTax Home and Business, that includes one state download. Are you preparing a return for an additional state? If so, then you will have to pay an additional fee. The e-filing fee still applies.

For any billing concerns or to request a refund, you will need to reach out to TurboTax Customer Support via the link below. Use the keywords billing issues so you get to the right person.

What is the TurboTax phone number?

Re: Federal e-file for Home & Business should be free, not $40

DoninGA — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 21:26:58 GMT

The e-file charge for a state tax return when using the TurboTax desktop edition is currently $25 (plus any state sales tax). This e-file charge is for any state tax return e-filed (except New York state). That additional $40 was if you did not want to pay the state e-file charge with your credit/debit card but wanted to pay it from the federal tax refund. The $40 is a service fee by a third party processor who would receive your federal tax refund from the IRS, remove the TurboTax fee for the state e-filing and their service charge, then direct deposit the remaining federal tax refund into the account you selected for direct deposit.

If you paid the e-file fee of $25 plus tax but printed and mailed the state return instead, you can request a refund of that fee from TurboTax support.

Use the key words Billing Issue with using the TurboTax support website and do not use the word Refund or you will get a response for a tax refund.

Use this website to contact TurboTax support during business hours - https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/