Turbotax wants an outrageous $250 state e-filiing fee!

[scott5763]

that article was no help, i already tried that.  

[TasnimH2]

Hi @VolvoGirl

We've just added a new containment link. This FAQ will help the users. They have to sign up to receive email notifications 😀

Link: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/why-am-i-not-able-to-e-file-my-state-return-after...

Thanks for your help on this

[TasnimH2]

Hi @macuser_22 

There is a new containment link for this in case users come in with similar issues. 

Link: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/why-am-i-not-able-to-e-file-my-state-return-after...

Thank you! 

[fa123]

@scott5763 Right, the article itself is totally useless (and I'd even say misleading), but I think the point (of @TasnimH2 and @VolvoGirl) is for users with this problem to click the link in there and sign up to receive the proper notification for an update.  I suppose the more people click there to raise the total count of those who face this problem, the greater the chances that Turbotax will allocate resources to fix it.

@TasnimH2and @VolvoGirl Thank you for setting up this containment link.  It would have been more accurate and would have avoided misunderstandings if this new containment link simply acknowledged that there is actually a bug in the current version of Turbotax that prevents people from filing their state returns, and Turbotax is trying to release a fix for this bug soon, and this is why people should sign up.  The way this containment thread reads now, it is as if everything about Turbotax is hunky-dory and the user's experience of not being able to file their state returns is because they have failed to properly check their returns for errors.  Not cool!

[svk585]

I am having same issue as @fa123 . I e filed my federal first and cannot e-file my state. it refuses to e-file my federal return because it has already e-filed it with the IRS. Any one received update on this bug?

[macuser_22]

See the link posted above.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/why-am-i-not-able-to-e-file-my-state-return-after-...

[scott5763]

great 🙂   the article states > This issue is scheduled to be resolved in a product update March 19, 2021.

[TasnimH2]

Hi @svk585 it's scheduled to be resolved by March 19. Please sign up below. 

Link: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/why-am-i-not-able-to-e-file-my-state-return-after...

Thank you for your patience.

[TasnimH2]

Hi @fa123 

We understand that this can be frustrating. It should be fixed by March 19. Please sign up for updates below:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/why-am-i-not-able-to-e-file-my-state-return-after-...

Thank you

[scott5763]

Just had an update 3/18 , 1 day early and i was now able to file NY 

thanks turbotax team

[fa123]

I installed the March 19 update and subsequently, was able to file my California state return, paying the $25 filing fee.  So, I suppose we can declare the two bugs we discussed in this thread as resolved: (1) the original bug that made Turbotax demand a $250 state e-filing fee; and (2) the bug that subsequently prevented filing of the state return after (i.e., not at the same time as) e-filing the federal return.

To be nit-pickingly precise, however, I think this latest (March 19) update does not "fully resolve" the second reported bug!    When it gets to the following stage, Turbotax still shows the status of my federal return as "transmitted" not "accepted" (although it certainly knows that it has actually been accepted). 

It is not incorrect for Turbotax to state that my federal return has been transmitted on this screen; but it is not accurate enough, either (because not only my federal return has been transmitted, Turbotax knows that it has also been accepted by the IRS). As @macuser_22 observed, the distinction between what Turbotax shows on this screen (transmitted) and what it reports it knows about the status of the federal return (accepted) matters at this point, because I was told that if the federal return has been merely transmitted, Turbotax --- by design --- refuses to proceed to e-file a state return (as a fraud prevention measure), whereas if the federal return has already been accepted, then state e-filing can proceed.  The point is that if the distinction between "transmitted" and "accepted" matters at this point, then Turbotax must correctly show this distinction on this screen.  Right now, it does not, and strictly speaking, this is a bug.  However, one can say that this is a harmless bug, because it merely misinforms, but it does not prevent correct behavior (because it no longer prevents e-filing of the state return).

Thanks for everyone's participation, and thanks to the development team for their update.

[macuser_22]

That is the "filing" screen to  transmit the return, not the status screen   Use the "Check e-file Status"  button at the top right to check the status.

[VolvoGirl]

To check the filing status in the Desktop program open your return and go up to menu item

File > Electronic Filing > Check Electronic Filing Status

Then save your return (File-Save) so the status is saved.  You might need to close your return and reopen it.

[fa123]

@macuser_22I *know* and that is exactly the point that I am making: the discrepancy between what is shown on the "filing" screen and what is shown on the "Check e-file status" screen.  The point is that I was told that this discrepancy was meaningful and was the reason that Turbotax refused to e-file my state return before the March 19 update.  If the distinction between "transmitted" and "accepted" shown on the "filing" screen is still supposed to be meaningful (as the grounds for Turbotax to refuse to e-file a stare return), then the fact that it shows "transmitted" on this screen instead of "accepted" is a bug.  Turbotax now knows that the federal return has been accepted and behaves correctly, in spite of the fact that on the screen where it is supposed to "justify" whether or not it is going to proceed to e-file the state return, the information that it shows (i.e., "transmitted") is incorrect/misleading.

Look, I filed both my federal and state returns and both have been accepted.  As I said, Turbotax now behaves correctly in this respect, so I don't really care what it says on this "filing" screen.  Nevertheless, as a matter of principle, what it shows on this screen is incorrect, because if the status of a federal return is shown as merely transmitted on this screen, I was told that the correct behavior of Turbotax is to refuse to e-file the state return.  After all, this was exactly the symptom of the bug that was resolved (i.e., that is the clue we used to localize the bug that was resolved).  Now the bug in the behavior has been resolved, but the symptom still (incorrectly) remains. 

What shows up on the "filing" screen must not be something other than what shows up on the "Check e-file status" screen.  It's as simple as that!

[fa123]

@VolvoGirlThank you.  I *know* how to check the status of my e-filed returns.  That is not my point.  Please read my post again, and also my earlier reply to @macuser_22 .

The fact that Turbotax now behaves correctly allowing to e-file the state return, and the fact that it knows and shows the correct status of the e-filed federal return on the "Check e-file status" screen is a relief.  Nevertheless, the fact that it shows something different on the e-file screen than what it shows on the "Check e-file status" screen *is* a bug (albeit a harmless one, because it merely misinforms).