Somewhere this community discussion it says you only need the federal 1040 for filing an Illinois return if you have retirement income.

[korz1]

I usually file state electronically, but my son's return was so simple, I figured I'd save $25 and file by mail.  When I printed out the illinois return and 1) there's no address to send to (it would be nice if you included it, because it's here on the website, so you know what the address is), and 2) his federal 1040 was included.  I looked in the community here and there was an answer that said you only need to include the federal 1040 if you have retirement income.  So I was puzzled why it was included.  I searched for an answer to this question again later, after I had logged in (and struggled to find this community page), and found a DIFFERENT answer that said the federal 1040 is needed for all illinois returns.  If that's true, then that other, incorrect answer should be deleted or corrected.

[Karis_F]

You will need to attach a copy of the federal Form 1040 when you paper file the Illinois tax return.

In the File section in TurboTax Online, you can select File by mail for the state return, and the tax return printout will include filing instructions, including the mailing address.

Here are instructions on how to file your return by mail in TurboTax.

[korz1]

Your abswer is to my other question.  This question is about the ncorrect answer regarding attaching my federal return only if there is retirement income.

Regarding your answer, “File by mail” is an option only on the federal page, not on the state page.  If you choose e-file for federal, the next page only allows e-file state or “do not e-file… I’ll do it later.”

Going back around after e-filing federal, you get the same screens.  It is not intuitive to choose “file by mail” on the first page under File a Return, because in big blue letters it says “We Recommend E-filing Your Federal Return.”  Why would I think to choose “File by mail” on this page?

I did try “File by mail” & Continue, which allows you to print state & choose to not print federal, but as I said, it is counterintuitive.

Someone should address the issue of the incorrect answer I’m reporting in my question.

[RobertB4444]

Can you please provide a link to the incorrect answer that you found?  I'm not finding it in my search.