Error in Calfironia return calculation of quarterly payments

[MobileBarry]

I received a penalty on my California return. TruboTax calculates underpayment of quarterly payments for California as if it was the same as in 2022, but it is not.  We had until October 16, 2023 to file and pay taxes, but Turbo Tax calculates as if the taxes were underpaid throughout the year because in 2022, 60% of California tax was due by June 15. Paying Tax before Oct 16, 2023, was acceptable to California, but TurboTax doesn't know that, and produces a California Penalty.

[MonikaK1]

If a penalty for underpayment of estimated taxes is calculated by TurboTax, and you paid estimated taxes within the extended time period for California disasters:

Visit or revisit the Other Tax Situations section and review the Underpayment Penalty information to confirm it is correct. Go through the interview and follow the prompts; when you get to the Penalty Waivers screen, answer "yes" if you qualify for a disaster exception, then "yes" at the next screen to request a waiver of the penalty, in all or part. Enter the reason in the field provided.

If you live in a federally declared disaster area and met the special filing and payment deadlines for that disaster, you qualify for an automatic underpayment penalty waiver. Even if the penalty is calculated on the return, the IRS should not charge the penalty. 

See here for the IRS requirements for the California disasters for 2023.

If you get a notice from the IRS proposing to assess the penalty, see this IRS webpage for guidelines and next steps.

Because the Federal and state extended filing deadlines are available only for individuals living in areas impacted by official disaster declarations during specified dates, the deadlines themselves aren't updated in the software. The tax agencies made an administrative decision not to impose the penalties, but since the law itself didn't change, tax software including TurboTax still calculates the penalties. 

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief. However, if an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended filing, payment, or deposit due date falling within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

See here for related information from the California Franchise Tax Board.

[MobileBarry]

Thank you very much. I wish the lady I talked to at their tax expert help line knew something about that. She was trying to just get me to change the date on my tax payment and that didn’t sound right to me.

[MobileBarry]

Thank you. I wish the tax “expert” who I contacted through TurboTax knew this information. Instead she tried to get me to change the date I paid my taxes and that just didn’t seem correct.

Thanks again.