How to enter disaster information for TurboTax to generate necessary e-file note for Los Angeles fire automatic extension?

[once-a-year]

How to enter disaster information for TurboTax to generate necessary e-file note for Los Angeles fire automatic extension?

[MindyB]

This extension is automatic- you do not need to e-file a note to the IRS.  

The IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and applies filing and payment relief. See: IRS announces tax relief for taxpayers impacted by wildfires in California; various deadlines postpo... for more information.

[CelBar]

Your response is not correct, as far as California taxes go.

The California Franchise Tax Board specifically says that you should write, "Los Angeles County Fire," on the top of your return to notify them of why you are filing late (by the extended October 15 deadline).

https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/when-to-file/los-angeles-county-fires.html

I am also wondering how to do this with TurboTax.

[fanfare]

You may have to print , write the annotation yourself and mail it in.

@CelBar 

[CelBar]

Thanks for the reply. It's hard to believe that's what everyone in Los Angeles county affected by the fires is doing, let alone that any CPA doing someone's taxes is doing this. Is there really no way to add notes in TurboTax?

[AmeliesUncle]

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@CelBar wrote:

Is there really no way to add notes in TurboTax?

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Are you using the Online version or are you using the CD/downloaded desktop version?

I could be wrong, but I suspect there is not a way to do it using the Online version.  

I could be wrong, but I am GUESSING that you CAN do it using the CD/downloaded desktop version.  You would go into the "Forms" Mode, then to the California general information sheet.  I suspect it is somewhere on there (that is where it is in the version that tax professionals use).

[CelBar]

Thanks for the reply. I am using the downloaded/desktop version.

I just discovered that when you do the walk through for California taxes, toward the end, in the "Other tax situations" section, there is an item called "Special Processing Conditions." When you click on that, first it asks you if you were out of the country on April 15 and on the next page it asks you if you experienced a disaster and there is a blank in which to enter the name of the disaster.

If I then click on forms, I can see that TurboTax entered the name of the disaster under "Special condition text" in section VI of the Info Worksheet. And on the worksheet above the box for the disaster name it states "prints at the top of form 540," which is exactly what California says you should do.

So you're right that there is a form for this, but there is actually an entry, as I described, in the regular walk through that handles it without having to go to the form.

So TurboTax (at least desktop version) does handle this. I don't know about for other states, but at least for California I can verify this.

[AmeliesUncle]

Thanks for the update!