If you see a "Turbotax Desktop $45 premium service fee applies" message appear on the "How would you like to Pay" screen just before eFiling, it is because the "How would you like to Pay" window defaults to the button labeled "Pay with Federal Refund" for your State eFiling fee. You can avoid the $45 fee by choosing to pay with a credit card.
There is no message on the Turbotax screen to tell you that paying with a credit card would avoid this $45 fee. Even if you click on the "Pay with credit card" button, the $45 message will not go away, so it looks you will still be charged the $45. It isn't until you enter all your credit card information that the final screen shows you the amount to be billed on your card will not include this $45 fee.
I sent feedback to TurboTax saying that the "How Would You Like To Pay" screen should have a clear message to explain to users the $45 fee only applies if you choose to pay the State filing fee from your Federal refund, and that the screen should immediately remove the "$45 Turbotax Premium Service Applies" message if the user highlights the "Pay with credit card" button instead.
