I saw one user say he tried to efile his return and was unable. Turbo tax said you cannot efile using the online "basic" turbotax program. Is this correct

[Bulldog1947]

And if unable to efile using the basic program, what program must you upgrade to?

[xmasbaby0]

You misunderstood.   You can e-file a tax return using any version of TurboTax.   If your e-file is rejected post back with the rejection message or rejection code.

[DoninGA]

All the TurboTax programs, either online or desktop, can e-file a federal and state tax return.

Online - https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/

Desktop - https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/

[Bulldog1947]

thanks for the quick response. I had heard (also) that filing by  mail was a terrible idea as the IRS are so backlogged that some 2020 paper filers are still waiting for their results. So efiling is the only way to go from here forward.

[EbonyA]

In general, using the e-file option vs filing by mail is undoubtedly a quicker method (providing that there are no issues that cause your return to take longer to process). You may review this resource for further details.