My old employer released my 401k and had it distributed to me. Making it to where I have to pay for the deluxe package for my federal return. Why do I have to pay state?

[breeharp18]

I’m paying the $49 to file my federal tax return under the deluxe option since the free version doesn’t have the necessary docs. It has me paying for my state tax return as well for $39 and it’s not under the deluxe option. Why do I have to pay for my state tax to be filed? How do I get it to free?

[VolvoGirl]

Sorry if you use a paid version for federal you have to pay for state.  State is only free if you use the Free Edition for federal.    Why did you have to upgrade to Deluxe?  You can enter a 1099R into the Free Edition.  Did you owe a early withdrawal penalty on it?  

Or you might qualify for the IRS Free File
https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free

[xmasbaby0]

Sorry----when you upgrade to a paid version for federal you also pay for preparing the state.   If you want to delete the state and prepare the state somewhere else like your state's tax site, you can do that.

DELETE STATE

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/state-taxes/delete-state-return-turbotax...

CONTACT THE STATE

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/state-taxes/contact-state-department-rev...

[breeharp18]

Yes, I owed an early withdrawal penalty on it as I’m only 23 and only had the 401k for about a year or so. I’m in a rough spot financially and don’t want to have to pay $88 to file my taxes. I’d be fine with paying the $49 to file my federal if I needed. But filing my state for another $39 that doesn’t have an upgrade on it because it wasn’t needed is a little disheartening. It wouldn’t let me do the 1099R without upgrading. Any ideas on what might help?

[xmasbaby0]

Or—-Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

Or—if you live in certain states you may be eligible to use the new IRS Direct File

In Filing Season 2025, Direct File will be available in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

https://directfile.irs.gov/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2629