Which state should be chosen if I am not living in US now?

[mesquitebean · Accepted solution]

Chosen for "what?"

Are you in the MY INFO section and asking about the question #2 ("Tell us the states you lived in") where it asks for your state of residence on December 31, 2018?    

You answer according to where you lived on that date.  If you did not live in the USA on December 31, 2018, scroll way down the list of states and at the bottom right after Wyoming you will see a choice "Foreign or US Possession."

[brettng]

I mean when I pay for the return, the “view payment option - Pay with your credit card” requires me to indicate the “state”, my “phone number”, etc.

I also saw the statement “Live outside the U.S.? No problem! Just make sure to pay for TurboTax with a credit card from a U.S. based financial institution.”

However, I am now living outside US.  So what should I fill in all the blanks?

Thank you!

[mesquitebean]

I don't know if I can help you with that or not.  I might be able to find another thread where that is addressed.  Let me see if I can find anything on it in another answer in this user community forum.

Is your credit card indeed from a US financial institution, and your credit card account has a required US billing address?

[mesquitebean]

If your USA-based credit card does have a USA billing address, then did you by any chance happen to have purchased the optional MAX Defend & Restore product?    I know that with MAX it will ask for a state and zip, and some have suggested a workaround, or one can delete MAX.

[brettng]

I have even deleted MAX, and it showed the following statement:
"We are sorry, we are having trouble authorizing your credit card. Please verify your billing address, card number, and CVV and try again."

What should I really do to solve the problem?

Please note that my credit card was issued in Hong Kong from banks (such as HSBC and Standard Chartered), and my living address is currently outside US.  So, does it mean I cannot use TurboTax?

[mesquitebean]

The credit card has to have a US billing address.  Does your card have a US billing address? And the card has to be US-based.

Also see this FAQ:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900705-can-i-e-file-with-a-foreign-address">https://ttlc.intuit.c...>

There is an option that some people can use to pay the TurboTax fees out of the Federal refund, but that requires a US bank account with a US billing address, too.

[mesquitebean]

See the info I added above.   Only you will know the specifics of your credit card and how it was issued.   The FAQ in the comment above has the requirements.    If your card is a US-based card with a USA billing address, but the address on your return is a foreign mailing address, there may be a workaround to get around the "State and zip code" issue.   

This is mainly a user community forum, and I'm a fellow user.   If you are using a US-based card with US billing address, but you continue to have problems due to your foreign mailing address, are you able to phone 800 numbers in the USA on Tuesday to speak to TurboTax Support?  (won't be free from foreign).    They are closed Monday for Memorial Day.

FAQ:  What is the TurboTax phone number?  
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263">https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263</a>

(hours 5AM-5PM Pacific; 8AM-8PM Eastern; Monday-Friday)

Or if you have Twitter or Facebook, you can message a TurboTax Support agent directly with one of those:

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax">https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax</a>
or
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/turbotax">https://www.facebook.com/turbotax</a>

[mesquitebean]

I just found this thread that TurboTax answered last year that has another possible pathway by asking a US relative with US billing address pay with their US card:

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4355226-how-do-i-pay-my-turbo-tax-fee-with-a-us-american-express-c...>