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ksuegrz
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Why am I getting charged $44 to file my state taxes when all the commercials say free, free, free

 
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Why am I getting charged $44 to file my state taxes when all the commercials say free, free, free

Unfortunately, the "Free, free, free" commercial has a tiny footnote in the commercial saying if using "Free Edition."   TurboTax does have 2 free products, but you are not in one of them.   You appear to be using Deluxe Edition which is 59.99 for a Federal return, and 44.99 for a state return.  Also be aware if you choose the option to pay the fees out of the Federal refund, there is an additional 39.99 service fee (44.99 for California filers.)

I'll tell you about the 2 free products. 

If you started out in Free Edition (which is free for Federal and State),  you may have been forced to upgrade to Deluxe due to a situation in your return that Free Edition cannot handle.    Or perhaps you may have started out in Deluxe by mistake.

In any case the regular Free Edition is more limited this year due to tax law changes.    If you need any of the new Schedules 1-6, for instance, then you can't use Free Edition.    You can read about the new schedules at the link below.  If you click the blue "see schedule" link there, it will show you what each schedule looks like.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4511015-what-are-the-new-schedules


Here are some common things that cannot be handled by the regular Free Edition:

     Itemized deductions
     Business or 1099-MISC income
     Sales of stocks/mutual funds/bonds
     Rental property income
     Foreign Earned Income
     HSA
     Credits, deductions and income reported on the new schedules 1–6, such as the Student Loan Interest Deduction

If you are sure you could use the regular Free Edition, you could downgrade from Deluxe to Free Edition, as long as you have not paid or registered.  You would use the feature "Clear and start over."   Here's how:

TurboTax also  has another free product called the TurboTax Free File Program.  It is free for both Federal and State--IF you meet just one of the qualifications.   It can handle all the usual forms without the limitations of regular Free Edition. 

You have to meet only ONE of these qualifications:

1) 2018 AGI of $34,000 or less
or
2) Eligible for EIC (earned income credit)
or
3)  Active duty military including Reservists/ National Guard with military W-2 and 2018 AGI of $66,000 or less


NOTE:  If you switch to Free File Program by that method, and find out later you don't qualify,  you won't be able to go back to regular Online TurboTax in that same account.  So instead of switching that way, if you wish you could start a new account (User ID) at the Free File Program website, which would maintain the option of returning to the other Online TurboTax account, if necessary.
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