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Topic: Help with Filing TurboTax Please  (Read 2082 times)

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Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« on: February 28, 2020, 11:46:59 AM »
Hello - We've completed TurboTax federal and state but are stymied with actual filing. We don't owe taxes, just need to pay for TT and the filing. They won't take our US Credit card because we have a UK billing address. Wondering if anyone has a solution, including having family in US buy us a Visa gift card if that would work. Has anyone tried just using a relative's card with permission?
H&R Block claims they do overseas returns but I don't know if the same problem would come up at the end.
Also, do states tend to have the same automatic 2-month extension as the IRS?
Anyone in the same boat?
A lot of questions, I know...

Thanks!


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2020, 12:07:07 PM »
I came across the same problem a couple of years ago. Fortunately I do also have a US credit card with a US address that works for now, until our daughter moves to Australia in a few years time.

Is it only the e-file that you need a US card for? Can you print out and mail in the return?  Or maybe use the entries in the fields that TT has calculated to then use fillable IRS forms.
Dual USC/UKC living in the UK since May 2016


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2020, 01:15:15 PM »
Yes, we might need to go the route of just paper filing; it was just going to be so convenient to do online as usual. Thought we had it made with a US card, and had some frustrating phone calls getting UK address into their system, thinking it was the right thing to do. We could try to change billing address to US relative if it will help in the long run.
And TT might have changed, at least on the version I was using. Doesn't seem to have a "forms view" as before which would have made it easier to transfer to actual forms.
Thanks!


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2020, 01:26:49 PM »
Yes, we might need to go the route of just paper filing; it was just going to be so convenient to do online as usual. Thought we had it made with a US card, and had some frustrating phone calls getting UK address into their system, thinking it was the right thing to do. We could try to change billing address to US relative if it will help in the long run.
And TT might have changed, at least on the version I was using. Doesn't seem to have a "forms view" as before which would have made it easier to transfer to actual forms.
Thanks!

I think that to get the "forms view" you need to have the downloaded version on your PC/Laptop. A real disadvantage of the online version I think. I like to have the downloaded version because my son does his return each year on my laptop plus I like to run different scenarios to optimise things like IRA to Roth conversions. (You can file up to 5 returns for each downloaded copy of TT)
Dual USC/UKC living in the UK since May 2016


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #4 on: February 29, 2020, 09:26:37 PM »
Had same problem, we’ve always used Taxact to do our tax return calculations, and then at end print and mail paper forms off.

This year get to the end and payment screen insisted on US address, tried a old US address but payment rejected as address doesn’t match card billing address.

In the end had to get my Brother in law to read his card info over the phone and then PayPal’d him the money.

Had a look at turbo tax and tax slayer and same thing, can’t pay of don’t have a US credit or debit card, which after living over here for 14 years we no longer have.

If anyone has any suggestions of prep websites that take non US payment or any kind of virtual us debit card, I’d love to hear about it.


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2020, 01:43:43 PM »
Thanks - I'm assuming we could just enter US-based sister's CC into Turbotax from here in the UK and that would work? Thinking that must be done all the time - parents paying for kids overseas for example. Or would we need to do something by phone?


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2020, 01:47:40 PM »
Thanks - I'm assuming we could just enter US-based sister's CC into Turbotax from here in the UK and that would work? Thinking that must be done all the time - parents paying for kids overseas for example. Or would we need to do something by phone?

It certainly worked for us with Taxact, I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t with Turbotax, they don’t seem to care who’s card is used, as long as it has a US billing address.


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2020, 12:46:15 AM »
I use TaxAct and had a U.K address on my U.S. debit card, works well. TaxAct have a good customer support team, start a chat. No reason you can't pay with a U.K. debit card... I'm sure I've done that before also.

Payment Card Industry requires an account address to match. Possibly an ip issue with SCA/MFA of issuing bank


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #8 on: March 02, 2020, 12:49:10 AM »
I use TaxAct and had a U.K address on my U.S. debit card, works well. TaxAct have a good customer support team, start a chat. No reason you can't pay with a U.K. debit card... I'm sure I've done that before also.

Payment Card Industry requires an account address to match. Possibly an ip issue with SCA/MFA of issuing bank

Previous years had no problem but this is a new change, if you don't have a U.S card you can't pay the fee. This was their support response:

"Unfortunately, due to increased difficulty working with foreign-issued credit cards and foreign banks, TaxAct has changed policy to require a payment source to have a US-based mailing address and be issued by a US-based financial institution."


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #9 on: March 02, 2020, 01:10:43 AM »
Wow,  I wonder if that means debit cards too! For those with no one Stateside this could be the end of TaxAct going forward. I wonder what others are using?

Perhaps you could change your address to your last one in the U.S., then pay TaxAct, then more the address back to the U.K. Maybe Transferwise Boarderless account, but you'd still need a U.S. address.


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2020, 02:46:47 PM »
Previous years had no problem but this is a new change, if you don't have a U.S card you can't pay the fee. This was their support response:

"Unfortunately, due to increased difficulty working with foreign-issued credit cards and foreign banks, TaxAct has changed policy to require a payment source to have a US-based mailing address and be issued by a US-based financial institution."

This is exactly what I found. I do have a US credit card and a US bank but both have my UK address associated with them. Fortunately I still have my US Amex card so I changed the address on that to my daughter's address in LA.
Dual USC/UKC living in the UK since May 2016


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #11 on: June 09, 2020, 12:15:31 AM »
Had same problem, we’ve always used Taxact to do our tax return calculations, and then at end print and mail paper forms off.

This year get to the end and payment screen insisted on US address, tried a old US address but payment rejected as address doesn’t match card billing address.

In the end had to get my Brother in law to read his card info over the phone and then PayPal’d him the money.

Had a look at turbo tax and tax slayer and same thing, can’t pay of don’t have a US credit or debit card, which after living over here for 14 years we no longer have.

If anyone has any suggestions of prep websites that take non US payment or any kind of virtual us debit card, I’d love to hear about it.

I also use TaxAct and ran into the same problem for the first time this year; i.e. I couldn't pay TaxAct because I don't have a credit card with a US address.  The solution, as recommended to me by someone in TaxAct's customer service, is as follows:

For the address line, enter the first line of your real foreign address; e.g. 123 High Street.
For the rest of the address details, use TaxAct's own US address.  The city is "Cedar Rapids", the state is "Indiana", and the zip is "52402".
Then enter your credit card number, card holder's name, etc, as normal.

This worked for both me and my sons.  :)


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #12 on: June 09, 2020, 01:45:23 AM »
I also use TaxAct and ran into the same problem for the first time this year; i.e. I couldn't pay TaxAct because I don't have a credit card with a US address.  The solution, as recommended to me by someone in TaxAct's customer service, is as follows:

For the address line, enter the first line of your real foreign address; e.g. 123 High Street.
For the rest of the address details, use TaxAct's own US address.  The city is "Cedar Rapids", the state is "Indiana", and the zip is "52402".
Then enter your credit card number, card holder's name, etc, as normal.

This worked for both me and my sons.  :)

This is fantastic and will really be helpful. I wonder though; how this gets by the payment card issuer/mechant checks of holder to address on file. Perhaps TaxAct's address has been whitlisted, or maybe any U.S. address might work in the same format as outlined.


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2020, 09:15:34 AM »
I suspect it was whitelisted.  But it would be interesting to test the hypothesis, say by ordering a product or service from a different US merchant using the first line of your own foreign address and the US merchant's city, state, and zip for the rest of the details.  I suspect it wouldn't work, and the transaction would be declined.  Worst case scenario, your credit card company might suspect a fishy transaction and freeze your card, so best tested with a non-essential credit card.  (And for a product, you'd still need to enter your foreign address for delivery and that in it's own right might likely kill the transaction.)

Had the TaxAct trick not worked, I would have next tried using a virtual pre-paid card offered by US Unlocked which provides you a US billing address.  (And for products, you can use one of the shipping address of one of their US re-packagers who forward it on to you.)

For TaxAct though, I was pleased that the trick worked because I wasn't looking forward to trying to use a more complicated (and more costly) system like US Unlocked.


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Re: Help with Filing TurboTax Please
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2020, 03:27:31 PM »
I suspect it was whitelisted.  But it would be interesting to test the hypothesis, say by ordering a product or service from a different US merchant using the first line of your own foreign address and the US merchant's city, state, and zip for the rest of the details.  I suspect it wouldn't work, and the transaction would be declined.  Worst case scenario, your credit card company might suspect a fishy transaction and freeze your card, so best tested with a non-essential credit card.  (And for a product, you'd still need to enter your foreign address for delivery and that in it's own right might likely kill the transaction.)

Had the TaxAct trick not worked, I would have next tried using a virtual pre-paid card offered by US Unlocked which provides you a US billing address.  (And for products, you can use one of the shipping address of one of their US re-packagers who forward it on to you.)

For TaxAct though, I was pleased that the trick worked because I wasn't looking forward to trying to use a more complicated (and more costly) system like US Unlocked.
US Unlocked looks like a good alternative, but reading between the lines the membership fee would be uneconomic. You'd need to fund the card via ACH, meaning they would draw that fee monthly for what would be $50 or so TaxAct payment (if your trick had not worked).
I wonder if anyone on this forum has used US Unlocked or perhaps have experiences with other similar methods?


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