TurboTax: California Storms Delayed Filing.

I'm just now working on my taxes for the calendar year 2023.
(My IRS Form 1040 for my taxes due for FY 2023 is due on April 15, 2024.)

After making a first pass through TurboTax and printing a draft of my 1040, I noticed I was being charged a $400 tax penalty (line 38 of form 1040) for sending in my estimated payments in October 2023 instead of by April 15, 2023.

But, we had big storms throughout California from December 2022 through Match 2023, and the IRS (and the California FTB) explicitly ruled that all payments normally due by April 15th could be deferred until October 17, 2023 because of the disaster.) So, how do you tell that to TurboTax to get rid of the penalty?

Here's how (Maybe! I'm just "Bob Q. Taxpayer" (an amateur), so bear that in mind.) In TurboTax I looked at the data source for the penalty on line 38, and it led to IRS Form 2210 (underpayment of estimated taxes.) It seems that you can just check "box A" under Part II of that form and the penalty magically disappears. Free money (I guess)!

Note that TurboTax and you are not required to send in Form 2210 when box A is checked (for a federally declared emergency). Therefore, in TurboTax under Forms you may not see 2210 or see that it has not been done. Nonetheless, if you see a penalty at line 38 of the 1040, then you know that form 2210 was used by TurboTax to calculate it. Then you can find it back tracking from the data source for the estimated penalty on line 38.

Here are the IRS's instructions for Form 2210.

Federally declared disaster. Certain estimated tax payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in a federally declared disaster area are postponed for a period during and after the disaster. During the processing of your tax return, the IRS automatically identifies taxpayers located in a covered disaster area (by county or parish) and applies the appropriate penalty relief. Don't file Form 2210 if your underpayment was due to a federally declared disaster. If you still owe a penalty after the automatic waiver is applied, the IRS will send you a bill.

Here is the original announcement on IRS.gov of the delay of filing deadlines in 2023. Note that this disaster was declared by FEMA for most counties in California (and, of course, only applied for tax filings and payments in 2023.)

It's an ill wind that blows no good.

BTW, if you're a tax pro or a tax auditor (my dad was!) and I've got this wrong, please let me know.