I hope everyone is calling Lacerte and expressing their concerns.
I agree that Lacerte needs to fix the underpayment penalty calculation for the Jan 2023 estimate not having to be paid until May 15. And also fix the penalty for late payment and late filing for returns on extension after May 15 since the due date is May , not April.
For tax return instruction letter purposes for every module, as tax preparers we have to solve the problem ourselves. My solution is to put at the beginning of the instruction letter for every module :
IF you live in or have a business in a "qualifying" County, then the 2022 tax due to the IRS and CA FTB can be paid May 15 and the first 2023 IRS and CA FTB estimated tax payment can be paid May 15. For qualifying counties, please look at
