Is there a way to efile a ny state return without going through a vendor ? It seems unreasonable
To pay $20 for the privilege of efiling a return that you have already paid $40 or $50 to
Prepare using vendor software. Will the state only accept an efile from one of their
Sanctioned vendors (who I assume have paid for this licensing or whatever it is) - if so why
Does the state allow a secondary rip-off like this. :confused:

Filing electronically and charging (in my opinion) a VERY reasonable $20 fee is NOT a rip-off (unlike the Refund Anticipation Loans which charge exorbitant fees to get your OWN money back tomorrow instead of in two weeks).

The vendor has to maintain on file additional paperwork associated with the efiling process, plus submit fingerprints and undergo a background check by the IRS to be authorized to do efiling.

The additional burdens associated with this process MORE than justifies the $20 efile fee, which, BTW, is rather cheap, especially if it includes BOTH the federal and the NY state return. I have seen efile fees as high as $100 in the industry.