I'm pretty sure that at least in California this isn't true. IIRC if your taxes are normal enough (low enough amount, just a W-2) you can actually login to the

I'm pretty sure that at least in California this isn't true. IIRC if your taxes are normal enough (low enough amount, just a W-2) you can actually login to the California tax site and it can automatically compute your refund for you. I think my girlfriend used this once - I may be remembering incorrectly though.