“For years, Intuit misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit. “Intuit cheated millions of low-income Americans out of free tax filing services they were entitled to,” James wrote in a press release. James said the tactic targeted low-income consumers in particular.įilers who used TurboTax’s Free Edition for tax years 2016 through 2018 will be mailed a check for approximately $30 for each year they were charged when they should have been able to use free services. James’ office said its investigation came after a 2019 ProPublica report accused the company of steering eligible clients away from federally supported tax filing products by making them difficult to find in web searches - instead directing them toward the paid version of the company’s filing services. (INTU) said that it “admitted no wrongdoing” as part of the agreement and it expects “minimal impact to its business” from the changes demanded in the future. The settlement, announced Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said about 4.4 million customers were “unfairly charged.” Intuit must also suspend its “free, free, free” ad campaign because it falsely lured customers with the promise of free tax preparation services, the statement added. Eligible customers can expect to receive an email from this administrator regarding their payment size.Intuit, the owner of tax filing software TurboTax, has agreed to pay $141 million in a settlement with all 50 states for allegedly steering millions of low-income Americans away from free tax-filing services. The settlement is being handled by a third party administrator. Checks will be mailed out throughout May, so recipients can expect to get theirs between now and early June. ![]() If you are an eligible customer, you won’t have to do anything at all to receive your piece of the settlement from TurboTax. How do I get a TurboTax settlement check? While some Americans are eligible for up to $85 in repayment, James’ office estimates that the average payment will fall between $29 and $30. It depends on how many years each taxpayer was affected. In the timeframe laid out in the settlement, the threshold to use TurboTax's IRS Free File offer was $34,000. The income threshold for IRS Free File eligibility differs by year, and the individual partners can set their own limits. You must also have not used TurboTax’s IRS Free File in previous years. Those eligible include taxpayers who filed using TurboTax for tax years 2016, 2017 or 2018, met the income requirements for Free File, and began to file with the free edition before being wrongfully told they were ineligible - and ultimately pushed to pay for services. Get Started Who qualifies for a TurboTax settlement check?Ībout 4.4 million qualifying Americans will receive payments from Intuit. ![]() ![]() On Thursday, several of those attorneys general published news releases with the update that the TurboTax refund checks are now actually being distributed.Īnthem Tax Relief provides a full menu of tax relief services to help clients get out from under the yoke of tax debt. Since the original settlement was brokered with attorneys general from nine states last year, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto it. “Intuit aggressively marketed a TurboTax Free Edition that in reality was hardly ever free,” said then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a news release after the coalition reached the $141 million settlement with Intuit in May 2022. It has since left the initiative.)Īfter the report surfaced, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a multistate investigation into the company, ultimately corroborating the report and accusing Intuit of deceptive marketing practices. (Americans under a certain income threshold are eligible to file their federal taxes for free through the IRS Free File program, which TurboTax was part of at the time. The settlement marks the close of an investigation into the tax filing service prompted by a 2019 ProPublica report that found Intuit was deliberately steering TurboTax users who qualified for free filing toward fee-based products. Hawaii Alaska Florida South Carolina Georgia Alabama North Carolina Tennessee RI Rhode Island CT Connecticut MA Massachusetts Maine NH New Hampshire VT Vermont New York NJ New Jersey DE Delaware MD Maryland West Virginia Ohio Michigan Arizona Nevada Utah Colorado New Mexico South Dakota Iowa Indiana Illinois Minnesota Wisconsin Missouri Louisiana Virginia DC Washington DC Idaho California North Dakota Washington Oregon Montana Wyoming Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma Pennsylvania Kentucky Mississippi Arkansas Texas Get Started Why is TurboTax sending out refund checks?
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