Turbotax refund for free#
Turbotax refund software#
Turbotax refund free#

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Turbotax refund free#

You are are free to republish it so long as you do the following: Thank you for your interest in republishing this story. We will not voluntarily share the information you provide without talking to you first. If you do talk to a customer service representative or supervisor, let us know what happens by filling out this short questionnaire. We’d like to know how those calls are going. We know TurboTax customer service has been fielding a lot of calls from people asking for refunds. Collectively 12 companies offer Free File versions of their products to all Americans making less than $66,000.

Turbotax refund software#

TurboTax directed Foy to a paid version because she had to fill out the student loan interest form.Ĭomplicating matters more, while TurboTax offers its Free File edition - the truly free version - to those making below $34,000, other tax software companies each have their own eligibility rules for their Free File programs, based on income, age, and location. “When I was using the system, I kept trying to find my way back to the Free File page, but it seemed like I was locked in,” Foy said. Nicole Foy, a 2016 college graduate who works as a reporter in Idaho and meets the income requirements for TurboTax’s free service, told ProPublica that TurboTax ended up charging her $105 to file her taxes. Judging by accounts from readers, the result is that Intuit is profiting especially off people with lower incomes and difficult financial circumstances.

Turbotax refund for free#

When we used the hypothetical tax information of two Americans who should have been able to file for free - a TaskRabbit house cleaner and a Walgreens cashier without health insurance, each making under $34,000 - TurboTax “Free Edition” required us to upgrade and pay. In contrast, TurboTax “Free Edition” is only free for those with the simplest tax situations, such as people who only have income reported on a W-2 tax form. If you made under $34,000, you should have been able to use the truly free version: TurboTax Free File. These people as well as others who have prepared taxes for friends and family should check to make sure that people who were eligible to file for free were not charged. People who are independent contractors or who have student loans and others making less than $34,000 are more likely to have unnecessarily paid. (And thanks.) Who Is Affected and How It Works If you call or email, we’d appreciate if you let the person you speak with know we have a questionnaire they can fill out. If you do reach out to the company, we have a request: We’re curious about the calls from the customer service side of the line too. We showed on Monday how TurboTax buries the landing page for the real Free File edition and instead systematically pushes users to the “Free Edition,” which actually puts many people on track to pay. But, as ProPublica has previously reported, very few of those eligible - under 3% - actually use Free File. In exchange, the IRS has pledged not to compete with the companies by creating its own free, online system. Intuit and other tax software companies promised the IRS to offer free versions of their products to most Americans as part of a program called Free File. If you’ve got audio of a call or copies of correspondence, you can upload that below as well. Fill it out and let us know what the company is telling you ( or click here). We’ve added a brief questionnaire to the bottom of this page. The company hasn’t answered our questions. We’ve repeatedly asked Intuit about its refund policy.

Please switch me to that edition and refund the price difference.” I was supposed to have used the TurboTax Freedom Edition, or TurboTax IRS Free File edition.Īccording to the IRS’ official website, because I make less than $34,000 per year, I am eligible for the TurboTax Freedom Edition, which is part of the IRS Free File program. I was billed for the wrong edition of TurboTax. If you’re calling now, it may be more effective to say something like: “I have found an error with my billing that I would like corrected. But this week we’ve heard that the company has set up a special team for your calls and that they are no longer giving money back when people mention our stories. Update, May 2, 2019: We’ve heard from dozens of people who got refunds from TurboTax and Intuit after our reporting.