The FTC notes that Intuit changed the name of its Free File and freemium products several times, resulting in consumer confusion.
#Intuit turbotax for free#
Intuit also hasn't allowed its freemium edition to be used by people who have income from a farm, selling a home, a prior year state tax refund or investments, according to the FTC.Īt the same time, many of the low- and middle-income people who ended up getting pushed to upgrade to a paid version of TurboTax would have been eligible to file their taxes electronically for free through IRS Free File - a program that Intuit was part of until 2021. The commission also pointed to marketing that used the words "Free Guaranteed."Īmong those ineligible for the "freemium" version of TurboTax are those who receive income reported through certain types of IRS Form 1099, the FTC says - it's commonly used by people who receive independent contractor or small business income, like those working in the gig economy.
returns." The FTC notes that on ads for TurboTax's freemium software, disclaimers that the product was only free for simple returns were small and not read aloud. The small type says, "Free Edition product only. The FTC offers the print at the bottom of one ad as an example of such hard-to-read language. But the FTC argues that the disclaimers "are inadequate to cure the misrepresentation that consumers can file their taxes for free using TurboTax," when in many cases they cannot.
#Intuit turbotax tv#
The FTC points to TV commercials for TurboTax in which the word "free" is said over and over.Īt the end of many of Intuit's ads is a disclaimer in smaller print that states such offers are limited to those with "simple" tax returns. The complaint says that for years, much of Intuit's advertising for TurboTax's online service has emphasized the message that consumers can use TurboTax to file their taxes for free. "In truth, TurboTax is only free for some users, based on the tax forms they need," the complaint says. The FTC complaint notes a situation experienced by many Americans: After spending time and effort plugging all their information into TurboTax, they are told that to file their returns correctly, they need to upgrade to the paid product. "Absent such provisional relief, would be free to continue disseminating the deceptive claim that consumers can file their taxes for free using TurboTax when in truth, in numerous instances does not permit consumers to file their taxes for free using TurboTax," the complaint says. District Court in Northern California, the FTC asked the court for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against Intuit. Many people end up having to pay for the service they believe will be free, the agency says. The Federal Trade Commission is accusing the company that makes TurboTax of deceptively advertising free tax filing. Intuit's 2018 homepage for TurboTax failed to adequately disclose the limits of the "free" offer, the Federal Trade Commission says.