NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators have barred TurboTax makerIntuit Inc.from advertising its services as “free” unless they are free for all customers, or if eligibility is clearly disclosed.
In an opinion and final order issued Monday, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that Intuit engaged in deceptive practices by running ads claiming consumers could file their taxes for free using TurboTax though many people did not qualify for such free offerings.
“The character of the past violations is egregious,” reads the FTC commissioners’ opinion, which details Intuit ads across TV, radio and online over the years. “Intuit blanketed the country with deceptive ads to taxpayers across multiple media channels.”
In addition to prohibiting Intuit from marketing its products or services as free unless there’s actually no cost for everyone, the FTC’s order requires Intuit to disclose what percentage of consumers are eligible and note if a majority of taxpayers do not qualify.
Terms and conditions to obtain a free good or service must also be clearly disclosed or linked to if ad space is limited, the FTC said in its order. The order also bars Intuit from “misrepresenting any material facts about its products or services,” including refund policies and price points.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press Tuesday, Intuit said it had appealed what it called the FTC’s “deeply flawed decision.”
“This decision is the result of a biased and broken system where the Commission serves as accuser, judge, jury, and then appellate judge all in the same case,” Intuit stated. The California company later added that it believes it will prevail “when the matter ultimately returns to a neutral body.”
Monday’s opinion and final order upholds an initial decision from FTC chief administrative law judge D. Michael Chappell, who ruled that Intuit violated federal law by engaging in deceptive advertising back in September.
There was no financial penalty in the FTC’s order, but Intuit has previously faced hefty charges over the marketing of “free” services. In a 2022 settlement signed by the attorneys general of all 50 states, Intuit agreed to suspend TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign and pay$141 million in restitutionto nearly 4.4 million taxpayers nationwide.
Settlement checks weresent out last year. Those impacted were low-income consumers eligible for free, federally-supported tax services — but paid TurboTax to file their federal returns due to “predatory and deceptive marketing,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Left: FILE PHOTO: Turbo Tax is displayed on devices on February 22, 2018 in San Francisco, California. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images
The FTC ruled Intuit can advertise products as free if it discloses the percentage of eligible people. Terms and conditions to obtain a free good or service
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TurboTax maker Intuit barred from advertising 'free' tax services without disclosing who's eligible. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators have barred TurboTax maker Intuit Inc. from advertising its services as “free” unless they are free for all customers, or if eligibility is clearly disclosed.
You won't be able to file with TurboTax Free Edition if you have itemized deductions, unemployment income, business income, stock sales, rental property income or income reported on other forms, like income from crypto investments.
And not for everybody, or even most people— even if an ad says “100% free.” You might remember that, back in early 2022, the FTC took action against Intuit, the company that owns TurboTax. The FTC said that TurboTax's “file FREE” claims misled people because most people didn't qualify for “$0 to file.”
Roughly 37% of taxpayers are eligible. If you have a Form 1040 return and are claiming limited credits only, you can file for free yourself with TurboTax Free Edition or TurboTax Live Assisted Basic (if available), or you can file with TurboTax Full Service Basic at the listed price.
Is Turbo Tax Audit Defense Worth It? In general, the TurboTax Audit Defense addition is not necessarily worth it for several different reasons. The first reason why adding this to your tax return is not worth it is because the IRS is unlikely to audit your return. On average, one in every 333 taxpayers gets audited.
The easiest way to purchase TurboTax® Audit Defense is to purchase it when you file your taxes with TurboTax®. If you missed it this year or want to get Audit Defense for past years, you can purchase memberships through our TurboTax® Audit Defense site. From the homepage, click the “I want ongoing audit protection.”
There is not a limit on the AGI when using the TurboTax Free online edition. The TurboTax Free online edition is for very simple tax returns that do not require any other form or schedule other than the Form 1040.
In general, you have a simple tax return and can file for free with TurboTax if you have: W-2 income. Interest or dividends (1099-INT/1099-DIV) that don't require filing a Schedule B. IRS standard deduction.
Yes, but only for filers with simple returns. Generally, this means a return with W-2 income, claiming the standard deduction and potentially the earned income tax credit and child tax credit. If you have a more complex return, you will pay $64 to $69 to file each state tax return.
The company in 2022 agreed to pay $141 million over allegations its TurboTax software misled low-income Americans into paying to file their taxes when they were eligible to file for free. About 4.4 million taxpayers qualified for payments of up to $85 from Intuit under the settlement.
The Federal Trade Commission has issued an Opinion and Final Order that Intuit Inc., the maker of the popular TurboTax tax filing software, engaged in deceptive advertising in violation of the FTC Act and deceived consumers when it ran ads for “free” tax products and services for which many consumers were ineligible.
The Deluxe edition of TurboTax is designed to calculate 350 line-item tax credits and deductions. With the free, online edition, you can only take the standard deduction and any above-the-line deductions and credits. TurboTax Deluxe lets you take itemized deductions and below-the-line credits.
If we detect that your tax situation requires expanded coverage, like deductions for owning a home, unemployment income, or self-employment income, we'll prompt you to upgrade to a version that supports the forms you need so that we can maximize your tax deductions and ensure you file an accurate return.
Can I go back to the TurboTax Free after updating the package to Deluxe? Unfortunately, there is no way to downgrade a TurboTax product once you have upgraded it. You would need to create a new return and choose a lower version.
The ownership structure of Intuit (INTU) stock is a mix of institutional, retail and individual investors. Approximately 48.31% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 3.94% is owned by Insiders and 47.75% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.
You need an Intuit Account to use TurboTax Desktop for a few reasons: You can be confident you're downloading and activating an official Intuit product. You can more easily install TurboTax Desktop on another computer because we'll store your license code.
You'll get an error message when trying to sign in to TurboTax if you enter the incorrect user ID and password combination too many times. We know that being locked out of TurboTax can be inconvenient, but this ensures a high level of protection to your personal information.
“We,” “us” and “TaxAudit” refer to TaxResources, Inc., the company providing audit defense services. “IRS” refers to the Internal Revenue Service and “State” refers to your state income tax authority.
If you're ever assessed an IRS or state penalty or interest due to a TurboTax calculation error, we'll pay you the penalty and interest. Our Audit Risk Meter will show you just where you stand before you file. Of course, even with a spotless tax return, there's always a rare chance you may be randomly audited.
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