The TurboTax Trap
How the Tax Prep Industry Makes You Pay
ProPublica has long detailed how Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and other companies have worked against making tax preparation easier and less costly.
Featured
Intuit Will Pay Millions to Customers Tricked Into Paying for TurboTax
State attorneys general just reached a $141 million settlement with the Silicon Valley juggernaut. Victims will receive up to $90 each.
Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free
Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.
Other Entries
The IRS Tiptoes Into Offering Free Online Tax Filing — and Possible Competition With TurboTax
In the wake of ProPublica’s reporting on the misleading tactics of the major tax-prep companies, Congress asked the IRS to examine whether it could offer free filing directly with the tax agency. A new pilot program will test the concept.
States Prepare to Send Checks to Consumers Tricked Into Paying for TurboTax
A year after a $141 million settlement with Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, that emerged from an investigation sparked by ProPublica’s reporting, 4.4 million customers will receive compensation.
What to Know About TurboTax Before You File Your Taxes This Year
Don’t get tricked into paying for tax prep if you don’t have to. Learn how the biggest tax preparation companies have suppressed free filing options for years.
Inflation Reduction Act Will Require the IRS to Study Free Tax Filing Options
TurboTax maker Intuit has long blocked efforts to create free online tax filing for all, but this sweeping domestic policy bill provides $15 million to investigate how the IRS could implement such a program.
FTC Sues to Stop “Deceptive” TurboTax “Free” Ad Campaign
Following an investigation sparked by ProPublica’s coverage, the Federal Trade Commission is asking a federal court for a restraining order barring Intuit from marketing TurboTax as “free.”
Is TurboTax Free? What About Easy? Not for This Freelancer.
One reporter spent 2021 freelancing, giving her just the kind of low-paying tax mess that TurboTax’s innovative services or the IRS Free File program should be able to help with. Her foray into “easy” tax prep tools proved otherwise.
TurboTax Maker Intuit Faces Tens of Millions in Fees in a Groundbreaking Legal Battle Over Consumer Fraud
In addition to the unusual mass arbitration Intuit is fighting, federal regulators and state prosecutors are still investigating the company, which made $2 billion dollars last year.
TurboTax-Maker Intuit Will Leave Free Tax Filing Partnership With IRS
The company’s decision throws the future of the Free File program, which was created as an alternative to an IRS free tax filing system, into doubt.
The FTC Is Investigating Intuit Over TurboTax Practices
The probe, spurred by ProPublica reporting, centers on whether Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax filing when they should have been able to file for free.
Justice Department Is Scrutinizing Takeover of Credit Karma by Intuit, Maker of TurboTax
The antitrust probe comes after ProPublica detailed how the takeover could reduce competition in the tax prep business.
TurboTax and H&R Block Used “Unfair and Abusive Practices,” State Regulator Finds
The investigation, which is ongoing, came after a ProPublica series showed that millions of Americans were coerced into paying for tax filing they should get for free.
Senate Investigation Criticizes the IRS for Failing to Oversee Free Filing Program
Millions of Americans have spent billions on TurboTax and other tax prep that they shouldn’t have. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recommends the IRS advertise the free filing option.
Millions of Americans Might Not Get Stimulus Checks. Some Might Be Tricked Into Paying TurboTax to Get Theirs.
Congress gave the IRS the job of sending out coronavirus rescue checks. But the underfunded agency is struggling, while for-profit companies like Intuit have started circling, hoping to convert Americans in need into paying customers.
TurboTax’s Bid to Buy Free Tax Prep Competitor Might Violate Antitrust Law, Experts Say
“Allowing a near-monopolist to eliminate a maverick competitor poses obvious risks of harm,” said one former DOJ lawyer of Intuit’s proposed Credit Karma acquisition. “It’s hard to imagine any reason why this should be allowed.”
TurboTax Is Still Tricking Customers With Tax Prep Ads That Misuse the Word “Free”
Intuit has amped up its misleading digital advertising in the wake of a new IRS agreement that bars tax prep companies from burying the agency’s Free File program.
TurboTax and Others Charged at Least 14 Million Americans for Tax Prep That Should Have Been Free, Audit Finds
Tax software companies made around $1 billion in revenue by charging people who were eligible to file for free.
IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax
The changes come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.
TurboTax Tricked Customers Into Paying to File Taxes. Now Several States Are Investigating It.
ProPublica revealed that TurboTax maker Intuit charged millions of Americans for tax filing services they were eligible to receive for free. Now multiple state attorneys general have opened investigations into the company.
The IRS Tried to Hide Emails That Show Tax Industry Influence Over Free File Program
After ProPublica sued the IRS, the agency released emails that show it has allowed the tax preparation industry to write the rules.
IRS-Funded Review Confirms TurboTax Hid Free Filing From Search Engines, but Says There’s No Need for Major Changes
An outside firm echoed ProPublica’s reporting but defended the oversight of the tax-prep program meant to help millions of Americans file their taxes for nothing.
