Turbo Tax offers a fast way to complete taxes without going to an accountant. But the online filing service has lost a lawsuit accusing the company of deceiving consumers into paying for tax services that should have been free.
The owner of Turbo Tax, Intuit, will pay millions of consumers who used Turbo Tax Free Edition for tax years 2016 through 2018 and were told that they had to pay to file despite being eligible to file for free through the IRS Free File Program.
Affected taxpayers will receive a direct payment of about $30 for each year that they were duped into paying for the “free” tax preparation. Those who are impacted will automatically receive notices with an explanation of the reimbursement process.
Affected Michigan taxpayers are eligible to get about $3.5 million spread across 115,000 tax filers. The nationwide settlement equals $14 million. Intuit has agreed to adopt more transparent business practices.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
