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Intuit TurboTax Owes $141 Million To Americans And Here’s How To Find Out If They Owe You

dusanpetkovic1 - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purpose only, not the actual person

For many Americans, tax season is often the most stressful time of year. So, seeing TurboTax advertisements touting “free” tax filing services might have provided some sense of relief.

Yet, the solace proved to be very short-lived. Intuit TurboTax has recently come under fire for “deceiving low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free,” according to a press release issued by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

Intuit offered two different versions of TurboTax. One was via the IRS Free File Program, which allows low-income earners to file taxes for free. The other commercial product was coined “TurboTax Free Edition.”

This wording was highly misleading since tax filing was only truly “free” if it was deemed a “simple return” by Intuit.

Although, is not just the name of the service that has caught backlash. Intuit had launched a full-fledged marketing campaign that preyed on millions of American taxpayers who were in a bind. In fact, TurboTax only ended up being “free” for one-third of Americans.

“For years, Intuit misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit. Today, every state in the nation is holding Intuit accountable for scamming millions of taxpayers,” AG James said.

Now, Intuit will be issuing $141 million in restitution to about 4.4 million Americans nationwide. Eligible Americans must have used TurboTax’s Free Edition from 2016 to 2018 and must have been told to pay even though they were eligible for free filing via the IRS Free File program.

New York state will specifically receive over $5.4 million of the lump restitution, which will be distributed to over one hundred and seventy-six thousand New Yorkers.

“This agreement should serve as a reminder to companies large and small that engaging in these deceptive marketing ploys is illegal. New Yorkers can count on my office to protect their wallets from white-collar scammers,” AG James added.

dusanpetkovic1 – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person

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