Today, Alaska’s Attorney General Treg Taylor announced that consumers in Alaska who fell prey to Intuit, TurboTax’s owner, and were charged for tax services that were supposed to be free as part of the IRS Free File Program, will start receiving checks from a $141 million multi-state settlement finished in May of 2022. Nationwide, around 4.4 million consumers will be receiving checks in the mail.
In the previous year, Attorney General Taylor participated in the settlement with TurboTax to resolve allegations that Alaskans were deceived into paying for services that should have been free for them. As part of the settlement, Rust Consulting, a settlement administrator, will be mailing restitution checks to 15,568 Alaskans for a total of approximately $477,000, or about $29 apiece on average. The checks will be sent to Alaskans who used certain TurboTax products in 2016, 2017, or 2018, and the amount of each check will depend on the number of years for which each person qualifies.
Attorney General Taylor said that addressing the deception and ensuring impacted Alaskans receive restitution checks was crucial, as tax season is already a stressful time. He added, “Having trustworthy tools to work with will be one less thing our residents have to worry about.” The agreement has been signed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Consumers who are eligible for payment will receive notification by email from the settlement fund administrator, Rust Consulting.
These consumers will automatically receive a check in the mail without having to file a claim. Checks are expected to be mailed out starting next week. For more information regarding the settlement coverage and the settlement fund, visit www.AGTurboTaxSettlement.com.
Intuit has also agreed to reform its business practices, including:
- Refraining from making misrepresentations in connection with promoting or offering any online tax preparation products
- Enhancing disclosures in its advertising and marketing of free products
- Designing its products to better inform users whether they will be eligible to file their taxes for free; and
- Refraining from requiring consumers to start their tax filing over if they exit one of Intuit’s paid products to use a free product instead.
Intuit withdrew from the IRS Free File program in July 2021.
I used Turbo Tax for years with no problem. Last year for my 2021 taxes, there was a glitch in the program and it wouldn’t allow me to enter some of my income. It should have been a regular entry but it just wouldn’t function. When I contacted them, I was given moronic answers like “go to this line and click enter”. As though I was a child who hadn’t ever used computers. I actually went to Costco where I had purchased it and got a refund. I will never use them again!
My guess is that a lot of Alaskans have trouble completing their federal income tax returns properly, even if they hire others to do this work. In this case, it is good that Turbo Tax will issue refunds to Alaska consumers who used this product expecting it to be free of charge.
I have had my federal income tax returns done by an “enrolled agent” for fifteen years. He should have known what he was doing, but he did not. When the IRS audited my tax returns they found errors that Bill made year after year after year. When I asked him to attend the audit meeting with me, he declined and denied any responsibility. Now all of the fees, penalties, interest, and everything else that was attributed to his errors are my responsibility to pay. Income tax returns and the process can be very aggravating!
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