The settlement, announced Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said about 4.4 million customers were “unfairly charged.” Intuit must also suspend its “free, free, free” ad campaign because it falsely lured customers with the promise of free tax preparation services, the statement added.
Filers who used TurboTax’s Free Edition for tax years 2016 through 2018 will be mailed a check for approximately $30 for each year they were charged when they should have been able to use free services.
“Intuit cheated millions of low-income Americans out of free tax filing services they were entitled to,” James wrote in a press release. “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, and we’re putting millions of dollars back into the pockets of impacted Americans.”
The company responded in its statement that it’s “clear and fair with its customers, including with the nearly 100 million Americans who filed their taxes free of charge with our products over the last 8 years — more than all other tax prep software companies combined.”
