You may have seen the TV ads for TurboTax this year promising completely free service tax preparation and filing.
Every year, Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, advertises some type of free service but it often comes under scrutiny of consumer regulators for poorly disclosed catches as the FTC found last year. This year’s offer is bolder than ever. It promises tax preparation and filing that is 100% free if you didn’t file using TurboTax last year. While the TV ads are very clear this year, here is a summary of the catches.
*MOUSE PRINT:
You must use the TurboTax app to start your taxes.
You must file your taxes using the TurboTax app by February 18, 2025.
You must not have used TT last year, but use of it prior to that is okay.
TurboTax Live is not free.
The app is not appropriate for more complex tax situations such as for itemized deductions, business income, investment sales, etc. However, as long as you begin your tax prep in the app, you can switch to do it on your computer even in a more expensive product like TurboTax Deluxe or higher, whose fees will be waived, they say. But you then have to return to the app to file your taxes by the February 18th deadline.
It is unclear if their usual fee to file your state return is being waived.
Perhaps those folks with very simple returns will find this to be a tempting offer, but I can’t imagine how tedious it could become for more complex situations doing it on a cellphone.
Here’s another option for people with simple returns. Uncle Sam has expanded its new Direct File free program to 25 states this year.
Regular TurboTax offline users, like MrConsumer, face a number of challenges this year as well. Amazon did not run its usual sale for TurboTax Deluxe discs at the end of the year. And many people missed their November 30th sale when it was $45.99 with a $10 Amazon gift card. Also changed this year, TurboTax Deluxe is a download only product — the disc version has been discontinued.
Costco advertised in its January Connection magazine that from January 18 to February 7 it will be offering $11 off of TurboTax Deluxe (making it $44.99), $18 off of Premier, and $20 off Home & Business. Sam’s Club will have a similar offer.
UPDATE: Amazon has matched Costco’s price and upped the ante! The Amazon offer includes a $10 Amazon gift card when you buy TurboTax 2024 Deluxe plus State for $44.99. This will be the lowest price of the tax season if history is any guide. BUT… Amazon only offered this deal for one day, Saturday, January 18th. Now it is $44.99 without the gift card.
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Having to pay at all to file is a racket!
For people under certain income levels, the IRS Free File program can give you legitimately free tax filing with a variety of providers and tax situations. The list usually populstes more fully by the end of February
The VITA and TCE (AARP Tax-Aide) programs offer free tax preparation services (federal and state) through volunteers like myself. This also includes e-file. We have to certify by passing exams every year. Some sites have income limits but others don’t so check around if that is a concern. Only the most complex situations are out of scope.
There’s bound to be a catch with TT, as more than likely its not really free for you.
So why not just use the truly free site FreeTaxUsa? I’ve used them on complicated returns and it’s accurate and truly free. You do pay a small fee for a state return if you want them to do that too.
Thank you, I am giving them a try this year.
I’ve used FreeTaxUSA for several years now and always been happy. Last couple of years I’ve paid the fee to get the more complicated filing options, but I think it was $8-$10, certainly not $50 and it comes with audit protection.
I know the call for the IRS to just have an E-File platform are large and it makes sense for simple filers, but there will always be costs associated with complicated filings because it requires skill to understand the system and to program software to be compliant.
We’re retired and our federal return is pretty basic; I’ve used TT Basic for the last couple of years and its been okay.
Turbo Tax Basic is $40.00 on the TT site and $49.99 at both Staples and Best Buy. My Chase Visa has a $20 rebate on Turbo Tax bringing the net cost down to between $20 and $30.
I get mine done for free. Florida has no state income tax and my Federal tax is done by my ex-wife who is a licensed CPA. I give her all the info that she needs. I have been retired for 11 years.
Good luck getting all your W2’s by Feb 18th. They’ve been coming later and later each year
They just make it harder and harder to use. Also the sales are very difficult to predict or take advantage of. I bought at what I considered a decent price then a week later it went down $8! Disappointed needless to say!
I used TurboTax Deluxe for many years and liked it—until one year they suddenly changed the program to require me to buy the Premium version at a higher cost in order to use a form I needed to report some farm rental property. I spent alot of time trying to figure out where the form was and eventually found out about the switch. End result, many users had the same experience and TT did refund our money—if you knew about it—but I have been very happy with H&R Block’s program ever since. It is cheaper than TT and works just fine.
The devil is in the details.
Thank you, MousePrint for exposing the fine print.