Computers

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Is TurboTax Really Free This Year?

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.

    [Consumer World will earn a small commission if you purchase from this link.]

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    PayPal Knows What Kind of Underwear You Wear and Will Be Telling Everyone!

    Soon whether you wear boxers or briefs will no longer be a closely-held secret because of a data privacy move by PayPal.

    At the beginning of October, PayPal sent out an email to its members making a change to its legal agreements in late November.

    PayPal update email

    It doesn’t sound particularly unnerving because they are going to provide information to help you shop. The way that is going to be accomplished, however, has some people concerned. Their more detailed notice states:

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    The key update to the Privacy Statement (link 1, link 2) explains how we will share information with merchants to personalize your shopping experience and recommend our services to you. Personal information we disclose includes, for example, products, preferences, sizes, and styles we think you’ll like… [emphasis added]

    How do they know what you like? According to the Wall Street Journal, they will review your shopping and purchase history, and then sell that information to advertisers.

    In most states, your purchases made starting two days before Black Friday will be shared with others unless you opt-out. To opt-out, after you login to PayPay.com, click the settings gear, and then select:

    PayPal opt out directions

    How do you feel about PayPal sharing your very specific shopping information?

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    Devilish Scam Bombards Victims With Spam to Hide Fraudulent Credit Card Purchases

    This was a new one on MrConsumer. A New York friend recently called to say he was getting deluged with spam all of a sudden — over 120 in an hour. They kept mounting up in his inbox and for some reason they generally were not even going into his spam folder.

    In the midst of this flurry of junk mail, he was trying to do his taxes and started reviewing his American Express account online. He noticed a $2000+ pending charge at Build.com. My friend knew immediately he did not make that purchase so he called AMEX. They canceled his card on the spot since its use at that online store was fraudulent.

    My poor friend, one minute he is being spammed to death and the next he is the victim of credit card fraud. How unlucky can one get to have these two independent events happen to you in the span of an hour? Or were they really a coincidence?

    MrConsumer postulates they were all part of a grand scheme by a very clever crook. Someone clearly gained access to my friend’s existing Build.com account which might have had his American Express number saved for future use. Or the scammer separately obtained his American Express account number some other way. With that information, it was easy to make a purchase (or many of them) and send the loot to anyone in the country.

    But what does that have to do with the spam bomb that my friend experienced? Since online sellers usually immediately send a purchase confirmation email after an order is placed, the crook had to do something to lessen the chance that my friend would see it in his in-box. So he bombarded him with tons of spam emails at the very time the order confirmation was likely to be received hoping it would go unnoticed, get mistaken for spam, and be deleted along with the rest of the junk mail.

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    Spam Bomb

    Fortunately, my friend was able to contact Build.com in time to cancel the order slated for next day delivery. Their security system also flagged the transaction.

    order canceled

    So here’s the moral of the story. If all of a sudden you get hit with an unusually large deluge of spam, go through each one looking for an order(s) you never placed. Call your primary credit card issuer(s) to ask about any unusual activity they see on your account, including recent purchases and address changes. Delete any saved credit card numbers from online stores where you make purchases. And change passwords on any affected accounts.