NOTUS: Democrats Accuse Intuit of ‘Misleading’ Taxpayers Into Paying for TurboTax

Some Democratic lawmakers are accusing TurboTax owner Intuit of misleading taxpayers as the company advocates for shuttering the government’s free direct tax filing program.

TurboTax, which currently dominates the tax preparation market, promises free tax filing services for eligible individuals. But a new analysis by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s staff found TurboTax covertly switched their sample taxpayer from the free edition, ultimately charging $128 for services they could file for free with Direct File.

“Your tactics are misleading and misserving taxpayers who would benefit from this free and easy-to-use alternative to your company’s commercial tax preparation tools,” Sens. Warren and Ron Wyden, the top Democrats on the Senate Banking and Finance committees, respectively, and Rep. Mark Pocan wrote in a letter to Intuit shared exclusively with NOTUS.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Direct File, which launched last year, allows eligible taxpayers to file federal returns directly and for free. There is no income limit like with IRS Free File, a partnership between the tax agency and preparers that TurboTax no longer offers.The program is currently available in 25 states this year and is intended to handle simple returns; gig, rental or business income tax returns are not eligible.

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Read the full article here.

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