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On January 21, 2009, TurboTax received considerable public attention at the Senate confirmation hearing of Timothy F. Geithner to be the United States Secretary of Treasury. Geithner had testified that he used TurboTax to prepare his tax returns for the years 2001 to 2004 but had incorrectly handled the self-employment taxes due as a result of his being employed by the International Monetary Fund. Geithner made it clear that he took responsibility for the error, which was discovered in a subsequent IRS audit, and did not blame TurboTax. Geithner paid $42,702 in back taxes. Intuit responded by releasing a statement saying "TurboTax, and all software and in-person tax preparation services, base their calculations on the information users provide when completing their returns."[20]
Citizens of the US that make up to $72,000 per year are eligible for free preparation and filing of tax forms through the IRS Free File program.[22] However, TurboTax's "free file program" page ( ) contains specific HTML tags (noindex, nofollow) which block search engines from indexing it.[23] TurboTax has been deceiving customers which were eligible for the free submission into signing up for their commercial product.[24] Starting December 30, 2019, under a new agreement from the IRS, TurboTax can no longer hide their free version services from search results.[25]
Intuit, the owner of TurboTax, spent more than $11 million on federal lobbying between 2008 and 2012. Intuit "opposes IRS government tax preparation", particularly allowing taxpayers to file pre-filled returns for free, in a system similar to the established ReadyReturn service in California. The company also lobbied on bills in 2007 and 2011 that would have barred the Treasury Department, which includes the IRS, from initiating return-free filing. An Intuit spokeswoman said in early 2013 that "Like many other companies, Intuit actively participates in the political process." She said that return-free filing had "implications for accuracy and fairness in taxation."[27][28] This led journalist Dylan Matthews to propose a boycott of the company in 2017.[29][30]
On March 29, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission announced that they would take legal action against Intuit, the parent company of TurboTax in response to deceptive advertising of its free tax filing products. The commission reported that the majority of tax filers cannot use any of TurboTax's free products which were advertised, claiming that it has misled customers to believing that tax filers can use TurboTax to file their taxes. In addition, tax filers who earn farm income or are gig workers cannot be eligible for those products.[36][37] Intuit announced that they would take counter action, announcing that the FTC's arguments are "not credible" and claimed that their free tax filing service is available to all tax filers.[38]
Beyond these factors, which tax filing service you choose may come down to personal preference. Some people prefer one over the other because they simply like the way it looks. They might also choose H&R Block so they can have the option of filing at a physical location.
Note: TurboTax has two free filing options. The version outlined above has no income restrictions, but includes a limited number of tax forms. There's another free version offered through the IRS Free File portal, which covers all tax forms for people with incomes below $39,000. In addition, all active duty military and reserve personnel are eligible to file their federal and state returns for free.
One of the biggest complaints about TurboTax is the ease with which it attempts to upgrade users to the next-tier product. A 2019 investigation by ProPublica found that Intuit, TurboTax's parent company, was deliberately hiding its free filing services from Google and other search engines. As of this writing, TurboTax's free file options are clearly advertised.
After importing, TurboTax will ask you to review the sales you imported from CoinLedger and select which transactions are taxable. CoinLedger only includes taxable transactions in your report, so you can simply scroll down and hit 'Continue'.
Nathan Alderman has worked with The Motley Fool since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As The Ascent's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.
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The news officially was released in July, which frankly is a fantastic time to sneak in a tax change. Most early filers don't start thinking about their taxes until January or February and some are now surprised to learn online or via email of a significant change ahead for Free File.
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It's not that I'm bad at math. I always received good grades in math, at least until college calculus (it was still a B, but I'm not sure I deserved even that). But when you have dozens of calculations, all dependent on one another, one little error screws up everything else. It shouldn't surprise you that Turbotax makes fewer math errors than I do. Aside from having an inaccurate return, possibly losing me money or even triggering an audit, miscalculations also mean I have to do re-do more forms, which can be immensely time-consuming.
It's no secret that the IRS and your state tax commission want you to e-file. It's easier for them, easier for you, more accurate, and you get your refund faster. That process is literally a click of the mouse with Turbotax. You don't have to deal with your state website, or fill out any new online forms. No printing, stamping, addressing, walking out to the mailbox, etc. If for some reason you WANT to paper file, you still can. Perhaps if you owe money you might be able to delay their withdrawing it from your bank account by a few days by doing so. Turbotax even has an option where you can do your tax return now, and have Turbotax file it automatically in April without you ever thinking about it again (which I recommend if you owe money).
Overall, I continue to be very pleased with Turbotax year after year. They've been around the longest and frankly are the number one seller for a reason. Most tax-prep services allow you to import previous returns no matter which tax service you have used, so if you want to try something new, give it a go. The usual competitors are H&R Block, Tax Slayer, and Tax Act. I've tried a couple of them over the years, but always came back to Turbotax. Yes, it usually costs a bit more, but frankly, the value of my time is the expensive part of the whole process so I prefer to go with what I know.
i used turbotax myself until i became a contractor and started my own business. I really like it as well. I might be able to handle my current situation but am currently using an accountant. Not cheap at all. Occasionally they do point out ideas that may or may not be worth doing. Some of the ideas brought to my attention in the past have been using GA film credits to pay for state taxes and setting a salary within my s corp (a topic you have covered).
Service codes can only be given to specific customers who fit the requirements. You can only receive one through TurboTax support specialists. This is unlike a coupon code, which anyone can use, or a third-party discount through an affiliate like USAA.
Typically, once TurboTax has received your completed return and submits it to the IRS, it takes 24 to 48 hours for the IRS to accept it. Once that happens, you have to wait for the IRS to process the return, which TurboTax says generally takes less than 21 days.
Intuit offered two free versions of TurboTax. One was through its participation in the IRS Free File Program, a public-private partnership with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which allows taxpayers earning roughly $34,000 and members of the military to file their taxes for free. In exchange for participating in the program, the IRS agreed not to compete with Intuit and other tax-prep companies by providing its own electronic tax preparation and filing services to American taxpayers.
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