TurboTax is sending checks to 4.4 million customers as part of a $141 million settlement
Intuit will pay $30 million to settle claims that it deceived millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax-filing services.
New York CNN
TurboTax will be sending checks to 4.4 million Americans in the near future, after a settlement reached with Intuit and 50 states for allegedly steering low-income Americans from free tax filing services.
The settlement will be announced via email to all customers affected. Checks will automatically be sent out throughout the month. The majority of customers will receive about $30. Some customers who used TurboTax three years in a row may get up to $85 For more information, a website has been created.
In a press statement, Letitia James, New York Attorney-General said that TurboTax's deceptive and predatory marketing had cheated millions low-income Americans trying to comply with their legal obligations to file their tax returns. Today, we're putting money in the pockets of hardworking tax payers who shouldn't have paid for TurboTax to file their taxes.
She announced the settlement in the past year. She said that Intuit had 'unfairly' charged people, and the company was forced to stop their 'free,free,free' advertising campaign, which falsely lured clients with the promise of tax preparation services for free.
An investigation was launched after a ProPublica report in 2019 accused the company that it had steered eligible clients away by making federally-funded tax filing products difficult to locate on the web, instead leading them towards the paid version. James claimed that the tactic was aimed at low-income customers in particular.
Intuit has stated that they have 'admitted to no wrongdoings' in this agreement. They expect the changes required will only have a'minimal effect on their business'.