Tax Audit Defense for only 1 year

Could that maybe be just the cutoff time just to buy it each year?  

No.  I talked to TAXAUDIT directly.  They refunded me the $60 I paid for the 2024 Audit Defense and then sold me the correct version for $39.99,  

It says right on the audit certificate that you are supposed to print, that it had an expiration date of 4-15-2026 instead of for the statute of limitations for audits.  My certificates for the tax years of 2023 and 2024 both had exiration dates or 1-15 of the next year,  I also had Turbo tax BUSINESS and the same thing happened ther for tax years 2023 and 2024.  Both expire on 4-15 of the next year.  The 2023 ones already dropped off my TAXAUDIT history and say there is no coverage for that year.  

This is not good

I just had to re-buy Audit Defense for 2023 through TaxAudit directly.  And they only charged me $39.99 instead of $60.  Turbo Tax charges $60 through Home and Business, eve if you just have a small business..

I too saw the same issue, i.e., I've been buying AuditDefense via Turbotax for 10 years and for 2023 & 2024 Turbotax charged me $60 each and the expiration date for the AuditDefense was only 1 year! No warning from Turbotax about this change, and, Turbotax charges $60 when AuditDefense only charges $39.99. I bought AuditDefense again/separately from them by paying $39.99 each for 2023 & 2024. Going forward best to skip the AuditDefense purchase in Turbotax, i.e., buy it from the AuditDefense company directly.

Hopefully someone from TurboTax is monitoring this and can comment on the problem. I think there may be MANY users out there buying Audit Defense, thinking it is for the statute of limitations for audits, but only have it for one year…

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@ bobalbertfamily

 wrote:

Hopefully someone from TurboTax is monitoring this and can comment on the problem. I think there may be MANY users out there buying Audit Defense, thinking it is for the statute of limitations for audits, but only have it for one year…

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It's less common that anyone in TurboTax Support management would see something in the user community forum.  There are TurboTax employee tax experts that post in the forum, who may see the thread.  If you want to contact Intuit with your concern, you can use the online form to contact a liaison in the office of the President of Intuit.   They say they will get back to you in 1 business day. 

The contact form and a box for explanation of your issue is here:

https://www.intuit.com/company/contact/office-of-the-president/

Thanks, I've posted on that link.

Yes, I just made this lovely discovery after getting an assessment notice on my 2024 return and trying to use audit defense for the first time after years of shelling out. This is utterly useless, no one would knowingly pay for audit coverage that expires before the IRS statue of limitation expires! And now I'm stuck wrangling with this on my own--so infuriating!

this is from the web

In other words: The Audit Defense coverage ends 1 year after filling (or longer if you file before April 15th) Expiration Date of Membership: The Expiration Date of Membership is based on the Acceptance Date (seems contradictory and misleading if you file after 4/15 since i think they're saying the acceptance date must be on or before 4/15. 

this would seem to indicate that if you filed your 2024 return by 4/15/2025 audit defense should be good through 4/15/2026.  As a retired tax-pro, I'll withhold my opinion. many returns don't get audited until well after that one-year date. even sometimes more than 2 years.

I got a call back from the office of the president and the person told me -- "I understand your disappointment upon learning that the Audit Defense purchased for these years differs from what you have been accustomed to in previous years. Please know that I have shared your feedback with our partners who work closely with the Audit Defense team. The terms of the Audit Defense purchased for 2023 and 2024 are set and cannot be altered. We are unable to modify the current audit defense duration. Thank you once again for bringing this to our attention. Your feedback is crucial in helping us improve. "

So it looks like there will be no resolution for the issue affecting tax returns 2023 & 2024 where Turbotax changed, without informing us, what they sold us! So the only course of action would be to go to the Audit Defense website and purchase (again) audit protection for 2023 & 2024 - yes, that would be an additional expense but I will sleep better knowing that I have audit protection beyond 1 year. Also, going forward when filing tax returns if Turbotax asks if you want to purchase Audit Defense I would decline and then after the filing is done go to the Audit Defense website and purchase the audit protection. That way, we'll know exactly what we're getting.

It's very unfair that Turbotax is doing this to their customers, with absolutely no warning/info but best for all of us to be aware and do better going forward.

They can give us a refund so we can go and repurchase the correct product.  It was their error.  That is how you make things right.  Unless they were deliberately selling this inferior product.

Anyone impacted by this should submit their concerns at the page/link that "mesquitebean" had sent out. That way Turbotax/Intuit will know how widespread the issue. Sadly, many Turbotax filers may not even know that they're impacted - they'll be in for a rude shock if they get audited by the IRS and then try to use the Audit Defense that they'd purchased!

If you want to contact Intuit with your concern, you can use the online form to contact a liaison in the office of the President of Intuit.   They say they will get back to you in 1 business day. 

The contact form and a box for explanation of your issue is here:

https://www.intuit.com/company/contact/office-of-the-president/

I just received an IRS letter from my 2023 tax year.  I went to have Audit Defense help and was told my coverage expired.  Confused, I found this thread.  Like most people here, I've had it for years, used it once before, and coverage was always for the statue of limitations.  Since my coverage expired, Audit Defense wants $995 to help me with my issue, which defeats the whole point of having the coverage.  So very angry and disappointed with Intuit for selling a sub-par product and not making it clear that it had changed in a substantial way from previous years, and the change has a severe impact financially.  I'm likely going to file a complaint with the FTC for unfair business practices.

I went ahead and re-bought 2023 and 2024 coverage from Audit Defense directly, because they only sell the non-expiring version of their coverage, and will just buy from them directly in the future.  I also complained to the Intuit Office of the President, as suggested by others.

This has ruin my trust in TurboTax and after having used it for decades, I'm going to consider moving to another tax product next year.

@b718 Did you purchase Audit Defense for your 2023 tax return?  If so, do you have proof of purchase?  If so, whomever you spoke with was mistaken as you are covered by the Audit Defense agreement from the time of purchase through the typical end of the Statute of Limitations for the tax return as stated in the Full Audit Representation Membership Agreement - https://www.intuit.com/legal/terms/en-us/turbotax/full-audit-representation/

•  Acceptance Date: Acceptance Date is the date that Intuit Inc. receives your payment for the Full Audit Representation Plan in full. Your Acceptance Date appears on the membership certificate.
• Statute of Limitations: Statute of Limitations is the time the IRS or State has to audit your tax return. The Statute of Limitations for the IRS is typically three years from the date of filing or the due date, whichever is later, and is typically four years for States.
• Period of Membership: Period of Membership is the period commencing with the Acceptance Date and ending with the expiration of the typical Statute of Limitations period for the applicable tax return.

@DoninGA I did purchase Audit Defense for 2023 from Intuit.  But Intuit no longer sells the coverage that expires with the statue of limitations.  They now only sell a 1 year product, which is the entire point of this thread, Intuit changed it and didn't inform anyone, which left us uncovered with us knowing it.

If you bought Audit Defense from Intuit for 2023 or 2024, look at your membership packet on page 4, on the bottom left.  It shows the expiration date, which for me is 4/15/2025.  I bought it again directly from Audit Defense, and now my expiration date shows as "Statue of Limitations for audit".

BTW, the Intuit Office of the President called me today and reiterated what others have posted: they made a business decision to change it to one-year, and they appreciate my feedback.  They also said they made this change two years ago, as if I should have known, but since it wasn't communicated, it's only as of 4/16/2025 that anyone would notice since the coverage is now expired.  I expect the complaints will start to pile as this decision catches up with them.

@b718 Thank you for the updated information.  I posted the agreement which is the only one available on the TurboTax website, so was not aware of the changes.

SCAM ALERT: I had the same experience.  After paying $45 for the version that TT offered me, I was shocked to discover that it covered me for only one year from the date of filing.  Useless.  The IRS does not even begin auditing until well after the close of the tax year.

When I called Audit Defense, they told me that the traditional product that I had purchased for the years prior to 2023 was still available, and valid for as long as audits were likely (seven years) and priced at only $39.95, as in the past.

The current product especially created for TT members is MORE expensive for LESS coverage.

I just discovered this also happened to me. I have always bought the Audit Defense product as offered at the completion of my tax filing through TurboTax. Evidently a few years ago, seemingly 3, TT started the "Annual" version of Tax Audit, which expires, vs the "Standard" version, which does not expire. I had to pay extra to upgrade 3 of my years. It was not clear that TT had made this change in what was being offered.