Tax Products Group

[PipiR]

I just received an email from Intuit that their associate company, Tax Products Group, will be charging me a fee for handling the deposit of my federal refund to my bank. I filed an amended federal tax return and there was not a single mention of a charge for handling the federal refund, nor was there anything about the cost. Also, Turbo Tax did not ask me how I wanted to have the refund, either paper or direct deposit. I have been e-filing my federal and tax returns for years and years, having my refunds sent directly to my bank, and there has never been a charge. When did this start?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

This is not new.   Sounds like in past years you have paid your fees upfront before you e-filed.   There has ALWAYS been a fee if you choose to pay your TurboTax fees by having the fees deducted from your federal refund instead of paying for them upfront using a credit or debit card before you e-file.   The "refund processing fee" is $40 ($45 in CA) to have the federal refund go first to a third party bank, which takes your fees from the federal refund, collects its own $40, and sends the rest of the refund to your account.

You cannot use "refund processing" for an amended return.  You can only use refund processing for your original tax return.   With refund processing you MUST choose direct deposit for your refund; you cannot choose to have a check mailed to you.

How can I see my TurboTax  fees?   

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2565973-how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online

What is Refund Processing Service?

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, LLC  (SBTPG) is the bank that handles the Refund Processing Service when you choose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your refund. This option also has an additional charge from the bank that processes the transaction. 

You can contact them SBTPG, toll-free, at 1-877-908-7228 or go to their secure website www.sbtpg.com 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2580357-who-provides-the-refund-processing-service

[VolvoGirl]

Let me backup a second.   Did you get the first refund from the original return?  What did the email say exactly?  Does it say payment completed?  When you efile your tax return successfully and you choose to pay your fees from your Federal refund, the TurboTax program considers the fee paid, even though the federal refund has not been released yet. This is why you see "Payment Completed".

Or is the email saying they are going to charge your bank account?  If the IRS is taking too long to send your refund and still holding your refund 36 days after your original estimated refund date they will ask you to pay the fees or they will debit your bank account. See, What happens if the IRS reduces my refund.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/payments/help/what-if-my-federal-refund-isn-t-enough-to-cover-my-t...

THEN if the IRS has not finished processing your original return and sent your refund you should not file the Amended return.  You  are suppose to wait for the first return to fully process and you get the first refund.   There is no charge to amend a return unless you have to upgrade to a higher version.

[PipiR]

Let me take a shot at answering the last question. I e-filed my federal return on 2/20/24. As of the morning of 6/10/24, the IRS website "Where is my Refund," stated that my return had been received. 

During this time, I found a couple of mistakes in the original 1040 and it was at that time that I filed an amendment 1040X form on the evening of 6/11/24.  The amendment was accepted by the IRS the same day. 

Later that evening, on 6/11/24, I checked the IRS website again and discovered that my refund had been approved and that it would deposited in my checking account by the 12th of June.

On 6/11/24, I received the email notifying me that I would be charged a fee to accomplish the deposit.

[VolvoGirl]

That may have been a coincidence that Turbo Tax will try to charge your bank account for the fees since the IRS was taking too long to send your refund.  You must have signed up to have the fees deducted from your refund.  There is no fee to get the deposit.  Those are the Turbo Tax fees to prepare the return.  

If the IRS takes too long to send your refund, Turbo Tax will ask you to pay the fees or they will charge your bank account.  Hopefully you don't get charged twice, from your refund and from your bank account since they are happening at the same time.    

This is an old note but you can try to call.

If you’re in need of assistance, call us by the Tuesday prior to your debit date at 1-888-808-1723 to speak with a trained specialist and mention “auto-debit”, or visit TurboTax Support.

[PipiR]

I finally got my IRS refund for 2023 deposited to my bank account today. They only deducted $20.00 from my refund, so not too bad.