Turbotax has always been "free to start" but your final price depends on the forms you need. It's only ever free for the most simple types of returns. And before you ever got bumped up to a paid version, there was an on-screen notification and you were free to back out and find another tax provider.
The settlement covers 2016-2018 and deals only with specific issues:
1. The IRS free file program allows free filing for incomes under $34,000 even if the tax return requires complicated forms. Here, the problem was that if you went through the regular Turbotax web site, you would be charged based on the forms you used, even if your income qualified you for the IRS Free File program (under $34,000). Turbotax allegedly hid the Free File program and directed users to the "free to start with paid upgrades" version instead.
2. If you started in regular Turbotax and wanted to switch to the IRS free file version, you had to start over from scratch, you couldn't just migrate the information you already entered. This was argued to be a disincentive, to discourage people from switching to the free IRS version even if they qualified.
If you paid turbotax fees for tax years 2016-2018 and your income was under $34,000, Turbotax will contact you to issue a refund. For other years or higher incomes, you are not covered by the settlement.
Currently, Turbotax offers free filing for simple returns, and paid filing for everyone else, and they no longer participate in the IRS free filing program for low income taxpayers. If you qualify for this program, you can find a list of participating providers on the IRS web site.
