Being that so many of our returns are delayed due to mistakes, can you please explain why we pay for your service? Isn't this the whole point of using TurboTax??!

 

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

TurboTax is a software program that allows you to prepare your return.  If you choose to have you fees deducted from your refund you agreed to pay the fees to a third party bank as disclosed in your tax return. Part of the agreement states that TurboTax will deduct  the fees from your account if the IRS delays your refund. TurboTax gets no information from the IRS after the return is filed and has no knowledge of offsets or other adjustments made to your account by IRS. 
TurboTax is a business not a government agency and expects to be paid for preparing the return. Any software that allows payment for fees from refund follow the same rules.

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Turbo Tax is a self prepared return. They only guarantee the calculations are right based on your entries. They won't know if you entered something wrong or twice or in the wrong place or left something out. It doesn't check against any outside sources. The IRS has copies of all the W2s and 1099s your employer and banks/brokers, etc. sent in to match against. Turbo Tax only checks the calculations of what you entered. It is your responsibility to check it over before you file.

 

There have been a lot of mistakes about the Recovery Rebate Credit and Child Tax Credit, lines 28 & 30 on the returns.  People are not entering the right amounts they already got for the 3rd Stimulus and Advance Child Credit.  Those lines are just if you didn't get the right amounts or qualify for more.

 

And the IRS is taking a longer time this year to process returns, whether you efiled or mailed it.  Like over 6 months.  

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

You paid to use tax preparation software so that you would not have to sit down with a sharp pencil with a good eraser, a calculator, a 108 page IRS instruction book, and paper tax forms.   The software uses the data entered by the user in order to do the calculations.   The software cannot check to see if you made a typo, entered something incorrectly, left out income, left out pertinent information like the stimulus checks or advance child tax credit payments received, etc. etc. etc.   Many delays have been caused by such mistakes.  And....the IRS is severely backlogged, so......lots of refunds have been delayed.   User errors delay refunds even longer.

 

If you do not want to pay to use the software, you may qualify to use the Free File software available on the IRS site next time:

 

Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

 

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**