Turbotax is "free to start." You will incur charges if your return requires additional forms not included in the free version, and these charges are disclosed before you accept them. If you disagree with the charges, you can drop your return and use another company.
The IRS offers a "free file" service for people below a certain income, even if they require forms not in the usual free to start version. In the past, Turbotax has made it difficult to find this version, leading some people who qualified for the IRS free version based on income, to pay for Turbotax. There is a settlement under which certain taxpayers whose income is less than the IRS free file limit, but who paid for Turbotax during certain years, will receive a refund. Turbotax has the information for those customers and will issue refunds automatically.
If the return you are asking about is not part of the settlement, you can contact customer support directly and try to make a case for why you should get a refund.
Turbotax has since dropped out of the IRS free file program. Every Turbotax return is "free to start" with final cost depending on the forms you need and the complexity of your return, not your income or amount of your refund. Every fee is disclosed before you agree to it. You are free to find another company if you prefer.
