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Get your taxes done using TurboTax
You have not mentioned what tax year you expected to file for free and had to pay. There is a settlement agreement for certain users for the tax years of 2016, 2017, and/or 2018. You do not have to do anything to participate or "sign up." If you are referring to some other tax year, that is a different matter.
The settlement agreement covers users who used TurboTax in 2016, 2017 or 2018. If you are one of the affected users you will receive about $30 for each of those years in which your income was $34,000 or less and in which you started in the Free Edition and were upgraded to a paid version of the software.
"Covered Consumer" means any individual, or individuals if a joint return was filed, who in Tax Years 2016, 2017, or 2018 was (1) eligible to use an Intuit IRS Free File Product; (2) began his or her tax returns using a TurboTax Free Edition Product; (3) was informed that he or she was ineligible to use a TurboTax Free Edition Product; (4) subsequently paid to use a TurboTax Paid Product, and (5) had not used the Intuit IRS Free File Product in a previous tax year.
You do not have to “sign up” or get on a list. The payments will be sent out automatically to the affected users. We do not know yet how soon the payments will be sent.
If you mean you thought your 2021 return would be free and you paid:
WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY? I WANT THE FREE EDITION
The information that you can enter in Free Edition is pretty limited now. Thanks to the new tax laws that began for 2018 returns, there are no more simple Form 1040EZ or 1040A's. Everything goes on a Form 1040 that has three extra "schedules" with it, and if you need any of those schedules, you are not able to use the Free Edition. Using the standard deduction instead of itemizing does NOT mean you will not need any of those schedules.https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4511011-what-happened-to-the-1040a-and-1040ez If you started in the Free Edition and entered any data that required any of those three schedules, you have to upgrade to a paid version and if you are watching the screens carefully you are alerted to the upgrade.
When you chose to “start” in the Free Edition —
Directly below the words “Free Edition” there is a blue link that says “For simple tax returns only” If you click that link it brings up this information:
You can file with TurboTax Free Edition if you have a simple tax return.*
*A simple tax return is Form 1040 only.
Situations covered in TurboTax Free Edition include:
- W-2 income
- Limited interest and dividend income reported on a 1099-INT or 1099-DIV
- Claiming the standard deduction
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC)
- Child tax credits
- Student Loan Interest deduction
Situations not covered in TurboTax Free Edition include:
- Itemized deductions
- Unemployment income reported on a 1099-G
- Business or 1099-NEC income
- Stock sales
- Rental property income
- Credits, deductions and income reported on schedules 1-3
How does TurboTax make any money?
Customers with more complex tax situations will file with our paid TurboTax products that provide all the additional forms and guidance they need. We also offer additional benefits that go beyond filing your taxes, but they are optional and are not required to file simple taxes for free. We hope that, over time, as our customers with simple returns need more capabilities as their financial situations change (for example owning a home, having a child, managing investments), they have loved our products and services so much that they will choose our paid TurboTax offerings to prepare and file their returns.
Or—-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/
If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons:
- Remove Premium Services
- Remove MAX Defend & Restore
- Remove a state
- Remove PLUS Help & Support
- Remove Pay With Your Refund
