Wow!  Turbo Tax.... what have you done this year?  You were a trusted tax return prep software, but not now!  This was so sneaky and deceiving and I am a 40 year CPA who didn't even know what happened or how until (thank God) I printed the return out to check it and saw all the strange and crazy paperwork!  39.99 called "tax preparation fees", so my refund can go to them instead of me and then they can pay it to me?  What kind of idiots do you think people are?  What a terrible marketing idea!! I'm sure you are getting a cut, but the lost revenue in the future because of this will make you very, very sorry you made the decision to throw this deceiving gimmick into your software!  I plan to publish this notice as many times and to as many people as I can!  I still cannot believe it happens right after it says file federal for free and 19.99 for state filing.  It is really not obvious as to what is happening and I'm sure the normal person will miss it!  Sad, very sad.

I wish I had known about this sneaky bs before I filed with them. I had no idea because I always use my federal to file. They didn't tell me about that extra $40 until I had already e-filed! Never using them again that was a very underhanded thing to pull!

I wish I would have known about the $40 charge as well. I wasn't given the option to file for free this year with them. It would only let me file them if I upgraded for $70. I just wanted to get them done because I was over the hassle of dealing with TurboTax. They ended up getting $150 of my return with the extra charges. I will be doing my taxes differently next year. Shame on you TurboTax!!! 

But why is this even a problem? Who decided that we needed a bank to intervene in a direct process that was working well? Someone sold Intuit a bill of goods and they will make money and most likely Intuit will get a cut. We already paid for TurboTax, filing should be free, as advertised!! This is disgraceful and I will be publishing a warning on every forum I have access to. You have lost my tax prep software business and my guess is you will lose much, much more than you dreamed of gaining. You need to apologize to America if you want to save your tax prep business!

If you choose to have your Turbo Tax Fees deducted from your refund, there is a fee. Turbo Tax is not a bank. Therefore, Santa Barbara bank charges a fee for their service. If you choose this option, there is a page that explains the process and you have to agree to it to move on. After you read the page, and choose not to agree to it, then you will have to pay for your fees before you file. 

What is Refund Processing Service?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/choosing-a-product/help/what-is-refund-processing-service/00/25889