I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one?

marinaguerra1 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:02:57 GMT

Re: I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one?

xmasbaby0 — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 04:50:30 GMT

You posted your question from the expensive online Deluxe Live which provides live help from a CPA. Did you upgrade without noticing?

CLEAR AND START OVER

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2586254-how-do-i-clear-and-start-over

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/

How can I see my TurboTax fees?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2565973-how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online

If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons:

Re: I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one?

onisimus — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 04:50:35 GMT

Somewhere along the line it presented you with options to upgrade OR in my case last year it auto upgraded because I had Crypto.

topic I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one?

Re: I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one?

Re: I’m so confused why am I paying for TurboTax when I clicked the free one?