topic Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam in After you file

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

roberthenley — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:33:49 GMT

I got duped using Santa Barbara Tax Products Group too. I've used TurboTax for years and trusted them, but not anymore. I was helping my daughter file her return, and we saw the option of paying the $25 state filing fee by using her federal refund. We certainly did not understand this third-party arrangement. Got charged $40 to pay the $25 state filing fee. Very disappointed in TurboTax for not making this clearer. Also, very difficult to navigate to the FAQ page to find out about this. Things have gone downhill at TurboTax. My question is can we undo this SBTPG ripoff and just use a credit card to pay the $25 state filing fee?

Re: Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

DoninGA — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:38:24 GMT

When you requested to pay with the refund, the $40 service charge was clearly shown on the screen.

Re: Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

roberthenley — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:46:02 GMT

This was not disclosed until after completed:

When you agreed to pay for tax preparation with your tax refund using the Refund Transfer, we created a temporary bank account to receive your refund.1 Your tax return was filed with the temporary bank account information included on your tax return. Once we receive your tax refund from the IRS and/or state, all authorized fees including the Refund Transfer fee and tax preparation fee are deducted from your tax refund. The remaining balance is paid to you by the method you requested.

Have more questions about how the pay-by-refund process works? Find more information about how it works. Watch your email for more critical updates on the status of your tax refund.

Thank you,

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

This is a complete and total scam. TurboTax needs to fix.

Re: Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

jpjd59 — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:57:09 GMT

You are absolutely right. I have used Turbo Tax for 10+ plus. When I completed my daughter's tax refund, I selected to pay the $25 State filing fee by taking it out of the refund. I selected 'NO' to the IRS Audit insurance. I hit finish and received an additional $45 charge for this unknown 3rd party for processing. I believe this unnecessary extra charge was hidden or at least not flagged. This type of deception causes me to question the software's integrity. So far, I have stopped several people from using Turbo Tax this year and to try another software package.

Re: Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

VolvoGirl — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:05:28 GMT

Did you see the screenshot posted above? You have to go very slow and read everything on each screen. That screen can trip you up. People get going too fast and click on the bottom right box to continue.

Re: Santa Barbara Tax Products Group Scam

Djpiszyk — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:00:09 GMT

I was duped as well. They slipped it in really sneaky. When I realized what happened it was too late.
turbo tax slipped one by us ..... pathetic....