I am writing to formally express my frustration and disappointment with TurboTax’s fee structure. Your platform advertises a $39 fee, yet an additional $40 is charged simply for the act of filing. This brings the total to $80, which, in my case, amounted to 6% of my entire tax return—a completely unjustifiable amount.
As a tax preparation service, TurboTax has full visibility into users’ earnings, deductions, and financial situations. Yet, despite knowing how much of our hard-earned money is already taken through taxation, your company still imposes excessive fees on those who are simply trying to comply with the law and file their returns. The fact that these charges are not transparently disclosed upfront feels intentionally misleading.
It is unacceptable that TurboTax preys on taxpayers with these hidden and inflated fees. The cost of filing should be clear, fair, and proportionate. Instead, your pricing model capitalizes on those who are expecting refunds—essentially taking a cut of their money for a service that is advertised at a much lower rate.
I am an underpaid preschool teacher and every dollar counts. This kind of business practice erodes trust and damages TurboTax’s reputation. I will not be recommending your service to anyone and will actively encourage others to seek alternative tax filing methods that do not exploit users with unreasonable fees.
You DO NOT have to choose "refund processing" and pay that extra $40. If you pay your TurboTax fees upfront using a credit or debit card before you e-file you will not pay that $40 fee.
REMOVE REFUND PROCESSING FEE
It’s still way too much money for a very simple service and if I don’t have 40$ available. (Which is a lot of people who live paycheck to paycheck) Then there is no other option but to take the extra 40$ from your return. But thanks for the information! I just wanted to express that it’s horrible y’all charge anything at all and wondered if people felt the same way
Was the $39 for Online Deluxe? Did you do a state return? State is a separate fee. Or you selected to have the $39 deducted from your refund. There is an Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge (45 in California). So go back through the File tab and pay upfront with a credit card to avoid the extra charge.
How to review your fees
For help with fees
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/what-can-i-do-to-reduce-my-fees/00/26051
Remove Pay with Refund fee
Did you already e-file?
If you have not filed---
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/
Or—if you live in certain states you may be eligible to use the new IRS Direct File
In Filing Season 2025, Direct File will be available in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2629
Yeah I will next year, I just think it’s crazy how much yall take out!
Absolutely. I’m no longer going to them. I wen on freetaxusa instead and only paid 20 bucks
Definitely feeling taking advantage of. Federal tax filing was once free. 2024 federal tax filing shows a cost of $109, which you accept to begin your federal taxes, and it isn't until you finish the federal and state taxes that you are presented with an additional $40 processing fee and $35 banking transaction fee. Not sure that I will be completing these transactions.
There is not a fee to e-file your tax return or to have direct deposit of your refund.
Did you choose to pay for using TurboTax by having the fee taken out of your federal refund? That means you will pay an EXTRA FEE of $40 ($45 in CA) to have a third party bank receive your refund from the IRS, take out enough to pay TT, and then send you the rest of the refund. ( The third party bank keeps the $40 or $45 fee for itself.)
You do not have to do that. Pay upfront BEFORE you file --- pay using a credit or debit card.
REMOVE REFUND PROCESSING FEE
And....you do NOT have to choose the "5 Day Early" refund option---in fact, avoid that like the plague. Just pay your TT fees upfront with a credit or debit card.
@HItaxpayer1 wrote:Definitely feeling taking advantage of. Federal tax filing was once free. 2024 federal tax filing shows a cost of $109, which you accept to begin your federal taxes, and it isn't until you finish the federal and state taxes that you are presented with an additional $40 processing fee and $35 banking transaction fee. Not sure that I will be completing these transactions.
The $40 processing fee is a service fee for choosing to pay the fees out of the Federal refund. That fee can be avoided by paying for the product fees upfront with credit/debit card.
As for a "$35 banking transaction fee," What is that??? Did you choose to pay any taxes owed with a credit card? i.e., is that a credit card service fee for paying your taxes due with a card?
The $35 banking transaction fee is for having your tax refund deposited in your bank account as opposed to a new account with some other banking company (I forget which one).
There is no fee to get your refund Direct Deposit to any account. It was probably the Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge (45 in California) to have the Turbo Tax fees deducted from your refund.
User said there was a $40 fee (I assume for paying out of refund) and also a $35 fee. I wonder if the $35 might be the fee for choosing "5 Day Early Refund" option into one's own bank account instead of opening a new Credit Karma account? Maybe that fee increased from $25 on March 1 with other prices??
$109 to file federal taxes
$57 to file state taxes
$40 to pay tax filing with federal return
$35 for direct deposit to your bank account
Yes i feel robbed. I am a student and simply because i need to add a 1098-t i get automatically updated to TurboTax deluxe. Then they charge an additional 64 dollars for filing state taxes. Which brings the total to 143. Then they proceed to add another 7.37 fee for paying with my credit card. According to me it was supposed to be 2.49%. They charged more than double that.
You might try IRS FREE FILE to see if you qualify to file for free through that.
YES, absolutely they're ripping consumers off! As I walked through Federal and State Taxes this afternoon, getting ready to be able to just file my Federal tax return, I discover I'd have to pay an additional $64 for my State tax form when all I want to do is print it and send it in myself! Umm, no...I'm not paying $64 for a $9 refund! All I wanted to do was file my Federal tax form, then print the State form and send it in to my state's Dept of Revenue the way I've done for the past 14 years.
NOW the way TurboTax is set up, you have to input your credit card and there's NO indication that you can just print the State form out yourself and mail it in vs having them file it for you. So not wanting the potential of an additional $64 on my credit card with probably NO way to get it refunded, I deleted the State tax return info (the ONLY way I could file my Federal return and not be charged an additional $64) and send the Federal tax filing to the IRS. I was thinking I could go back after the Fed return was accepted and fill in the State return and print it out. NOPE. Again, perhaps the user is able to print out their state return? But they give NO indication that you can do that prior to inputting your CC info.
Deceptive practices, TurboTax, and makes me not inclined to use it ever again.
@LWhitt58 Sounds like you used the Desktop program before? Did you accidentally get into the Online version this year? Online is priced differently. The fees are to prepare the federal and state returns whether you efile or print and mail. And you have to pay to see all the forms. And there are several other differences you must have noticed doing Online . Like no Forms Mode and you might have needed to upgrade to a higher version to enter certain income.
We can help you get the Desktop program and move your online return to it.
Yes, I was using the Desktop version before, but Intuit no longer sells the CD version. And because I no longer have a Windows OS laptop, I'm SOL. I recently purchased a Chromebook, not realizing it wouldn't take the Turbotax Deluxe Fed/State Download I purchased at BJ's Wholesale Club back in late February, since it's Windows or Mac only. That was my error not realizing it before I pulled the zip strip on the back of the folder for the code. If Intuit allowed Chromebook users to download, there wouldn't be an issue.
So going forward, I'm assuming I'll have to deal with TurboTax for Federal alone (if I choose to continue with TurboTax) and then go to my State's online filing system OR do theirs by paper. Still - very very frustrating.
It’s so disgusting! We all need to bail turd tax and go somewhere else!
Turbo Tax is VERY deceptive. The outside package that I purchased reads Federal and State Returns. But then to even begin state it is requiring a $45 additional fee. Taxes are high enough then Turbo Tax steals more. I paid for the program. All I want to do is get what I paid for. All I want to do is process my state then I will mail it on my own. This is what I have done in the past. This year they trick you. SO FRUSTRATED with Turbo Tax!
Yes! Absolutely, the cost displayed and the cost charged does not match. When asking a refund the response is basically too bad, we don't refund.
Their billing practices need to be reviewed.
@Jevon $45 could be to buy an additional state program different from the first free state program download. Like if your are in California but also need to do an Oregon return. You would have to buy Oregon. Are you doing different state returns? Oh and the Basic version and some Deluxe programs do not come with the free state download. For states that don’t have an income tax.
Or $45 could be the Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge (45 in California) to have any fees like the $25 state efile fee deducted from a federal refund, which you can avoid by paying the efile fee upfront with a credit card. Or you can print and mail state for free.
I just wish there was some way to take them back to court, they already got in trouble last year, for hidden fees. And now they just blatantly tack stuff on knowing people don’t have a choice as not filing is illegal. Whoever runs this show is a bad person I said it
I will never file with them again. My tax preparer was sentenced to federal prison for tax fraud. I was too scared to use anyone else this year, so I filed myself after speaking with my bestie, who uses TurboTax. The total cost for me with the audit protection was $329. The problem is I didn't see an option to use my existing bank account, so I used theirs. BIG MISTAKE. I can only transfer $1k daily, so it will take me over a week to obtain my STATE refund without additional fees. Turbo Tax is a total scam. NEVER AGAIN! This is crazy.