A bit more understanding is that likely during my first click through of the software (before filing) I must have 'explored' the Audit Defense choice, not knowing I was essentially 'purchasing'--then it appears that going back as far as 2019, customers have been having difficulty 'removing' the service from the final order (as did I): How do I remove audit defence on my order? (intuit.ca) In that string there were experienced users like me (I have actually been a TT customer over 20 years, not just 10+) who as recently as last year were surprised (like me) to see they had inadvertently purchased Audit Defense. Also last year someone did post a work around for removal if this happens to you (and you recognize what happened before filing): How To OPT OUT of AUDIT DEFENSE (intuit.com) .
Anyway, I am afraid that TT has known about this issue for several years (i.e. not a 'glitch') but maybe considers leaving barriers in place for removing an unwanted service from one's order a good business decision. I would also say that there is a generally increasing lack of transparency within the software for customers to understand all the charges they will incur (in my instance an additional $40) for having any software or service charges taken out of their refund--or that because of that, they will receive their refund from TPG LLC and not the IRS. This should all be made much more explicit to the customer from within the software. Likewise, if they request TT to withdraw money from their account to pay taxes on a future scheduled date--my daughter did that this year and again, there was no transparency regarding the $20 charge.
