How did I end up paying more than 100 to file when my taxes are the easiest they can be, and am expecting only 137 from fedral...is it fair to take 7/8 of my return?

[joeythewop00]

Offered free fedral, state. Free filing is what this site offers in their emails and commercials,  so I've seen it 1000 times. When I get here, I have to upgrade 3 times, still have not been able to talk to a human and end up with a 21$ fedral return! What happened to free?

[xmasbaby0]

CLEAR AND START OVER

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

You are posting from Deluxe  $39

State return $39

Refund processing to have fees deducted from federal refund by 3rd party bank $39 ($44.99 in CA) (This fee is optional and can be avoided by paying TT upfront using a credit/debit card)

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:

• Remove Premium Services
• Remove MAX Defend & Restore
• Remove a state
• Remove PLUS Help & Support
• Remove Pay With Your Refund

[joeythewop00]

Isn't 0 state returns part of your advertisement?

Also, deluxe only because I had to put my numbers in a different column.  

Lastly, it took me 2 days to reach a human to ask why I was being charged so much of my return. 2 days, and with deluxe I believe yall say your professionals do all the work for me.

Ohhh AND now my returns are held up because I need to verify my identity....I don't think I'll be using your service ever again. 

[brennele]

Without meaning to be flip or rude - there is no free lunch.  The free TurboTax offers are for very simple tax returns which truly don't even require TT to complete.  Intuit can't provide anything but the most simple services for free or they would go out of business in short order.  Their price structure, by comparison to paid tax preparers, however, if very reasonable.  There must have been something about your return which transcended the very simple returns which are offered gratis.  What they charge is truly not a whole lot in comparison to what one would pay any 3rd party preparer.  The fact that you had to upgrade 3X tells me that your taxes are not so simple and you would have paid a hefty price for a paid professional to complete them on your behalf.

[Critter-3]

In the future, if your income is under the max allowed ... $73K for 2022 returns ...  Use this IRS FREE FILE  site for other ways to truely file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/