TurboTax had a page near the beginning of the process (after asking about the general situations, and before asking if I am still filling jointly) that asked for permission to use my tax information to customize the offers that they send me. They said that doing so would include an additional page in my return to the IRS informing them that I had consented to the use of my information in this way. I got distracted and accidentally clicked the Approve or Accept button (I don't remember the exact wording). I meant to click Decline. But I don't see any way to go back and change it. Maybe I should try the "Clear and Start Over" option.
OK - while clicking "Clear and Start Over" did not cause the consent form to be presented to me again at the beginning of the process, the form did show up again at the end during the "Review" process. I don't know if clicking "Clear and Start Over" or calling customer service had anything to do with this happening or not. So this time I was able to click "Decline", and the permission letter does not appear in the PDF of my return. So I think it's all OK now.
Actually, even the "Clear and Start Over" option does not fix it! I tried it, since I'm only a few minutes in to the process. I clicked "Clear and Start Over", and it brought me back to the very beginning of the process - asking if I had bought a house, gotten married, etc., so I thought it was going to work. But then it skipped the question about using my tax information! This is not cool. Does anyone know how to fix this? Or am I stuck with allowing TurboTax to use my info for non-tax-prep purposes?
You are not able to repopulate the consent once you have answered it. Your options would be to create a TurboTax account with a new User ID or you can reach out to TurboTax Customer Support to see if they are able to remove it for you. For more information about sharing your information with Intuit, please see this help article: What happens after I share my tax info with Intuit?
I called customer service and they said that there is no way for them to undo it. I'm really not happy with this situation. I guess my only hope is to switch to a different vendor, like H&R Block. I'm hoping that if I never file with TurboTax, then they can't send this form to the IRS, making it illegal for them to use my information. Or maybe not - maybe me filling out that form (even without filing my return) is a legally binding contract, and they'll use my data anyway. I don't know - I'd probably have to ask a lawyer. Oh this stinks. I have really liked TurboTax for the past 15 years - I don't want to have to switch to something else. :(
According to https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/12/tax-prep-privacy/, I can email "privacy [at] intuit.com" and tell them that I want to revoke my "consent for use of tax return information." I'm going to try that and report back whether it works or not.
Emailing "privacy [at] intuit.com" only allows you to delete "Call logs", delete "Help and support data", and change your marketing contact preferences. There is no way via Intuit's "privacy" email address to revoke this consent form. :'(
OK - while clicking "Clear and Start Over" did not cause the consent form to be presented to me again at the beginning of the process, the form did show up again at the end during the "Review" process. I don't know if clicking "Clear and Start Over" or calling customer service had anything to do with this happening or not. So this time I was able to click "Decline", and the permission letter does not appear in the PDF of my return. So I think it's all OK now.