Did anyone else receive a fee from "VPS Tax Service" on their credit card after paying their taxes through Turbotax and why wasn't the fee stated at the time fo payment?

[rkhickam]

Another Turbo Tax sucker who won't use their product going forward. Spent 25 minutes on the phone with Turbo Tax Support staff to understand why I was charged from VPS Tax Service. When asking the ? times - Is VPS Tax Service affiliated with Turbo Tax the response was "MAYBE" - 

Total BS

[mvbowens1]

Yes I did also.   

[rb_advert]

Could be worse, I paid $276 in TurboTax fees plus $317.65 for the convenience of paying my taxes by credit card, which I did merely for points.  Sadly, I am paying more for the convenience than I am going to receive in benefits on my credit card.  So, it wasn’t a benefit.  And, I had the money to pay my taxes in an investment account that I transferred to our checking and immediately paid off the credit card balance.  Had I clearly understood the $317.65 fee in advance, I would have just paid from our checking account in the first place.  They should be sued in a class action lawsuit.  What a rip off.  I don’t care who is charging the fee or for what purpose.  I know these payment processors make money hand over fist and this is why.  It doesn’t cost them a dime more to process a $10k payment than it does a $1k payment.  It’s a complete scam.  How about something that calculates the charge and shows you what it is going to be and then you have to confirm the actual amount?   That would be fair.  Asking me to read a bunch of legalese at the end of filing my tax return — which was so complicated it required a law degree — is insult to injury.  I detest everything about taxes and all the money grabbers out there looking to profit again and again.  

[okrilang]

Mine is worse. I knew about the fee and was ok to pay it but I owed a lot so the fee was $178. My transfer was rejected but the fee went through. I didn't know the fee went through - thought it was all rejected. Tried again and was charged a second fee. Also rejected transfer. So in the end I didn't make my transfer - I just paid fees that were almost $400. Does anyone know how to contact the merchant processing the fees?

[ChondelLO]

Please click here to get you connected to the right person for help.  @okrilang

[okrilang]

Im living internationally - the number provided for the link you gave doesn't work for me and I'm unable to chat with a person. Actually when I got in contact with TT they said it was an IRS charge so they cant do anything - as if I didn't do it through their site.

[Anonymous112]

Same. Wtf?

[rb_advert]

It’s just another form of taxation as far as I’m concerned but it is the fee from the IRS for laborious and expensive manual effort involved in processing those hideous electronic payments.  What I learned in tax accounting in college is true.  When it comes to the IRS and any doubt about what you might owe, remember this:  pay more sooner.  They should sell it on a bumper sticker!

[rb_advert]

Oh, and the worst part is after 3 phone calls and over an hour of wait time, I had to learn what the fee was from someone who posted a link in this forum.  None of the paid reps at Turbo Tax could even see the charge or articulate what it was.  Given the commonality of it, you’d think they would be more aware.  My suggestion was that rather than having me read a bunch of legalese —after I’m cross-eyed from preparing a return that requires a law degree to complete — why not just have the system calculate the fee before finalizing the payment and THEN asking me if I’m 100% sure I’m okay with that?  How about a total that includes their fee plus that of the IRS for the same grand total that hits my credit card?

[DSCIENTIST]

Yes, Why would turbo tax not send out a flashing warning on this? Are they getting a kickback from the government to let people pay more than they need to?

[Critter-3]

By law the IRS cannot pay the CC merchant fee so if you pay by CC  you must pay that fee ... the IRS doesn't get that money.  And as with everything else you must READ the screens before you agree to proceed ... that fee was clearly posted and you could have stopped at any time up until you hit the final button.  

Note the IRS also posts the fees most clearly ...  https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-taxes-by-debit-or-credit-card

[Critter-3]

And the program does tell you there is a fee ... you just need to read all the words on the screens ... sorry they are not in flashing bright neon letters.

[homazarrin12]

I paid with my debit car not credit card and I still got charged 2.5%. And I never got an option to pay directly to IRS which I always did when I was filing tax with my tax accountant. 
And IRS took money same day out of my account! I was happy with TurboTax but they were not transparent about this service fee. 

[Critter-3]

Ok ... @homazarrin12  ... there is a fee if you use a debit or credit card which is really the same thing for this situation.   It is only free if you set up a direct debit from your bank account.   To do that you must enter the bank's name, routing & account number  which is not the same as using the debit card for that account.   I am sure if you look at what the prior year preparer did that is what happened.   So it is your error in pulling out the debit card from your wallet and not using the info on the bottom of a check. 

[Critter-3]

Note the difference in the screens ...  and ALL the DIY programs handle this the same way so pay attention to the screen instructions ... go slow so you don't miss important items.