When did TurboTax start charging a processing fee???

[VolvoGirl]

I think you are referring to the Pay with Refund service charge?  It has always been been there.   

It means you want to have the fees deducted from your federal refund. Then it has to go though a 3rd party bank to take the fees out. There is an EXTRA 40 Refund Transfer service charge (45 in California) for that. Or you can pay the fees upfront with a credit card to avoid the extra charge.

What is Refund Processing?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/choosing-a-product/help/what-is-refund-processing-service/00/25889

How to remove the Pay with Refund fee
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/downgrading/help/how-do-i-remove-pay-with-my-refund-fees-in-turbot...

[DTaylor4]

I purchased TurboTax 2023 from Costco and have used TurboTax for years.  The previous versions of TurboTax "Premier" did not charge a $40 processing fee for a federal refund, on an electronically filed tax return.   In my state, there has always been a fee to e-file the state tax form, but there has never been a $40 fee to process a federal refund until the 2023 tax year version.  As a soon to be former customer of TurboTax, hiding any mention of the fee notice until the payment screen is a joke.  

Someone at TurboTax needs to reply in this thread with an explanation as to why they've started charging the fee or why they changed the process to allow a third party to process refunds and charge a fee.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that TurboTax is getting a rebate from the third party that's processing the refunds.

[DoninGA]

@DTaylor4 You chose to pay the TurboTax $20 state e-file fee with your federal tax refund.  There is a $40 service charge for this option.

Remove the Pay with Refund option in the File section of the program where it is listed.  Then you can pay the $20 state e-file fee with a credit card.

[DoninGA]

@DTaylor4 

[DTaylor4]

Is that a screen shot from the 2022 or 2021 tax year version of Premier?  

[DoninGA]

---

@DTaylor4 wrote:

Is that a screen shot from the 2022 or 2021 tax year version of Premier?  

---

That is a screenshot from my 2023 TurboTax Premier desktop edition for Windows.

[VolvoGirl]

I bought my program from Costco and just now filed federal and state.  I paid the $10 state efile fee ($20-10) with my credit card and didn't get the Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge (45 in California).  You have to go slow and read all the screens.  There is one that can trip you up (posted above).  People  get going too fast and clicking continue in the bottom right but the bottom right on that screen is to Pay with Refund.