Why do I have to pay maximum refund guarantee. I don't want the guarantee

[EvanP]

If I understand you're question correctly, I'm happy to say that we do not charge you to guarantee a maximum refund guarantee. 

Here's more information about our guarantee:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3318735

[CGENESIS99]

THIS IS A BOGUS BULL**bleep** FEE !!! YOU ARE CHARGING ME 19.99 TO FILE STATE, THEN 19.99 FOR THE MAXIMUM GUARENTEE FEE. FORTY DOLLARS TO FILE ?????? IN ADDITION TO THE FIFTY FOR THE SOFTWARE !!!!!!!!!!!! IM DONE WITH YOU PEOPLE, YOU ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF US. YOU SUCK AND I WILL TELL EVERYONE TO NOT USE YOU ANYMORE.

[CGENESIS99]

YOU DO CHARGE 19.99 AND THERE IS NO WAY AROUND IT !!!!!!!! CRIMINALS

[DoninGA]

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@CGENESIS99 wrote:

YOU DO CHARGE 19.99 AND THERE IS NO WAY AROUND IT !!!!!!!! CRIMINALS

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Print and mail the state return to avoid the state e-file fee.  DO NOT select PAY WITH REFUND to pay any TurboTax fees with the federal tax refund.

[mesquitebean]

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@ CGENESIS99 wrote:

THIS IS A BOGUS BULL**bleep** FEE !!! YOU ARE CHARGING ME 19.99 TO FILE STATE, THEN 19.99 FOR THE MAXIMUM GUARENTEE FEE. FORTY DOLLARS TO FILE ?????? IN ADDITION TO THE FIFTY FOR THE SOFTWARE !!!!!!!!!!!! IM DONE WITH YOU PEOPLE, YOU ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF US. YOU SUCK AND I WILL TELL EVERYONE TO NOT USE YOU ANYMORE.

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This is a user community forum, but we can tell you what you are observing and how to avoid it.

In the desktop software  (CD/download) there is a 19.99 fee to efile a state return, except there is no state efile fee for New York state, and no fee to print and mail the state return.

The other fee is NOT for "Maximum Guarantee".  It's a service fee for the optional method of payment you chose.

If you pay the 19.99 (plus possible sales tax) upfront with credit/debit card or a prepaid debit card you can buy in a store, there is no additional fee.

However, if you choose the option to pay the 19.99 fee out of your Federal refund,  there is an additional $40 service fee ($45 for California filers, where it is bundled as "Premium Services.")    You can avoid that $40 or $45 fee by not selecting to pay your fees by that optional method and paying your 19.99 fee upfront directly by card as I mentioned above. 

[susandamore]

When I was e-filing my returns there were two $19.99 charges - one for e-filing the state return and one for the refund guarantee, which I didn't want.  I called Turbotax support and found out that the maximum refund guarantee is only charged if you have them deduct your fees from your refund.  

So, if you log into your account and pay for the state return by credit card there is no maximum refund fee.  

Note to Turbotax:  It would be helpful if that appeared somewhere on the payment due page.

[anthonys650]

none of the links works

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/downgrading/help/how-do-i-remove-premium-services/01/26266

[mesquitebean]

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@ anthonys650 wrote:

none of the links works

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/downgrading/help/how-do-i-remove-premium-services/01/26266

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You haven't adequately explained your situation, so I'm having to guess a bit.   You have probably been reading instructions for removing Premium Services in Online TurboTax.   Are you using the desktop software (CD/download)?     We don't know what you mean by "the links to remove don't work."    So since you mentioned "Mac" in 2 of your other threads,  I'm going to assume you are using desktop software for Mac.

If you are using desktop software, there is a 19.99 fee to efile the state return  (increases to 24.99 on March 1).

Are you in California, and is your product charging you for "Premium Services?"    If so, it sounds like you chose to pay that 19.99 state efile fee out of your Federal refund instead of simply paying for it upfront with credit/debit card.  If so, that payment method requires Premium Services which is an additional 44.99 (California).    Premium Services also includes other benefits such as Audit Defense, ID protection/monitoring, etc.

To avoid that 44.99 fee for Premium Services you have to change the payment method and choose to pay the 19.99 upfront with a credit/debit card or a prepaid debit card you can buy in a store.   After you change the payment method, make sure before filing that you look at the "order review" screen and are only going to be paying 19.99 (plus sales tax.)   

If there's still an extra fee showing after all that, it might still be trying to charge you for Audit Defense, in which case one would go to the REVIEW tab, select  the subtab "Audit Protection", navigate past the Audit Risk meter, and then scroll down on an Audit Defense screen and decline Audit Defense.

[peterpa]

Switch to taxslayer, they don't charge this.  I am a long time turbo tax  advocate and have filed this way for 10+ years.  Basically you pay 25-50 bucks as a guarantee that the turbotax calculator knows without a doubt that 2+2 =4, exactly [phone number removed]000000% of the time. 

I buy this product every year from Costco.   When turbotax loses their costco distribution they will see a substantial loss in revenue.  If you are a costco member and see this post and are irritated by the guarantee math that costs 25-50 please make your voice heard.  

[mesquitebean]

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@ peterpa wrote:

 Basically you pay 25-50 bucks as a guarantee that the turbotax calculator knows without a doubt that 2+2 =4, exactly [phone number removed]000000% of the time. 

I buy this product every year from Costco.   When turbotax loses their costco distribution they will see a substantial loss in revenue.  If you are a costco member and see this post and are irritated by the guarantee math that costs 25-50 please make your voice heard.  

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There is no such "guarantee fee" for either the Maximum Refund Guarantee or the Accurate Calculations Guarantee.  Those are an included benefit.   The fees mentioned in the discussion above have nothing to do with any "guarantee" which is already part of the terms of service in the license agreement (see FAQs below with links to the license).   The fees at time of efiling are for additional services (if elected) as I'll explain below.   If one doesn't want to pay the state efiling fee, for instance, a user can choose to print and mail the state return for free.

The original poster was misinterpreting the information on the screen and what his fees were for.  Everyone gets those guarantees simply by using the product.  In the desktop product a 24.99 fee is for efiling a state return (19.99 in early filing season.)   If one chooses to pay that fee out of the  Federal refund, there is an additional 39.99 service fee (44.99 for California filers) for that optional payment method, which can be avoided by using a credit/debit card instead to pay the state efile fee.   That has nothing to do with a guarantee.  If the user was seeing an extra fee, then those are the ones the user was likely seeing.   Or if not in California, the user may have seen an offer for the optional product Audit Defense for 44.99.   In any case, none of the fees at the time of efiling have anything to do with a guarantee, which everyone gets.     The guarantee is mentioned on one of the screens for user confidence as an included benefit--not for purchase--since there is no extra fee.

FAQ:  What is the Maximum Refund Guarantee?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/what-is-your-maximum-refund-or-tax-savings-g...

FAQ:  What is the Accurate Calculations Guarantee?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/what-is-the-turbotax-100-accurate-calculatio...

[pogo1020]

I live in TX and there is no state income tax so I am not filing state tax form...what is the $45 Guarantee Refund fee I am being asked to pay?

[DoninGA]

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@pogo1020 wrote:

I live in TX and there is no state income tax so I am not filing state tax form...what is the $45 Guarantee Refund fee I am being asked to pay?

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That sounds like Max which is totally optional - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/choosing-a-product/help/what-is-max/01/26700

[mesquitebean]

@pogo1020   

The optional MAX benefits package is not the same as TurboTax's Maximum Refund Guarantee. 

There is no additional charge for the Maximum Refund Guarantee.  That's provided to all users of TurboTax as part of the License Agreement.  See this FAQ:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/what-is-your-maximum-refund-or-tax-savings-g...

If you ARE referring to the MAX benefits package, see the FAQ link that DoninGA provided you above, which shows you all the benefits of MAX.    If you don't want to purchase the optional MAX add-on, here's how to remove it prior to paying:

FAQ:  Can I remove MAX?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/downgrading/help/can-i-remove-max/00/26691

[dcstone]

You are correct, thank you for sharing...it worked for me too...they should put that on the page...