State E-file undisclosed charges

[Silky2020]

Theycharged me 119.00 and it was suppossed to befree

[xmasbaby0]

@Silky2020 Did you start for free----but enter information that required an upgrade?

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/

[Silky2020]

I was charged 119.00and then a 39.00and 49.00filing feein total 174.00 to domy taxes nonsense after all said and done i get back like 100.00 turbo tax took 3/4 of my money smh??

[HeatherPLO]

@Silky2020

Please reference the above help from @xmasbaby0.  Initially, it may have been free, however completing any special additional forms and you may have had to upgrade your software.  

Pricing Information

[krazycats5]

I purchased the Premier edition CD from Costco and worked on the Fed and State return on my desktop.  I had gotten to the 2nd to the last step of e-filing the state return (CA) and was given the choice of either paying the state return with federal refund, or the credit card option.  The first option required the purchase of their peace-of-mind guarantee for an additional $40 (?)!  I had already declined that.  So I chose the credit card option.  The next screen told me to call a phone number and give them the info for "Turbo Tax State Electronic Filing California" for $25 and I had to enter the confirmation #. 

Ok, so I call them and waited.  The rep did not understand what I was trying to do!  I read her the entire screen.  I just wanted to pay the State efiling fee so I can submit the tax return.  After over an hour on the phone with this rep, I finally got a confirmation code and the transaction went through and I went on to submit the return.  The problem is, I received an email receipt for a $45 charge for TURBOTAX DESKTOP CA TAX YEAR 2021 WIN DOWNLOAD.  I did not notice this until I was off the phone with the rep.  Did I get charged for the wrong thing?  I already bought the state tax return on the disk, right?  Just want to make sure before I wait on the phone again.  Can I email TT instead of waiting on the phone?  Thanks!

[xmasbaby0]

@krazycats5 Not sure why you ended up on the phone over this at all.   When you want to pay the $25 for state e-filing, the software can just take you to a screen to enter your credit card and charge the $25 to it.   Either you misunderstood something or the rep you talked to misunderstood what you were trying to do.  It sounds like you were charged for an additional state software download, which is not what you needed.

No one in the user forum can resolve a billing issue.  If you have a question about your TurboTax fees or billing, make sure you use the word “billing” in your request for help.  Do not use the word “refund.”

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

[krazycats5]

I think the problem was that I wasn't logged in to my online account.  When I got to that step, it asked me to enter the e-file confirmation # and I didn't have it.  Tried to go back and a popup said I needed to enter an efile confirmation # there because I wouldn't have another chance to enter it if I exited that screen.  I didn't want to move without talking to a rep first so I called the #.  I have a feeling the rep was newer too because she kept putting me on hold to ask someone about the program from a CD vs online and whether I was using Mac. This is only the 2nd year I've used TT, so I could have done something wrong.  I will call billing.  Just trying to understand what happened so I don't do it again.

[VolvoGirl]

I'm in California and never heard of needing to call in or get a confirmation number.  My friend has a Mac and we paid the $25 state efile fee by credit card just using guest checkout.  Went very smooth and easy.  

Let me know what you find out and what that was all about.

[krazycats5]

Thank you. I don't know why it didn't just go to a payment screen either.  I figured it was because I was working on the tax return on my desktop locally.  The rep had me log in to my account and fill in payment info and it went through.

Update: I called TurboTax and the rep could see that I was wrongly charged for another state program when I've paid for it with the CD.  So they're refunding me the charge.

[paleoallen]

I have been trying to "Pay" the $25 bucks to e-file state forms from TurboTax. I called the number they provided and they want me to pay $30 to talk to a real person to find out the number I need to purchase the e-file.  Really? I waited I know but why should I have to pay $50+ for the privilege of someone taking my money.

[mesquitebean]

---

@ paleoallen wrote:

I have been trying to "Pay" the $25 bucks to e-file state forms from TurboTax. I called the number they provided and they want me to pay $30 to talk to a real person to find out the number I need to purchase the e-file.  Really? I waited I know but why should I have to pay $50+ for the privilege of someone taking my money.

---

You didn't describe any detail about your roadblock or error message.  It's possible someone in the user forum might see it and have a suggestion.

There is no fee for Customer Support in the desktop product.   The $30 fee that Support (or their automated recording) mentioned is only for users who are using the Online Free Edition. Free Edition users have to upgrade to PLUS ($30) for phone support, but that doesn't apply to desktop software.

TurboTax Support hours are 5AM-9PM Pacific (8AM-12 Midnight Eastern), 7 days/week

Try this phone number:

https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/

You can also contact a Support agent by messaging at Twitter or Facebook:

https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax
or
https://www.facebook.com/turbotax

[paleoallen]

I tried the 446-8848 number to no avail.  I finally found

[phone number removed] and was able to get a sales representative to sell me the access to e-file.  FYI I do not consider having to pay $30 for "free" access actually FREE.

[mesquitebean]

---

@paleoallen wrote:

I tried the 446-8848 number to no avail.  I finally found

[phone number removed] and was able to get a sales representative to sell me the access to e-file.  FYI I do not consider having to pay $30 for "free" access actually FREE.

---

Great news.   I'm glad they resolved it for you.  Hopefully, you have since been able to efile the state return.

It looks like the automatic forum privacy filter removed the phone number you included in your post above, likely because it was a full 10-digit number that it recognized as a phone number.  It does that because users will sometimes post their personal phone numbers and then could get spammed/scammed. 

I'm a fellow user and do not work for TurboTax, but I'm familiar with their pricing peculiarities.  And yes, I agree the $30 upgrade fee that Free Edition users have to pay in order to get realtime phone support is definitely not free.  At least those users can contact a Support agent for free using Twitter or Facebook, but that's less than optimal.

[StayPositive]

How do I get a refund from you guys because doing  my taxes with you guys went from free to being charged $108.

I would like a refund from TurboTax because I did not finish the process & went with someone elses software.

Venus Green

[email address removed]