Where do I request a refund since I had to pay for turbo tax when it said free?

[NCperson]

@miss_brooklyn89 - if you are refering to the Intuit Settlement, there is nothing for you to do.  If you are eligible, you will receive a check in the mail.  It's about $30 per year for the years that were part of the settlement. 

[Opus 17]

Turbotax is "free to start."  You will incur charges if your return requires additional forms not included in the free version, and these charges are disclosed before you accept them.  If you disagree with the charges, you can drop your return and use another company.

The IRS offers a "free file" service for people below a certain income, even if they require forms not in the usual free to start version. In the past, Turbotax has made it difficult to find this version, leading some people who qualified for the IRS free version based on income, to pay for Turbotax.  There is a settlement under which certain taxpayers whose income is less than the IRS free file limit, but who paid for Turbotax during certain years, will receive a refund.  Turbotax has the information for those customers and will issue refunds automatically.

If the return you are asking about is not part of the settlement, you can contact customer support directly and try to make a case for why you should get a refund.

Turbotax has since dropped out of the IRS free file program.  Every Turbotax return is "free to start" with final cost depending on the forms you need and the complexity of your return, not your income or amount of your refund.  Every fee is disclosed before you agree to it.  You are free to find another company if you prefer. 

[xmasbaby0]

You have not mentioned what tax year you expected to file for free and had to pay.   There is a settlement agreement for certain users for the tax years of 2016, 2017, and/or 2018.   You do not have to do anything to participate or "sign up."   If you are referring to some other tax year, that is a different matter.

The settlement agreement covers users who used TurboTax in 2016, 2017 or 2018.   If you are one of the affected users you will receive about $30 for each of those years in which your income was $34,000 or less and in which you started in the Free Edition and were upgraded to a paid version of the software.

"Covered Consumer" means any individual, or individuals if a joint return was filed, who in Tax Years 2016, 2017, or 2018 was (1) eligible to use an Intuit IRS Free File Product; (2) began his or her tax returns using a TurboTax Free Edition Product; (3) was informed that he or she was ineligible to use a TurboTax Free Edition Product; (4) subsequently paid to use a TurboTax Paid Product, and (5) had not used the Intuit IRS Free File Product in a previous tax year.

You do not have to “sign up” or get on a list.   The payments will be sent out automatically to the affected users.   We do not know yet how soon the payments will be sent.

https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/turbotax-settlement-you-do-not-have-to-m...

https://www.newsweek.com/intuit-turbotax-settlement-cheated-customers-refunded-lawsuit-restitution-1...

If you mean you thought your 2021 return would be free and you paid:

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/

If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons:

• Remove Premium Services
• Remove MAX Defend & Restore
• Remove a state
• Remove PLUS Help & Support
• Remove Pay With Your Refund

[marlenejyazzie]

Hello;

Am I eligible to received the settlement. 

[xmasbaby0]

@marlenejyazzie Do you mean this?

The settlement agreement covers users who used TurboTax in 2016, 2017 or 2018.   If you are one of the affected users you will receive about $30 for each of those years in which your income was $34,000 or less and in which you started in the Free Edition and were upgraded to a paid version of the software.

"Covered Consumer" means any individual, or individuals if a joint return was filed, who in Tax Years 2016, 2017, or 2018 was (1) eligible to use an Intuit IRS Free File Product; (2) began his or her tax returns using a TurboTax Free Edition Product; (3) was informed that he or she was ineligible to use a TurboTax Free Edition Product; (4) subsequently paid to use a TurboTax Paid Product, and (5) had not used the Intuit IRS Free File Product in a previous tax year.

You do not have to “sign up” or get on a list.   The payments will be sent out automatically to the affected users.   We do not know yet how soon the payments will be sent.

https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/money-verify/turbotax-settlement-you-do-not-have-to-m...

https://www.newsweek.com/intuit-turbotax-settlement-cheated-customers-refunded-lawsuit-restitution-1...

[LolicePatterson]

I only had one form and was told that it was for free, however I was charged half of the amount that I had received. How do I get a refund?

[xmasbaby0]

@LolicePatterson    Did you already e-file?  You may have started in the Free Edition, but if you entered something that required an upgrade, the screens alerted you to that.    If you used the software and filed the return, you are quite unlikely to get a refund for using the software.   But you can have that conversation with customer support.

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

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/

How can I see my TurboTax  fees?   

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2565973-how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online

If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons:

• Remove Premium Services
• Remove MAX Defend & Restore
• Remove a state
• Remove PLUS Help & Support
• Remove Pay With Your Refund