Why does TurboTax charge for help but when IRS has an issue TurboTax is not available to help

[DoninGA]

The only charge from TurboTax for accessing support is if the Free online edition is being used.  Then the user is asked to upgrade to the Plus edition to access TurboTax phone support and speak with an agent.  All other online and desktop edition users have access to TurboTax support at any time during business hours.

TurboTax is tax preparation software only, it is not a paid tax professional such as a CPA, EA or Tax Attorney that can represent a taxpayer with the IRS.  Once the tax return has been filed and accepted by the IRS then TurboTax has completed its obligation to the user of the software.

TurboTax offers two types of Audit Support/Defense.  One is Audit Defense which is an optional charge and the other is the Audit Support Guarantee which is free.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for Audit Defense - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/using-turbotax/help/what-is-audit-defense/01/25537

See this TurboTax support FAQ for the difference between Audit Support Guarantee and Audit Defense - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/choosing-a-product/help/what-s-the-difference-between-the-audit-su...

[xmasbaby0]

You are posting from TurboTax Live.  If you need help with a 2018 return you can get live help, and you can get customer support.  However they are not there 24 hours a day.

To call TurboTax customer support

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

They are available from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time 7 days per week through October 25, 2019.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4124827-how-do-i-connect-with-a-tax-expert-in-turbotax-live