Question

Anyone else feel robbed?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
February 5, 2025
10 replies
0 views

I am writing to formally express my frustration and disappointment with TurboTax’s fee structure. Your platform advertises a $39 fee, yet an additional $40 is charged simply for the act of filing. This brings the total to $80, which, in my case, amounted to 6% of my entire tax return—a completely unjustifiable amount.

As a tax preparation service, TurboTax has full visibility into users’ earnings, deductions, and financial situations. Yet, despite knowing how much of our hard-earned money is already taken through taxation, your company still imposes excessive fees on those who are simply trying to comply with the law and file their returns. The fact that these charges are not transparently disclosed upfront feels intentionally misleading.

It is unacceptable that TurboTax preys on taxpayers with these hidden and inflated fees. The cost of filing should be clear, fair, and proportionate. Instead, your pricing model capitalizes on those who are expecting refunds—essentially taking a cut of their money for a service that is advertised at a much lower rate.

I am an underpaid preschool teacher and every dollar counts. This kind of business practice erodes trust and damages TurboTax’s reputation. I will not be recommending your service to anyone and will actively encourage others to seek alternative tax filing methods that do not exploit users with unreasonable fees.

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xmasbaby0

Employee

You DO NOT have to choose "refund processing" and pay that extra $40. If you pay your TurboTax fees upfront using a credit or debit card before you e-file you will not pay that $40 fee.

REMOVE REFUND PROCESSING FEE

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/intuit-account-billing/remove-pay-refund-fees-turbotax-online-change/L7UxC6ZZp_US_en_US?uid=m6r4xelq

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

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HannahemsickAuthor

It’s still way too much money for a very simple service and if I don’t have 40$ available. (Which is a lot of people who live paycheck to paycheck) Then there is no other option but to take the extra 40$ from your return. But thanks for the information! I just wanted to express that it’s horrible y’all charge anything at all and wondered if people felt the same way

VolvoGirl

Employee

Was the $39 for Online Deluxe? Did you do a state return? State is a separate fee. Or you selected to have the $39 deducted from your refund. There is an Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge (45 in California). So go back through the File tab and pay upfront with a credit card to avoid the extra charge.

How to review your fees

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online/00/26353

For help with fees

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/what-can-i-do-to-reduce-my-fees/00/26051

Remove Pay with Refund fee

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/downgrading/help/how-do-i-remove-pay-with-my-refund-fees-in-turbotax-online-and-change-my-payment-method/00/25880

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xmasbaby0

Employee

@Hannahemsick

Did you already e-file?

If you have not filed---

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/

Or—if you live in certain states you may be eligible to use the new IRS Direct File

In Filing Season 2025, Direct File will be available in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

https://directfile.irs.gov/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2629

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

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HannahemsickAuthor

Yeah I will next year, I just think it’s crazy how much yall take out!

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Victoriamaciel91

Absolutely. I’m no longer going to them. I wen on freetaxusa instead and only paid 20 bucks

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HItaxpayer1

Definitely feeling taking advantage of. Federal tax filing was once free. 2024 federal tax filing shows a cost of $109, which you accept to begin your federal taxes, and it isn't until you finish the federal and state taxes that you are presented with an additional $40 processing fee and $35 banking transaction fee. Not sure that I will be completing these transactions.

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xmasbaby0

Employee

@HItaxpayer1

There is not a fee to e-file your tax return or to have direct deposit of your refund.

Did you choose to pay for using TurboTax by having the fee taken out of your federal refund? That means you will pay an EXTRA FEE of $40 ($45 in CA) to have a third party bank receive your refund from the IRS, take out enough to pay TT, and then send you the rest of the refund. ( The third party bank keeps the $40 or $45 fee for itself.)

You do not have to do that. Pay upfront BEFORE you file --- pay using a credit or debit card.

REMOVE REFUND PROCESSING FEE

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/intuit-account-billing/remove-pay-refund-fees-turbotax-online-change/L7UxC6ZZp_US_en_US?uid=m6r4xelq

And....you do NOT have to choose the "5 Day Early" refund option---in fact, avoid that like the plague. Just pay your TT fees upfront with a credit or debit card.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

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eli700

Yes i feel robbed. I am a student and simply because i need to add a 1098-t i get automatically updated to TurboTax deluxe. Then they charge an additional 64 dollars for filing state taxes. Which brings the total to 143. Then they proceed to add another 7.37 fee for paying with my credit card. According to me it was supposed to be 2.49%. They charged more than double that.

KrisD15

You might try IRS FREE FILE to see if you qualify to file for free through that.

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

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LWhitt58

YES, absolutely they're ripping consumers off! As I walked through Federal and State Taxes this afternoon, getting ready to be able to just file my Federal tax return, I discover I'd have to pay an additional $64 for my State tax form when all I want to do is print it and send it in myself! Umm, no...I'm not paying $64 for a $9 refund! All I wanted to do was file my Federal tax form, then print the State form and send it in to my state's Dept of Revenue the way I've done for the past 14 years.

NOW the way TurboTax is set up, you have to input your credit card and there's NO indication that you can just print the State form out yourself and mail it in vs having them file it for you. So not wanting the potential of an additional $64 on my credit card with probably NO way to get it refunded, I deleted the State tax return info (the ONLY way I could file my Federal return and not be charged an additional $64) and send the Federal tax filing to the IRS. I was thinking I could go back after the Fed return was accepted and fill in the State return and print it out. NOPE. Again, perhaps the user is able to print out their state return? But they give NO indication that you can do that prior to inputting your CC info.

Deceptive practices, TurboTax, and makes me not inclined to use it ever again.

VolvoGirl

Employee

@LWhitt58 Sounds like you used the Desktop program before? Did you accidentally get into the Online version this year? Online is priced differently. The fees are to prepare the federal and state returns whether you efile or print and mail. And you have to pay to see all the forms. And there are several other differences you must have noticed doing Online . Like no Forms Mode and you might have needed to upgrade to a higher version to enter certain income.

We can help you get the Desktop program and move your online return to it.

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LWhitt58

Yes, I was using the Desktop version before, but Intuit no longer sells the CD version. And because I no longer have a Windows OS laptop, I'm SOL. I recently purchased a Chromebook, not realizing it wouldn't take the Turbotax Deluxe Fed/State Download I purchased at BJ's Wholesale Club back in late February, since it's Windows or Mac only. That was my error not realizing it before I pulled the zip strip on the back of the folder for the code. If Intuit allowed Chromebook users to download, there wouldn't be an issue.

So going forward, I'm assuming I'll have to deal with TurboTax for Federal alone (if I choose to continue with TurboTax) and then go to my State's online filing system OR do theirs by paper. Still - very very frustrating.

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Rudymac

Yes! Absolutely, the cost displayed and the cost charged does not match. When asking a refund the response is basically too bad, we don't refund.

Their billing practices need to be reviewed.

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HannahemsickAuthor

I just wish there was some way to take them back to court, they already got in trouble last year, for hidden fees. And now they just blatantly tack stuff on knowing people don’t have a choice as not filing is illegal. Whoever runs this show is a bad person I said it

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thisisbullsh1t

I am. I need to file a schedule E amount for 10.23. In order to add this Schedule E item, turbotax will raise the amount they charge me from 79 - 209 - I don't even need their help - WTH

I can not talk to anyone regarding this. All the automated thing wants to do is put me on the phone with person who help[s with taxes so they can charge me

This is bullsh1t

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HannahemsickAuthor

ITS BULL**bleep**, they shouldn’t be collecting so much from people who are just following the laws. I’m so sorry. That’s frustrating! You KNOW THE tax experts probably feel bad for people too, just getting charged right and left, I had health insurance for two months and dropped it cause too expensive even with marketplace, and they charge me more for having to file one more piece of paper work, it would probably save everyone money to just go to a real **bleep**ing tax person and to ABSOLUTELY RUN FAR AWAY FROM TURBOTAX.

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krisKmg365

I agree. It is intentionally deceptive process. They know it is. My guess is they pay people to make it more and more deceptive each year. I was able to avoid one secret cost by using a credit card instead of using my tax refund to pay. I learned from someone on YouTube how to avoid the cost filing.
I also don’t understand why the State and federal government doesn’t fill out most of the forms for us— they know what the numbers should be— We get audited because we fill out ridiculous forms in the wrong way. The only parts we should need to fill out is our personal write offs— they have most everything else. It’s a giant scam!

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palmerbabcock

I don't just feel robbed, I WAS robbed. They took the fees you mentioned, on top of an additional $275.19 in "fees". Totaling $352.49, that they took out of my federal refund. I filed an extremely simple standardized return with two W-2's. In what scenario would that cost almost $400. Well, after the IRS made unexpected adjustments to my return basically cutting it in half for unknown reasons, Turbo Tax also took half of my return. The only fee I agreed to when I filed, was the $35 filing fee. I didn't agree to pay $40 to "receive my refund 5 days early". Then there is this additional $275 they took with no receipt or agreements anywhere. The two fees mentioned in original post were at least in my user agreement. I guess Turbo Tax decided they could use another couple hundred dollars from a lower-middle class tax payer. Big corporations like Intuit/Turbo Tax get away with this kind of stuff constantly. I am pretty bothered by the fact that they did this to me, and more the fact that there is nothing I can do. I wont even consider wasting my time, or breath, reaching out to them in any way. They will just gaslight me, and try to tell me I agreed to all kinds of services, and refuse to take any kind of accountability. Even though I know what I did, and didn't agree too during the 30 minutes it took for me to file my return.

TURBO TAX IS A FRAUD. I WILL WARN EVERYONE I KNOW OF THIS AND HOPEFULLY SAVE THEM FROM LOSING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS.