You might want to reconsider that decision.
As millions of Americans from Massachusetts and Maine file their 2021 income taxes online today, (The rest of the country had yesterday as their deadline) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is demanding answers from Intuit about its popular TurboTax e-filing product.
In a letter to Intuit CEO Sasan K. Goodarzi, Warren says the company has used “extensive lobbying and adroit influence peddling” to prevent Americans from filing their taxes for free online.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit against Intuit in March for deceptive marketing.
“SCAMMING TAXPAYERS INTO PAYING FOR SERVICES THAT SHOULD BE FREE”
Many of Warren’s complaints center on the Free File program, an IRS partnership with a nonprofit coalition of tax prep companies founded in 2003 to provide free tax services to low-income filers. Under the terms of the partnership, 2021 filers with an adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less are eligible for the services, which are listed on the IRS website.
Intuit’s participation in the program came under criticism after a series of reports showed that both Intuit and H&R Block had misled Free File-eligible filers into paying to file their taxes. The companies also deliberately made the free versions of their software difficult to find using online search results.
In the letter, Sen. Warren writes that “the Free File program has been a failure, scamming taxpayers into paying for services that should be free,” adding that “deceptive practices and outright sabotage from Free File companies” were largely to blame for the low rate of taxpayer participation in the program — a rate of only about 3 percent, by Warren’s estimation.
Warren’s letter also points to a March 31st report from OpenSecrets, which found that Intuit employed former government officials, including former members of Congress, in its lobbying efforts. Intuit’s corporate political action committee has given donations to both Democrats and Republicans, according to the data. The company spent $3.3 million on lobbying in 2021.
The letter also notes a “revolving door” problem in enforcement, in which Intuit hires former regulators to help deflect government action. A recent court filing revealed that the company had hired former FTC chair Jon Leibowitz “to defend itself from an FTC complaint,” which Warren says raises conflict of interest concerns.
The best advice I can share today is not to waste your time with some so called “free” tax filing offers.
Remember, if you can’t file your taxes by today’s deadline (April 19th in Massachusetts and Maine) you’ll need to file for an extension.
Here’s the link direct to the IRS.gov website listing companies that will help you file your Federal taxes for free. Buyer beware…..
https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/
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