Low-income taxpayers in Colorado who have used TurboTax to file their taxes could be seeing refunds following a settlement with the tax-filing service’s parent company.
Intuit, the company that owns TurboTax, will pay over $2.5 million to some Coloradans who used the software as part of a $141 million settlement over the company’s deceptive marketing tactics claiming free tax-filing services.
Colorado was part of the 50-state agreement following an investigation assisted by the Federal Trade Commission.
“Free tax filing services are offered for a reason – to ensure lower-income Coloradans can file their taxes with as little impact to their daily lives and pocketbooks as possible,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement Wednesday. “Through today’s settlement, we are returning some of the money that was wrongfully taken from our state’s hardworking residents. We will continue standing up for vulnerable consumers taken advantage of by irresponsible companies.”
Consumers deceived by the e-filing software’s marketing practices between 2016 and 2018 will receive $30 checks in the mail for every year they used the program. In Colorado, that’s an estimated 80,000 payments, according to the attorney general’s office.
As part of the agreement, Intuit will end TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign, Weiser’s office said.
Intuit said in a statement that it “expects minimal impact to its business from implementing the remaining changes going forward.”
This article was originally posted on TurboTax settlement results in $2.5M for some Colorado taxpayers