💵 Those Taxes Won’t File Themselves (For Free)

SETTLEMENT SPOTLIGHT
💵 Those Taxes Won’t File Themselves (For Free)

💪 We’re shining a light on a settlement that drove changes for good.

Tax season typically brings its share of headache, heartache, and wallet-ache – especially to those who start three hours before the deadline, have a shoddy wifi connection and think they are using a “free” software plan… Sounds familiar (looking at you recent college grads 👀)?

However, all’s (not) fair in taxes and filing… or it wasn’t when it came to thinking you were using a free version, only to get slapped with having to pay a bill at the end. Not to worry, you weren’t alone. A significant shake up ($141 million worth) came knocking on the tax filing software world.

What Happened?
ProPublica dropped an article revealing TurboTax’s sneaky move of burying its free file page from search engines. Shortly after, the FTC knocked on Intuit’s door, accusing TurboTax of falsely labeling its products as "free" when many couldn't even use it during the 2016-2018 tax seasons. Turns out, if you had a 1099 gig or farmed for a living, tough luck. Based on 2020 data, about two-thirds of taxpayers were left puzzled by TurboTax's notion of "free."

Per CNBC, 70% of taxpayers (~100 million Americans) are eligible to file their taxes for free, but a whopping 3% used the IRS Free File program… I guess it depends who you ask because according to TurboTax, only about 37% of taxpayers qualify for their free filing. Something seems off there. 😬

So, It was an Easy Fight?
Not exactly. TurboTax did what any founding member of the IRS Free File program would do – in capitalist fashion they opted out of the program altogether and made sure to call the FTC’s argument “just not credible.” But after a quick hiatus starting in 2021, TurboTax Free Edition is back.

Payouts En Route… Automatically!
Starting in February 2024, Intuit began sending out checks for the  $141 million settlement reached in 2022. Normally, we'd nudge you and say “like filing your taxes, remember to file your class action settlements (they usually take 5 mins), but in this case, Intuit’s got you covered.

They're automatically sending checks to those affected with no filing necessary, since they already have all your info (because they literally have ALL of your taxable info…).

What Else Changed? 
Besides no longer hiring engineers to bury the Free Edition 12 ft deep (double the legal depth), TurboTax has released a new bombardment of commercials spelling out how those with “simple” tax situations and file with them for, you guessed it, free. Those of you that still have (or mooch off your parents’) cable provider can back me up on the number of commercials.

In the End
Moral of the story is that class actions can do more than one thing. In this scenario, they helped both put money back in your pocket AND changed company practices (like hiding free editions from customers and changing their marketing practices), which is a pretty sweet win in our books.

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THANK YOU
✅ Claims Closed

If you filed your Pork Purchaser Antitrust settlement claim with us, we appreciate you! We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the payout process starts in the next few months – stay tuned.

WE’VE GOT RECS
📚️ What Else We’re Checking Out  

These don’t get us paid, we’re just enjoying and recommending them to you.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON
🗃️ Case Docket 

More cases that could be affecting you! Click on any of these below or check out our website for our full list of open settlements.

ROCKIN’ DOWN THE HIGHWAY (Open and filing claims!)
BUSINESS FILINGS: 
💳 Visa & Mastercard ($5.54B settlement) Your biz may have paid excessive fees for accepting Visa or Mastercard swipes…

PERSONAL FILINGS:  
📵 Verizon Wireless ($100M settlement) Verizon may have been charging customers extra “admin fees” every month…
🍗 Buy Raw Chicken? ($181M settlement) You may have been overcharged by some of the biggest names in the chicken game…

NOT QUITE RIPE FOR THE PICKIN’ (Not open for claims, yet) 
PERSONAL FILINGS: 
🛩️ Fly Recently? ($60M-so far…) American, Delta, Southwest and United may have overcharged you for flights over the years...
🔍 Search in Incognito? (~$5B settlement) Google may have tracked yours (+ M’s of other Americans) data while you were browsing privately...
🏠️ Sell Your House? ($208.5M settlement) This is what we just talked about above!