Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP Announces the Filing of a Consumer Class Action Lawsuit Against Intuit Inc., Maker of TurboTax, for Improperly Charging Fees

The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit against Intuit Inc. (“Intuit”) in the Northern District of California (San Jose Division), captioned Allwein v. Intuit Inc., Case No. 5:19-cv-2567, on behalf of all Free File Program-eligible persons or entities in the United States who paid to use a TurboTax product to file an online tax return for the 2002 through 2018 tax filing years.

Individuals who paid for TurboTax products for tax filing years 2002 through 2018, and: (i) have an adjusted gross income of $34,000 or less; or (ii) are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit; or (iii) are on active military duty and have an adjusted gross income of $66,000 or less, are encouraged to contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (James Maro, Esq. or Adrienne Bell, Esq.) to discuss their legal rights or interests at (888) 299-7706 or (610) 667-7706, or via e-mail at [email protected]. For additional information please visit www.ktmc.com/turbotax-improper-fee-class-action-lawsuit.

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is also investigating H&R Block, Inc. for similar misconduct as that alleged in the Intuit lawsuit. Individuals who paid for H&R Block for tax filing years 2002 through 2018, and: (i) have an adjusted gross income of $66,000 or less AND are between 17 and 51 years old; or (ii) are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit; or (iii) are on active military duty and have an adjusted gross income of $66,000 or less, are also encouraged to contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. Please click on the link above for additional information.

As set forth in the complaint, in 2002, Intuit and a group of electronic tax preparation and filing companies agreed to provide a free version of their commercial products to lower-income Americans. In exchange, the IRS agreed to not compete with Intuit and the other companies in providing free, online tax return preparation and filing services (the “Free File Program”). Despite the institution of the Free File Program, only a small percentage of American taxpayers file their taxes for free. For fiscal year 2018, less than 2.5 million of the 100 million eligible taxpayers, or less than 2.5%, participated in the Free File Program.

Intuit offers a free online tax preparation and filing product called TurboTax “Freedom Edition” that is a part of the IRS Free File Program. Anyone who (i) has an adjusted gross income of $34,000 or less, (ii) is eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, or (iii) is on active military duty and has an adjusted gross income of $66,000 or less is eligible to use TurboTax Freedom Edition.

Intuit, however, has taken deliberate efforts to hide its fully-functional TurboTax Freedom Edition, while at the same time aggressively marketing as “free” its TurboTax Free Edition, which is a version of its software with limited functionality that is useless to all but those with the simplest of tax returns. For example, Intuit has ensured that TurboTax Freedom Edition is not available through TurboTax’s homepage website. Only TurboTax Free Edition and its three other paid products can be accessed directly from the TurboTax Homepage.

Intuit’s deceptive conduct directly contradicts the IRS’s stated objective of providing free online preparation and filing for lower-income individuals. By falsely convincing Free File Program-eligible filers that they were unable to prepare and file their taxes for free, despite the existence of Freedom Edition, Intuit charged individuals for paid TurboTax products when it should have provided Freedom Edition for free pursuant to the Free File Program. As a result of the foregoing, plaintiff and members of the class have suffered harm as a result of Intuit’s false advertising, fraudulent conduct, and unfair, unlawful and deceptive trade practices.

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world. The firm represents investors, consumers and whistleblowers (private citizens who report fraudulent practices against the government and share in the recovery of government dollars). For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP, please visit www.ktmc.com.

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Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
James Maro, Esq.
Adrienne Bell, Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
(888) 299-7706
(610) 667-7706
[email protected]