The Federal Trade Commission ruled in a final order and opinion Monday that TurboTax, the popular tax filing software, engaged in deceptive advertising and banned the company from advertising its services for free unless it is free for all customers.
By running ads for “free” tax services that many customers were not qualified for, the tax filing software violated the FTC Act and deceived consumers, the agency said.
The FTC had first sued Intuit, TurboTax’s owner, for its deceptive advertising in 2022. The FTC staff alleged most tax filers couldn’t use the company’s “free” services — “such as those who get a 1099 form for work in the gig economy, or those who earn farm income.” TurboTax advertising their products as free misled those customers, according to the FTC.
Cash App acquired their tax services from Credit Karma, which was highly regarded as a free service. No idea how it is now, but its predecessor was good.