Mississippians to get money from TurboTax settlement

Almost 38,000 Mississippians who used Intuit’s TurboTax and paid for services that should have been free will receive checks from a settlement with the company.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch today announced  that consumers will begin receiving checks this month from a $141-million multi-state settlement. Fitch announced the settlement in May of last year. Mississippi received $1.15 million in the settlement.

Eligible consumers will be contacted by email about the settlement and will not need to file any claims.

“Nearly 38,000 Mississippians were misled into paying for tax filing services that should have been free,” Fitch said in a statement. “I am pleased these Mississippians will finally receive some restitution and I am hopeful this investigation and settlement will put an end to similar deceptive marketing practices.”

A multi-state investigation found that Intuit was using deceptive digital tactics to steer low-income consumers toward its commercial products and away from federally-supported free tax services.

Eligible consumers include those who paid to file their federal tax returns through TurboTax for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 but were eligible to file for free through the IRS Free File Program. All 50 states and the District of Columbia signed onto the agreement. Approximately 4.4 million consumers nationwide will receive checks in the mail from the settlement.

Those consumers will be notified by email by the fund administrator, Rust Consulting. These consumers will receive a check in the mail automatically, without filing a claim. Checks are expected to be mailed out starting this week. The amount each consumer receives will be based on the number of tax years for which they qualify. Most consumers are expected to receive between $29 and $30.

For more information about who is covered by the settlement, and information about the settlement fund, please visit www.AGTurboTaxSettlement.com. If you have any questions, please also feel free to contact Attorney General Fitch’s Consumer Protection Division at 601-359-3680 or consumer@ago.ms.gov.