TurboTax owes some SC consumers money, new settlement says. How to know if you are eligible

More than 72,000 South Carolinians will soon get a portion of $2.2 million as part of a settlement against the owner of TurboTax.

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson announced on Thursday that consumers who were tricked by Intuit, owner of the TurboTax tax preparation software, into paying for free tax services, would soon receive checks. The South Carolina payout is part of a larger, $141 million, multi-state settlement against the company.

The lawsuit against Intuit revolves around TurboTax deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying to file federal tax returns — a process that they were eligible to file for free through the IRS.

“No one likes to fill out their tax returns, but it’s a low blow to trick people into paying to file when they could have done it for free,” Wilson said in a Thursday press release. “Our office will continue to protect the people of South Carolina from being taken advantage of.”

Eligible consumers will be contacted by email about the settlement by Rust Consulting, the settlement fund administrator, and checks will be mailed throughout May 2023, starting next week. Those who are eligible include taxpayers 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.

Anyone eligible for a payment will receive a check in the mail automatically, without filing a claim.

For more information about the settlement fund, click here.