$4 million in restitution for those deceived by tax service

More than $4 million in relief has been announced for Illinois consumers who were deceived into paying for tax services that were available for free. 

The announcement was made May 4 by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

As a result of a bipartisan agreement between all 50 states and the owner of TurboTax, Intuit Inc. (Intuit), Intuit will pay $141 million as restitution to millions of Americans, including more than 130,000 in Illinois. 

In addition, Intuit must end its TurboTax “free, free, free” ad campaign that lured customers with promises of free tax preparation services, only to mislead them into paying.

States opened an investigation into Intuit following reports that the company was using deceptive digital tactics to steer low-income consumers toward its commercial products and away from federally-supported free tax services.

Consumers are expected to receive a direct payment of approximately $30 for each year that they were deceived into paying for filing services. 

Impacted consumers will automatically receive notices and a check by mail.

Intuit withdrew from the IRS Free File program in July 2021.