Arg! TurboTax

[happybird]

Just did my taxes. Good news is I am actually getting a refund this year. Yay!!

I have no extra deductions or assets or any of that stuff so have used the free version of TurboTax for years.

I got an ACA plan the year before last. They take the premiums out of my return at tax time, so last year I owed around $300. No biggie, was just glad to have health insurance, especially after my Lyme disease ordeal.

Dad did my taxes last year so I was unaware that because of my ACA tax credit and payment deal, my return is no longer considered “simple.” His finances are definitely *not* simple, so he surely has some complex, expensive computer program to do taxes on.

So, doot-dee-do, I’m plugging in info to my good ol’ free TurboTax app. And then…

They made me upgrade to a Deluxe Plan because I no longer have a “simple return.” They would not file my return without the upgrade.

It just cost me $153 for a $37 tax credit.




They are taking it out of my federal return, so at least I didn’t have to whip out a credit card.
I figure they gotta make their money somehow, and I have done many free returns with them over the years, so it is what it is. I’m just grateful to be getting a refund this year. I really need it.


Happy Tax Season, Fellow DUers!

[XanaDUer2]

1. I got 6 months of a free aca policy

$911 a month i didn't pay. Am i responsible for that?

[happybird]

2. I am really not sure

When applying for the ACA, I checked the ‘take tax credit’ box without reading the fine print. Didn’t realize we would settle up on premiums at tax time. To be honest, I am not sure how it works and not sure why I am getting a refund this year and last year owed due to my ACA plan.

You should have gotten a 1095-A form in the mail to use on your tax return. That shows what your monthly premium was and what the credit was, each month, with a total for the year at the bottom. Theoretically, you should owe the difference between the two.

Even so, I still can’t figure out why I’m getting $37 credit on it instead of owing a few hundred dollars, like last year.

It’s sorcery, and I am just grateful for the app figuring it all out for me.

Sorry I can’t be of more help.

[XanaDUer2]

3. No worries

I guess I'm stuck i hate this country

[rsdsharp]

4. $153 for a Deluxe program???? I paid $34.95 for the H&R Block Deluxe program.

I switched to H&R Block (then Tax Cut) when Turbo Tax screwed me several years ago. Back then, the price was the same — so were the results.

Now they want five times as much?

[happybird]

5. It initially said $59...

With the old $69 Now $59! flare.

Once I tapped the ‘yeah whatever ya bastards’ button, it informed me the price was actually $59 to file the Federal return and another $59 for the State return. Yay! 🙃

Then, when I saw the billing page, the total was up to $158 because of a $40 “Refund Processing Fee.”



My refund is nice and I am dead broke, so I’m willing to lose that money to get the refund in my account ASAP. Not exactly happy, kinda feel like I fell for a Nigerian Prince scam, but at least I know I will actually get my money. Hopefully soon.

I better own this stupid Deluxe version for life.

[rsdsharp]

6. My federal filing fee was $0, my state program was free, and my state filing fee was $19.95.

I have no idea what a refund processing fee is.

I dumped Turbo Tax after I loaded the program, and it wouldn’t update. I shrugged it off, and when it came time to download my free state program, they charged me. After I paid, it wouldn’t download. I said screw it, bought Taxcut, and got the exact same federal refund with it, and it updated, and I got my free state program.

Never again for Turbotax.