Thousands of South Carolinians to receive checks in Intuit TurboTax settlement

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD)- Thousands of South Carolinians will see checks hit their mailboxes in the coming weeks as part of a multistate settlement with Turbo Tax.

The $141 million settlement was agreed to in May 2022 after TurboTax’s parent company, Intuit Inc., was found to be engaging in deceptive advertising tactics.

According to investigators, the company tricked low-income consumers into paying for tax services that should have been free.

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson announced on Thursday that roughly $2.2 million will be distributed to 72,000 South Carolina taxpayers.

“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,” Attorney General Wilson said. “Our office will continue to protect the people of South Carolina from being taken advantage of.”

Eligible consumers include those who paid to file federal tax returns through TurboTax between 2016 and 2018 but were eligible to file for free through the Internal Revenue Service’s Free File Program.

Most people will receive around $30 from the settlement, but the exact amount will depend on the number of tax years for which they qualify.

Those who are eligible will be notified by email and automatically receive a check in the mail without needing to file a claim.

Checks are expected to be mailed starting next week.