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Thousands of Ohioans eligible to receive $30 checks from $141 million Intuit Turbotax settlement

Intuit's 2018 homepage for TurboTax failed to adequately disclose the limits of the "free" offer, the Federal Trade Commission says.
Federal Trade Commission
Intuit's 2018 homepage for TurboTax failed to adequately disclose the limits of the "free" offer, the Federal Trade Commission says.

Some Ohioans are eligible to receive part of a $141 million federal lawsuit settlement against Intuit's TurboTax tax-filing service.

Consumers who paid to file tax returns through TurboTax between 2016 and 2018, but were eligible for free filings can receive checks. Officials said most people will receive about $30 for each year they used Turbotax during that timespan.

Ohio received $5.3 million from the settlement and 174,000 Ohioans are eligible for a piece of the pie split between all 50 states and Washington D.C.

Intuit was the focus of a ProPublica investigation that found the company used deceptive tactics to get low-income consumers to pay for its products instead of the free, federally-supported programs.

It is estimated that 4.4 million Americans were impacted by the issue and are eligible to receive checks.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement that the checks are in the mail, or will be by the end of the month. He said he is thrilled Ohioans will get money back in what he called a "shameless scheme."

Yost and the other states joined in on the lawsuit after New York and Tennessee led the multi-state investigation.

Yost's statement said settlement fund administrator, Rust Consulting, is contacting eligible consumers by email.

George Shillcock is a reporter for 89.7 NPR News. He joined the WOSU newsroom in April 2023 following three years as a reporter in Iowa with the USA Today Network.