Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

propublica.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 283 posts

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#11

Post by untog »

They're not perfect, but I've had success filing with FreeTaxUSA - federal is free, state is $15:

https://www.freetaxusa.com/

Obviously too late for people this year, and my tax situation is relatively straightforward so I can't speak to how well it handles edge cases, but the first year I used it I went through the process with both TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA and got the exact same estimated refund.

The last straw with TurboTax was when I needed to get some details from a previous year's tax return and found out that they would not let me access a return I'd paid to file with them unless I upgraded my plan. Absolute scum. I took the opportunity to also close my Mint account (same parent company as TurboTax) which I barely use and has been sending all kinds of transaction data for them to profit from.

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#12

Post by liminal »

alehul wrote: post #3

In my experience this year, TurboTax prompted me that I could save money by upgrading to a paid plan via taking advantage of some extra deduction. I thought, "if it's going to save me more than I pay for it, why not?" I clicked through and found that this deduction wouldn't actually save me any money. I then couldn't find a way to get back to the free plan (they only charge you after you file, so this should be possi…

To downgrade you need to delete all the info you entered and start over. That's definitely a dark pattern

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#13

Post by tylerrobinson »

alehul wrote: post #3

In my experience this year, TurboTax prompted me that I could save money by upgrading to a paid plan via taking advantage of some extra deduction. I thought, "if it's going to save me more than I pay for it, why not?" I clicked through and found that this deduction wouldn't actually save me any money. I then couldn't find a way to get back to the free plan (they only charge you after you file, so this should be possi…

I had a similar experience. I wanted to compare the results (in terms of taxes owed) from the two plans. As I recall, my only option to get "back" to the free plan was to start over completely.

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#14

Post by tylerrobinson »

untog wrote: post #11

They're not perfect, but I've had success filing with FreeTaxUSA - federal is free, state is $15: https://www.freetaxusa.com/ Obviously too late for people this year, and my tax situation is relatively straightforward so I can't speak to how well it handles edge cases, but the first year I used it I went through the process with both TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA and got the exact same estimated refund. The last straw with…

I'm no TurboTax apologist, but really? I think you always have access to the PDF versions of past years' tax returns upon signing in to your account.

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#15

Post by untog »

tylerrobinson wrote: post #14
untog wrote: post #11

They're not perfect, but I've had success filing with FreeTaxUSA - federal is free, state is $15: https://www.freetaxusa.com/ Obviously too late for people this year, and my tax situation is relatively straightforward so I can't speak to how well it handles edge cases, but the first year I used it I went through the process with both TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA and got the exact same estimated refund. The last straw with…

I'm no TurboTax apologist, but really? I think you always have access to the PDF versions of past years' tax returns upon signing in to your account.

Just tried it again:

> It looks like you need to pay first to instantly access your TurboTax returns

> For instructions on how to access your returns, click help in the upper right hand corner of your screen and type “Prior Year Return” into the search box

and when I do that:

> To access your prior year return before you file, you have to:

> Be in an upgraded version of TurboTax (or add PLUS to TurboTax Free Edition).

The fact that it makes you search their help system for the answer to your question is just the icing on the cake...

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#16

Post by athenot »

TaxAct has one dark pattern where they slide in a question in the middle where they basically ask your consent for marketing stuff to you. It's confusingly worded in a way to make it sound like you'll unlock additional savings.

But the good part is you can decline that, and the rest of the time they stick to the task at hand. Now they do have separate pricing tiers based on your needs but I don't find that dishonest. In fact they have a quick selector to help you identify which tier you need to get based on your situation.

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#18

Post by hawkesnest »

tylerrobinson wrote: post #14
untog wrote: post #11

They're not perfect, but I've had success filing with FreeTaxUSA - federal is free, state is $15: https://www.freetaxusa.com/ Obviously too late for people this year, and my tax situation is relatively straightforward so I can't speak to how well it handles edge cases, but the first year I used it I went through the process with both TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA and got the exact same estimated refund. The last straw with…

I'm no TurboTax apologist, but really? I think you always have access to the PDF versions of past years' tax returns upon signing in to your account.

I had the same experience. They hold your previous years' filings hostage for some fee. While I admit it was my fault for not having my previous 1040 handy at the time (It was somewhere "safe" and mildly inconvenient) this practice surprised me.

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#19

Post by ocdtrekkie »

res0nat0r wrote: post #10
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The paid plan upgrade is based on which forms you input, not necessarily which deduction you get. So hypothetically, even if your best choice is the standard deduction, they expect you to pay if you have some of those other tax forms. I guess my question is, if you know the standard deduction is the right choice, can you just not input the tax forms that you don't need for that?

Everyone should just use freetaxusa.com. I've used it for years, the UI looks almost the same as TurboTax and costs like 12$ total to file both state and federal.

Can I point on the inherent irony of recommending a site called "free"taxusa that costs $12 to file?

Re: TurboTax Uses Dark Patterns to Trick You into Paying to File Your Taxes

#20

Post by mruts »

SilasX wrote: post #4

I almost got burned by one of those myself. Until I checked the fine print at the end, I didn’t realize there was a separate $40 charge for paying for TurboTax out of your refund (rather than with a credit card). That can’t cost anything on their end and seems designed to target people who don’t have the money lying around.

I mean, that sounds like a pretty fair service to me: offering short-term credit while also streamlining the customer acquisition process.
Post reply on HN