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I know, I know, there’s so many dark patterns in TurboTax that it’s cliche to point them out… …but man, this was a particularly egregious example I came across

I know, I know, there’s so many dark patterns in TurboTax that it’s cliche to point them out… …but man, this was a particularly egregious example I came across this year. https://imgur.com/ojpLvRW https://imgur.com/ojpLvRW You can pay for TurboTax using your refund…with an additional $39 processing fee. That is just wild.

jackson1442 5y ago
I think that's actually somewhat standard- even FreeTaxUSA (my personal choice) does this because they're essentially letting you use their product on credit.
- lozenge 5y ago
  It's not a good way to present the option. Should be a radio button "Pay with refund (fee: $39)"
- deathanatos 5y ago
  I think the objection is not that they're charging a fee, it's that the fee is $39. TurboTax (just the basic federal edition) is what, $30? And yes, this is essentially credit, extended for what, a month? So ($39/$30 * 12) is yearly rate of like 1,560% for that credit, aka., highway robbery — that, I think, is the parent's point. (I might be a bit off on the price, but not enough to change the result. TurboTax's loss if the debtor here "defaults" somehow is … what, even?)
  - perardi 5y ago
    Yes, the highway robbery of it, that’s my point. That is a huge percentage of the base price of TurboTax, and it is in no way less convenient than paying with a credit card, and they hide that fee down in the blah blah text.
  - zerocrates 5y ago
    Plus they themselves have calculated that you're due a refund that will cover that cost already at this point, and they're going to directly pull their fees out of it... while not 100%, it's got to be pretty near the bottom in terms of risk. Especially if they still wait to pay you the balance until the refund is actually paid by the Treasury.
    - toast0 5y ago
      There's a few risks they're taking still. a) that you have an outstanding tax bill, or other garnishment, and while you overpaid, you will not be receiving a refund, and they'll need to find you to make payment some other way. b) the return is fraudulent and they're going to have to pick up the pieces when the IRS figures it out and reverses the deposit. Plus, they didn't get paid. Is that $40 of risk? Eh, probably not, but it's something.
- pvarangot 5y ago
  FreeTaxUSA charges 19.90 for that, so still 20 bucks cheaper than TurboTax
quickthrower2 5y ago
That is a payday loan that has 100% AAA collateral at loan shark rates, on a system that you are trusting like your dentist to do the right thing. Nice.
rudedogg 5y ago
I like how the content and actions/buttons are in the opposite order too.
- jader201 5y ago
  I guess? But I think it would also be weird to have the “Pay Now” button right below the content for “Pay with Refund” (and then the “Pay with Refund” button below that one). I mean, ideally the buttons would be immediately below the corresponding content. But if both buttons are going to be at the bottom, I can see arguments for either order.

jackson1442 5y ago

I think that's actually somewhat standard- even FreeTaxUSA (my personal choice) does this because they're essentially letting you use their product on credit.

lozenge 5y ago
It's not a good way to present the option. Should be a radio button "Pay with refund (fee: $39)"
deathanatos 5y ago
I think the objection is not that they're charging a fee, it's that the fee is $39. TurboTax (just the basic federal edition) is what, $30? And yes, this is essentially credit, extended for what, a month? So ($39/$30 * 12) is yearly rate of like 1,560% for that credit, aka., highway robbery — that, I think, is the parent's point. (I might be a bit off on the price, but not enough to change the result. TurboTax's loss if the debtor here "defaults" somehow is … what, even?)
- perardi 5y ago
  Yes, the highway robbery of it, that’s my point. That is a huge percentage of the base price of TurboTax, and it is in no way less convenient than paying with a credit card, and they hide that fee down in the blah blah text.
- zerocrates 5y ago
  Plus they themselves have calculated that you're due a refund that will cover that cost already at this point, and they're going to directly pull their fees out of it... while not 100%, it's got to be pretty near the bottom in terms of risk. Especially if they still wait to pay you the balance until the refund is actually paid by the Treasury.
  - toast0 5y ago
    There's a few risks they're taking still. a) that you have an outstanding tax bill, or other garnishment, and while you overpaid, you will not be receiving a refund, and they'll need to find you to make payment some other way. b) the return is fraudulent and they're going to have to pick up the pieces when the IRS figures it out and reverses the deposit. Plus, they didn't get paid. Is that $40 of risk? Eh, probably not, but it's something.
pvarangot 5y ago
FreeTaxUSA charges 19.90 for that, so still 20 bucks cheaper than TurboTax

quickthrower2 5y ago

That is a payday loan that has 100% AAA collateral at loan shark rates, on a system that you are trusting like your dentist to do the right thing. Nice.

rudedogg 5y ago

I like how the content and actions/buttons are in the opposite order too.

jader201 5y ago
I guess? But I think it would also be weird to have the “Pay Now” button right below the content for “Pay with Refund” (and then the “Pay with Refund” button below that one). I mean, ideally the buttons would be immediately below the corresponding content. But if both buttons are going to be at the bottom, I can see arguments for either order.