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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

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