BLAUGHHH!
I did not write at all tonight. NOT ONE WORD. And I'm not going to start now. I wasted way too much time with TurboTax trying to get the free service that my bank links to, but which they claim to have discontinued. But then they have a DIFFERENT free service for simple taxes (like mine). Only it's NOT... because they will find SOME excuse to try to charge you. It took an HOUR to go through the questionaire, did not give me the option on not doing state which I have done though I-file for years (also free) until the end, so it wanted me to pay not just the $34 for enhanced plan so they could stick on a schedule which I did not need for a credit which will not make any difference in how much I get back. They also now want to charge me $40 for Ohio filing. LOL! HAHAHAH!
No.
So took went back and started over. Declined the upgrade everytime they said I should upgrade (for no reason) and then after going through the whole thing again, went back and TOOK OHIO OFF... and I come up against a paywall again. No back button, no way forward other than to upgrade, no way to downgrade again unless you clear it and start over.
So, I got on with their useless chatbot and wasted another 20 minutes shouting at it in ALL CAPS about my unpleasant experience. I went back to my banks site and left negative feedback (more politely) about the "service" that I'd experienced at TurboTax that was $80 of "free". I was desperately poor for WAY too many years to let a company nickel and dime me to $80 just because they want to add one more sheet of non-physical digital paper to my return that I don't need. Just because I CAN pay it doesn't mean I should, and I didn't.
I went back to IRS.gov and followed the link from Free File back to ezTaxReturns.com which is the FIRST PLACE I ever did my taxes online, when free file first became a thing. I'd only been using TurboTax because of the deal my bank was supposed to be getting for us. In 20 minutes I had done what it took an hour to do the first time on TurboTax, and my Federal taxes are filed. DONE. January 21. Oh and the biggest laugh? TurboTax likes to brag "The biggest return guaranteed" well, not if you bite a big $80 chunk off it it's not. I got the exact same return for free... with no bite missing out of it.
Ohio I-File opens on January 24, and I'll get that done too.
I ain't playing.
No.
So took went back and started over. Declined the upgrade everytime they said I should upgrade (for no reason) and then after going through the whole thing again, went back and TOOK OHIO OFF... and I come up against a paywall again. No back button, no way forward other than to upgrade, no way to downgrade again unless you clear it and start over.
So, I got on with their useless chatbot and wasted another 20 minutes shouting at it in ALL CAPS about my unpleasant experience. I went back to my banks site and left negative feedback (more politely) about the "service" that I'd experienced at TurboTax that was $80 of "free". I was desperately poor for WAY too many years to let a company nickel and dime me to $80 just because they want to add one more sheet of non-physical digital paper to my return that I don't need. Just because I CAN pay it doesn't mean I should, and I didn't.
I went back to IRS.gov and followed the link from Free File back to ezTaxReturns.com which is the FIRST PLACE I ever did my taxes online, when free file first became a thing. I'd only been using TurboTax because of the deal my bank was supposed to be getting for us. In 20 minutes I had done what it took an hour to do the first time on TurboTax, and my Federal taxes are filed. DONE. January 21. Oh and the biggest laugh? TurboTax likes to brag "The biggest return guaranteed" well, not if you bite a big $80 chunk off it it's not. I got the exact same return for free... with no bite missing out of it.
Ohio I-File opens on January 24, and I'll get that done too.
I ain't playing.