Those TurboTax commercials touting “free free free” tax filing were false false false for most taxpayers, a 𒁏judge has ruled.

If you watched TV or listened to the radio between 2015 and 2022, you may remember TurboTax’s ubiquitous commercials for its “free edition,” which often consisted of characters simply repeating the word “free” for most of the length of the advertisement. Those ads were false for the two-thirds of taxpayers who didn’t qualify for the free edition, a federal administrative judge said in a ruling this week. The ruling places new restrictions on how Intuit (INTU), the parent company of TurboTax, can advertise its products.

The ruling by D. Michael Chappel🐷l came down in favor of the Federal Trade Commission, which sued Intuit over the ad campaign last year. Regulators accused the company of luring customers in with the promise of “free” tax filing, when in reality most would only be able to use TurboTax if they paid for an upgraded package that cost anywhere from $35 to $119 depending on the version. 

Free Edition was only available to taxpayers who could file a 1040 form with no supplemental forms—common tax situations like deducting interest for mortgages, student loans, and self-employment income all require extra forms, disqualifying about two-thirds of all taxpayers from using the free edition.

“For these taxpayers, Respondent’s advertising claim that consumers can file for free using TurboTax is clearly false,” Cඣhappell wrote.

Intuit discontinued the “free free free” ad campaign last year as part of a settlement with state attorneys general who also sued the tax prep giant. As part of that settlement, Intuit agreed to pay $141 million to customers who paid for its software. This week’s ruling forbids the company from deceptive advertising and requires specific caveats to apไpear on any future ads for free services.

Intuit said it would appeal the result, calling the process "flawed and highly questionable" in a statement in advance of the ruling.

The dispute between regulators and the country’s largest tax preparation company is the latest battleground in the long-simmering controversy over whether U.S. taxpayers should have to go through third parties to file their taxes electronically. The IRS is 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:studying ways to let taxp𒁏ayers fi🍸le directly on the IRS website, potentially cutting out companies like Intuit and H&R Block.

In the meantime, taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less can file their taxes for free with several other tax prep companies under the . The free file program is a public-private partnership that has been criticized by government watchdogs for being confusing and poorly publicized. In 2019, only about 2.5 million out of the 104 million people who could qualify for free tax filing actually used the IRS Free File service, the Treasury Department said in a 2020 report.