Intuit TurboTax $141 Million Settlement: Payments Went Out in May 2023, Most Got $29 to $30

This was not a class action. On May 4, 2022, a coalition of state attorneys general announced a $141 million multistate settlement with Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, in the form of an assurance of voluntary compliance. The California Attorney General describes the coalition as 51 attorneys general, joined by the Los Angeles City Attorney and Santa Clara County Counsel.

The states alleged that Intuit deceptively advertised its "free" TurboTax products and used tactics that steered eligible taxpayers away from the IRS Free File Program and toward paid products. According to the California Attorney General, about 70% of taxpayers qualified for the IRS Free File Program, but fewer than 3% used it to file their 2020 returns. Besides the payment, the settlement required Intuit to change its business practices and comply with state consumer protection laws.

Because the money was restitution collected by state attorneys general rather than a class action, there was no class counsel and no claim form. The official site says nearly all of the $141 million went to qualifying customers. See class actions versus other ways to get money back for how these differ.

According to the official settlement website, a TurboTax customer received a payment if, in tax year 2016, 2017, or 2018, all of the following were true:

• The customer was eligible to use an Intuit IRS Free File product.
• The customer began a return in a TurboTax Free Edition product.
• TurboTax told the customer they were ineligible for the Free Edition.
• The customer then paid to use a TurboTax paid product.
• The customer had not used the Intuit IRS Free File product in a previous tax year.

Only tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 were covered, and eligibility was determined from Intuit's records, not by filing a claim. Eligible people were notified by email from the settlement administrator, Rust Consulting. Payments were made out to the named taxpayer or taxpayers on the return. If you used TurboTax only for other years, or paid for a product you chose yourself without first being turned away from the free edition, you were not covered.

The official settlement website says most consumers received between $29 and $30, with the amount based on how many tax years a person qualified for. Someone who qualified for two or three of the covered years received more than someone who qualified for one.

Measure	Figure
Total settlement	$141 million
People paid	About 4.4 million
Typical payment	$29 to $30
Typical Texas payment	$28 to $29
California total	More than $12.2 million to 400,000+ people

The state figures come from the Texas and California attorneys general. Because no claim was required and nearly everyone eligible was paid, the typical payment was close to a flat per-year amount. For why small checks like this are common, see why settlement payouts are smaller than expected.

There was no claim form. Eligible consumers were notified by email, and checks were mailed automatically throughout May 2023. The administrator's website lets people verify a check using the Claimant ID Number and check number printed on the tear-off stub.

For residents of most states, uncashed checks were reissued electronically through PayPal and then Venmo in the first quarter of 2024, with 30 days to accept each offer. The payment was sent to the email address used to file taxes for 2016, 2017, or 2018. If a person did not accept either electronic payment, the money was generally returned to the administrator and transferred to the unclaimed property program of the state where the person filed taxes in those years.

The official site warns that consumers never had to pay money or provide account information to receive a payment. Our guide to settlement scams covers the warning signs.

Event	Date
Tax years covered	2016, 2017, and 2018
Settlement announced	May 4, 2022
Checks mailed	Throughout May 2023
Electronic reissue attempts	First quarter of 2024
Reissue requests	No longer accepted

As of September 2026, the official settlement website says payment reissue requests are no longer being accepted. The distribution is complete, and there is no deadline left to meet. Our guide to open versus closed settlements explains how to tell when a settlement is over.

1. Search your email from spring 2023 and early 2024 for messages from Rust Consulting, PayPal, or Venmo about the TurboTax settlement.
2. Search your state's unclaimed property website under your name and any prior address, since most states received undeliverable or unaccepted payments. The official FAQ says unclaimed property claims can take several months to process.
3. Use the Contact Us page on the settlement website to make sure the administrator has your current email address.

The official FAQ says that for residents of most states, payments not accepted through PayPal or Venmo were sent back for transfer to the state's unclaimed property program. Our guide on what to do if you have not received a settlement check and on what happens to unclaimed settlement money walk through both routes.

As of September 2026, we found no open consumer settlement with a claim process for TurboTax users in the United States. For settlements you can still join, browse all open settlements, including the Wells Fargo CARES Act settlement and the Mr. Cooper convenience fee settlement.