An Apology to Our TurboTax Desktop Customers

We messed up. We made a change this year to TurboTax desktop software and we didn’t do enough to communicate this change to you as proactively and broadly as we could or should have. I am very sorry for the anger and frustration we may have caused you.

Intuit has a long history of doing right by our customers, and in this instance, we did not live up to the standards of excellence you have come to expect from us. We did not handle this change in a manner that respected our loyal customers and we owe you an explanation of what we are doing to make it right.

The change we made to our desktop products, both the download and CD versions, includes removing Schedules C, D, E and F from TurboTax Deluxe, which some long-time customers had relied on to report business income, investment sales and rental property income. As a result, you may now be required to upgrade the version of TurboTax you use even though your tax situation hasn’t changed from last year.

Here’s why we made the change. Over the years, we have worked hard to make it easy for you to choose the TurboTax product that is right for you and your unique tax situation. We want that choice to be clear and confidence inspiring. However, as new online and mobile technologies emerged, our products, and the tax scope and features they included, began to differ, leading to customer confusion. These differences also impeded our ability to introduce new innovations across our entire product line.

So this year, we made the product experience consistent across all TurboTax offerings. This change enables us to innovate faster and make improvements that benefit all customers at the same time, regardless of whether they use our online or desktop software. You can be sure that we’ve preserved what’s unique to our desktop product: the ability to e-file up to five returns, switch to forms mode and install the software on multiple computers.

But good intent must be matched with great execution, and that is where we let you down. We have heard from many of you that you were surprised when you discovered the change. No one likes this kind of a surprise, so we are taking immediate action to make things right and help you through this transition year.

We are giving $25 back if you purchased TurboTax Deluxe desktop software (CD or download) and filed your 2013 tax return and have to upgrade to TurboTax Premier or Home & Business to file your 2014 return. This will help you move to the right desktop product, while reducing the immediate and unexpected financial impact.

After completing and filing your return this year, please visit
https://turbotax.intuit.com/25back to request your $25.

I deeply regret the anger and distress we have caused those of you affected by this change. Our customers are the heartbeat of every TurboTax employee. Our hope is that we can regain your trust and demonstrate that our commitment to you has never been stronger.

Sincerely,

Sasan Goodarzi and the TurboTax Team

General Manager, Intuit TurboTax