FTC's Case Against Intuit Isn't Won—Yet

Gather your W-2's and call your CPAs! Tax season is upon us, and that means one thing for the FTC—another flurry of activity in its ongoing action against Intuit, Inc., one of the largest online tax-filing services. Recently, the FTC issued an order denying complaint counsel's motion for summary decision in the case, concluding that the matter will proceed to a full evidentiary hearing—the FTC's administrative version of a trial.

As we previously reported, the FTC initially brought its case against Intuit in March 2022, alleging that the marketing of TurboTax as free was misleading because the free service applies only to those customers filing "simple" tax returns, while the service charges many other customers at the end of the filing process. Two months later, we wrote about the states' investigation of Intuit, which overlapped with the FTC case, and the resulting $141 million settlement with all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Along with the restitution