We found that Intuit’s smaller competitor in the market, H&R Block, also hid its H&R Block Free File product from Google using the same sort of code. Intuit is the dominant player in consumer tax software, with market share reportedly in the 60% range. Under the Free File deal, Intuit and other companies pledged to work “to increase electronic filing of tax returns, which includes extending the benefits of online federal tax preparation and electronic filing to economically disadvantaged and underserved populations at no cost.”
#TURBOTAX SERVICE CODE FOR FREE#
While 70% of taxpayers are eligible for Free File options from TurboTax and other tax software products, just 3% of eligible taxpayers or fewer use them each year. The fact that TurboTax Free File is effectively hidden from Google could contribute to the low rate of use. In exchange for the IRS promising not to create its own free, online filing tool, Intuit, H&R Block and other companies signed a deal to offer Free File options to lower-income Americans. It instructs Google and other search engines to “index,follow.”Īn Intuit spokesman didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. (Special thanks to Larissa Williams on Twitter and Arkadiy Kulev on Reddit for pointing out the code.)Īnd here’s the main page, which, despite the “FREE Guaranteed” language, puts many users on track to pay. Here’s the page for TurboTax’s Free File edition.Īnd here’s the code Intuit put in hiding it. “Intuit’s tactics to reduce access to the Free File program and confuse taxpayers are outrageous,” he said. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement that he plans to raise Intuit’s misleading marketing with the IRS. In contrast, the TurboTax page that puts many users on track to pay signals to Google that it should be listed in search results.
The code on TurboTax’s Free File site says “noindex,nofollow” - instructions for it not to show up in search results. “Robots.txt is a big ‘No, don’t go any further’ sign on the web,” Spool said.
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