After concerns over fraud, the maker of TurboTax suspended e-filing of state tax returns using their product.
Initial reports indicated some Minnesota taxpayers said they logged in to TurboTax to file their state tax return, only to find a return had already been filed in their name. Intuit, which makes TurboTax, said the problem actually involves state tax return filings for multiple states.
“During this tax season, Intuit and some states have seen an increase in suspicious filings and attempts by criminals to use stolen identity information to file fraudulent state tax returns and claim tax refunds,” said a statement from Intuit.
“Intuit believes that these instances of fraud did not result from a security breach of its systems and that the information used to file fraudulent returns was obtained from other sources outside the tax preparation process,” said a February 6 statement from Intuit.
The company temporarily stopped transmitting state returns e-filed through TurboTax as of Thursday, February 5, and planned to work with states to begin resuming that service the next day.
“Customers who have already filed their state tax returns using Intuit software during this temporary pause will have their returns transmitted as soon as possible. They do not need to take further action at this time,” the Intuit statement said.
Federal income tax returns were not affected, Intuit said, and the suspension only applied to states that require residents to file returns.
If you think your tax return was affected by the Intuit breach, you can call them at 1-800-944-8596.
