Intuit Backpedals After Cursing Accounts With Recent Ad Campaign
After meeting with tax industry groups, Intuit has agreed to “evolve” away from corny ads that encourage consumers to “break up with your tax professional.”
By Kelly Phillips ErbForbes staff
“Yare you leaving me?,” a middle-aged treasurer wearing a suit and tie unlike any other, who is behind a desk in an old office full of papers, asks the young woman in disbelief. He takes out his cell phone to show her “who” he is leaving for her – a young man, wearing a fashionable blue suit and a salmon shirt, unbuttoned at the neck, “who charges me less but gives me more. “
“Sing it, Adam,” he ordered.
Actor Adam DeVine—of Pitch Perfect and Modern Family fame—dresses like he’s trapped in a ’90s boy band video, complete with a smoke machine, and sings a song, advising you to “ believe that TurboTax will exceed your price. . this is a tax cut.”
The ad is part of Intuit’s broader “differentiation” campaign that introduces the “TurboTax Full Service plan,” which has a personal tax preparer that customers work with online or in person. The campaign, which launched on September 20, included ads on social media and network television, including the season opener of Saturday Night Live and college football games.
But on Tuesday, Intuit said it would “change” away from the fraudulent campaign after organizations representing tax professionals—who use and refer customers to some of Intuit’s other products—complained about loud voice and contact with Intuit.
Other ads and short videos that are part of the offensive campaign advised “how to break up with voicemail” and “Honor the red flags 🚩 Shine and switch to a #TurboTax Expert today!” Finally, a young woman advises taxpayers to “Put your finger down if you are in a situation where you are always waiting to hear their opinion. [tax preparers]you always have to drive to meet them, not sure where you stand with them, and then you start to feel like you need someone new, someone who understands what you want and your needs…”
The campaign promises that Intuit will discount at least 10% of what you paid your tax pro last season, assuming you qualify (generally, you must have used a Certified Public Accountant or preparer own a tax license for the 2023 return and agreed by December 20, 2024, to use the TurboTax Full Service plan for your 2024 return).
In 2023, 45 million tax returns were filed using TurboTax – more than a quarter of the 160 million 1040 filed in total.
Tax benefits are used to compete with TurboTax software and its superior human service, but it has been criticized by traditional tax experts and they are worried about the good reputation. One group of tax experts described it as a “double whammy” that Intuit would use such a marketing strategy against its customers.
Intuit doesn’t just own TurboTax — it’s a multi-billion dollar financial technology platform. Last year, Intuit’s total revenue was $16.3 billion, up 13% from last year. Its fastest-growing division was the Small Business and Self-Employed Group of the Internet, which brought in $6.9 billion, compared to $3.9 billion for TurboTax online. The small business category includes QuickBooks and Mailchimp (which Intuit acquired in 2021 for $12 billion) – services trusted by some tax professionals, as well as recommended by others to their clients.
Importantly, Intuit also makes money from its professional tax services—including software powered by Intuit’s tax engine Lacerte (which provides professional software for large accounting firms) and Intuit ProConnect Tax, cloud-based tax software for accountants. Last year, Intuit’s ProTax Group revenue grew 7%.
The company’s consumer tax division also grew 7%, but that reflected faster growth in TurboTax Live (which includes human-assisted and full-service products), as did the number of taxpayers using fully automated products like TurboTax Online is reduced.
IRS has been muscling in on the lower end of the DIY market; earlier this year, the IRS announced that the number of states that offer Direct File, a free method of e-filing tax returns, will double by 2025 to 24. The IRS is also offering another program -Free File-where tax software providers create online products that are available for free to qualified taxpayers (especially low income). TurboTax pulled out of FreeFile two tax seasons ago after years of controversy over whether it was directing taxpayers who wanted free services to paid ones. In 2023, it sent $141 million in checks to more than 4 million customers who paid for the software, but could have made their payments for free in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
As Intuit moves away from the lower end of the first-tax market, it continues to rely not only on its own high-end services, but on buying through, and referrals from, tax professionals. That made the latest campaign hard to swallow for many pundits, with one CPA calling it “in bad taste.” Another said, “It’s been very clear from the series of events they’ve taken that they value relationships with accountants less and less.”
The National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP), which represents more than 24,000 tax professionals nationwide, was one of the most vocal critics of Intuit’s campaign. In a statement on October 11, it said it would no longer accept Intuit’s sponsorships or exhibits at its meetings, due to “a direct conflict with the interests of our members”. However, the organization stopped short of calling the door, saying in a statement: “We do not advocate against using any of Intuit’s products and respect that tax professionals make their own business decisions about and the tools they use.”
The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) and one of its national arms, the California Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA), have come together to “express our regret to Intuit for the disrespectful message” presented in the ad. see.
(Notably, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the national professional organization of CPAs that serves more than 597,000 members, candidates and registrants in 188 states and territories, has not weighed in but has indicated that will provide a statement about the campaign.)
On October 15, after Intuit met with the tax authorities, several tax groups announced that the advertising campaign would be terminated, although it would take time. “We are very pleased that Intuit listened to the feedback from registered agents and others in the tax professional community and decided to discontinue the ad,” said Twila D. Midwood, the current president of the NAEA, in a statement. .
Intuit was not so specific. When asked to confirm that it decided to pull the campaign based on feedback from the tax preparation industry, Tania Mercado, Senior Director of Public Affairs and Corporate Communications for Intuit, gave a statement to Forbes indicating that the company will “improve” its “current” campaign. His statement read in part: “While our current TurboTax campaign is intended to encourage tax filers to file their taxes [TurboTax] As a tax professional, we will develop the creative to ensure it has the intended impact so that the benefit of filing with a tax preparer is clear. Most importantly, we will continue the shared goal of tax preparers to provide financial benefits and complete confidence to tax filers by demonstrating the incredible value of tax preparation assistance, all at an affordable price. high.
While some of the tax professionals seemed relieved by Intuit’s decision, others weren’t sure. Mike Sylvester, a CPA in Fort Wayne, Indiana, wrote, “Intuit is going Intuit,” adding, “They’re only going to get more aggressive over time in my opinion.”
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