Press Releases

Intuit Partners With The IRS In The Free File Alliance
Over 50% of all taxpayers can now file their taxes online for free using TurboTax for the Web
SAN DIEGO - January 16, 2003 - Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) today announced its partnership with the Internal Revenue Service in launching the Free File Alliance, a public-private partnership that will provide free electronic tax preparation and e-filing to more than 60% of taxpayers. As part of its commitment to the Alliance, Intuit is donating its popular on-line product, TurboTax® for the WebSM, for free to every taxpayer with an adjusted gross income (AGI) under $27,000 as well as those who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

"The Free File Alliance is a great opportunity to show the power of public-private partnerships, but most of all, it's a huge win for consumers" said Steve Bennett, CEO of Intuit. "The government can now provide access to services for tens of millions taxpayers, especially those who need it most - low and moderate income American families - for virtually no cost. Intuit is pleased that taxpayers taking advantage of the Free File Alliance will be able to use TurboTax for the Web, our award-winning online tax preparation service, a name taxpayers have come to know and trust for easy, accurate tax preparation and e-filing."

Working with the IRS to create a pro-consumer partnership like the Free File Alliance builds on Intuit's long-standing commitment to provide free service to low and moderate income tax filers. For the past five years, Intuit has donated TurboTax for the Web to millions of deserving consumers through the Intuit Tax Freedom Project. In that time, the Intuit Tax Freedom Project has been used to process more than five million federal and state tax returns.

Through the Alliance, taxpayers visiting the IRS web site click on the Free File option to be taken to a special web page that outlines what free offerings are being made available to consumers by more than a dozen electronic tax software companies. While Intuit is offering free tax preparation and e-filing service based on income and EITC eligibility, other companies have other criteria upon which they base their free use offering. Consumers will then pick one of the companies under whose offering they qualify for free use, and be taken to that company's web site to prepare and e-file their tax returns.

The Ease of Filing Online
This partnership will introduce millions of Americans to the benefits of electronic tax preparation and filing. Intuit is also hopeful that many state governments will adopt the Free File Alliance model, so that taxpayers using free Alliance software to prepare their federal tax returns will also be able to prepare and e-file their state tax returns at the same time. Intuit, stands ready to extend the benefits federal filers are going to receive through the Alliance to taxpayers in every state.

The Alliance will offer tens of millions of taxpayers all the benefits of filing electronically: simplicity and saved time in their tax preparation; software, like TurboTax, that works with them to provide every opportunity for exemptions they may be entitled to; and more accurate and secure tax return filing. There will also be faster refund distribution by the IRS through electronic filing: people who once filed on paper and waited 8 weeks for a refund can now file for free online and see their refund check in as little as 10 days. To access these benefits, taxpayers need to go to the IRS web site (www.irs.gov) or the Intuit Tax Freedom Project web site (http://www.taxfreedom.com/) to access the Free File Alliance and Intuit's offer of free online tax preparation.

About TurboTax
In its 19th tax season, TurboTax was the No.1-selling tax preparation software program in 2001, with 71 percent share of units sold at retail according to NPD Intelect. Its Web-based counterpart, the TurboTax for the Web service, is the most popular site for online tax preparation and filing services. With more than 19 years of personal finance expertise, the TurboTax family of products saves time and money for more than 15 million Americans each year.
 
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing.

Founded in 1983, Intuit has annual revenue of more than $1 billion. The company has nearly 7,000 employees with major offices in 13 states across the U.S. and offices in Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. More information can be found at www.Intuit.com.

The Intuit Tax Freedom Project is a philanthropic initiative of the Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation.
 

Cautions About Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements about Intuit's consumer tax strategy and the features and benefits of Intuit's TurboTax products and other products that Intuit offers with or through TurboTax. Statements with words like "expect," "anticipate" or "believe," and statements in the future tense, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Intuit's expressed expectations because of risks and uncertainties about the future. Some of the important factors that could cause Intuit's results to differ are listed below. More details about these and other risks are included in Intuit's fiscal 2002 Form 10-K and other SEC filings and at www.intuit.com/company/investors/considerations.html. The company will not update the information in this press release if any forward-looking statement later turns out to be inaccurate.

  • Intuit's revenue and earnings are highly seasonal, which causes significant quarterly fluctuations in its revenue and net income.
  • Intuit faces competitive pressures in all of its businesses, which can have a negative impact on its revenue, profitability and market position. In particular, if federal and /or state government agencies are ultimately successful in their efforts to provide tax preparation and filing services to consumers, it could have a significant negative impact on Intuit's financial results in future years.
  • Intuit relies on three vendors to handle substantially all outsourced aspects of manufacturing and distribution for its primary retail desktop software products. If one of these vendors fails to perform, it could have severe negative consequences for Intuit's software businesses.
  • If Intuit fails to maintain reliable and responsive service levels for its electronic tax offerings, it could lose revenue and customers.
  • If Intuit experiences significant problems or delays in the development of its tax products, Intuit could lose revenue and customers.
  • Intuit faces risks relating to customer privacy and security and increasing governmental regulation, which could hinder the growth of its businesses.
  • Despite Intuit's efforts to adequately staff and equip its customer service and technical support operations, it cannot always respond promptly to customer requests for assistance.
  • Actual product returns may exceed product return reserves, particularly for Intuit's tax preparation software.
  • A continuation of the recent general decline in economic conditions could lead to significantly reduced demand for Intuit's products and services.

Intuit, the Intuit logo, Quicken, QuickBooks, TurboTax, EasyStep and TurboTax for the Web, among others, are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other parties' trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.