Minn. Stops Accepting TurboTax Returns Due To Potential Fraud
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - UPDATE: The Minnesota Department of Revenue announced it is once again accepting e-filed returns from Turbo Tax.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue has stopped accepting tax returns from one of the most popular online programs.
They're worried about potential fraud targeting TurboTax.
"[We] do not take this step lightly," the department said in a conference call Thursday evening.
The state heard from two Minnesota taxpayers who logged into Intuit's TurboTax and found that a return had already been filed in their name. When they checked other returns filed using TurboTax, they found what they're calling "potentially fraudulent activity."
There was a problem in 2013 where people had trouble filing with TurboTax. Those were software problems that were causing errors in filing. The Department of Revenue says this is different.
"Our priority is maintaining the security of private taxpayer data and preventing fraudulent activity within our system," the department said in a statement. "We have sophisticated technology in place to safeguard private taxpayer information."
More details were not available about what they think is happening or the magnitude of the problem, but they are checking any TurboTax returns that have already been filed.
The department describes TurboTax as "one of the largest vendors that they see for individual income tax filing."
So far, 267,000 people have filed their returns in Minnesota. That's about 10 percent of what they expect this year. They department is looking at about 2,000 TurboTax returns right now. It's also hearing about potential problems in other states.
Tax professionals can continue to file using Intuit products Lacerte, Intuit Online and Pro Series. Those are only for professionals, not individuals.
Intuit is opening up a help line Friday morning at 8 a.m. The number is 1-800-944-8596.
