I was led to believe that TurboTax was a free service, but by the time I completed my return, I was unexpectedly charged $80. The process was also far from the "30-minute" estimate I was given—I spent over three hours navigating the system, which was not user-friendly or straightforward.
By the time I reached the end, I felt forced to pay because I didn’t want to start over with another provider. This experience was frustrating, misleading, and disappointing. TurboTax needs to be more transparent about pricing upfront and set realistic expectations about the time required. I will be looking for an alternative service next year that truly offers free filing as advertised.