For H&R Block and Intuit, that means they can't automatically use the contents of anyone's returns for purposes other than preparing taxes.īoth companies are asking you to grant them special permission to go beyond these default federal protections and use your return - including your income, investments and mortgage details - to help them upsell you on other things. And if you already clicked "agree" and now have changed your mind, there are some steps you can take, too.Īmerica is sorely lacking privacy laws, but it does have one that prevents tax-prep companies from disclosing the contents of your tax return. The good news is because of Internal Revenue Service rules, this is one data request you can actually say "no" to while continuing to do your taxes online. Turns out, among the reasons some tax prep companies want to use the contents of your return is to target you with "offers" - or, as they're more commonly known, advertisements. Say what? You already probably have a headache from thinking about taxes, now you have to parse this, too.
It's the Facebook-ization of personal finance.Īmerica's most-popular online tax prep service, Intuit's TurboTax, also asks you to grant it additional access to the data in your return to "enrich your financial profile, communicate with you about Intuit's services, and provide insights to you and others."
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What he discovered is a little-discussed evolution of the tax-prep software industry from mere processors of returns to profiteers of personal data. It goes on: "If you agree to share your tax return details, after you file, we can provide many benefits." Then it asks you to click agree to two bunches of legalese, one labeled as "personalized services" and the other as "quicker product support." When you're setting up your account - after you've already agreed to H&R Block's regular privacy policy - the website asks for permission to also access your data to "optimize your H&R Block experience." But did you know that by clicking "agree" to some of their privacy prompts, you may be letting them use you?Ī Washington Post reader pointed to a curious question he received while starting his taxes with H&R Block online. Ou may use Turbo Tax or H&R Block online to save money filing your taxes.
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