GREENSBORO, N.C. — 2 Wants To Know has been telling you about the Turbo Tax settlement checks and Facebook settlement payouts.
At most, you'll get $85 in the Turbo Tax settlement. With Facebook, it all depends on how many people actually make a claim. Either way, you're not getting rich off these settlements, but guess what, you are expected to pay taxes on them!
“The simple rule is this if you have income any type of income winnings awards, found money, that is generally taxable. A lot of people think that if it’s not over $600 or if they don't get a 1099 it’s not taxable that is totally wrong totally not correct,” said Mark Steber, Chief Tax Information Officer, Jackson Hewitt.
If for some reason you got less than a dollar from the settlement payouts, there are no taxes paid, but that probably won't happen.
THE TURBO TAX SETTLEMENT CHECKS
You’re eligible for the Turbo Tax check if:
*You used Turbo Tax in 2016, 2017, or 2018
*You qualified for the IRS free file program, but Turbo Tax charged you
Back in 2016, you had to make under $64,000 to qualify for the free file program. It was the same in 2017.
In 2018, the threshold jumped up to $66,000. (For context, in 2023, filing the 2022 taxes, it was $73,000)
If you made under those numbers and used Turbo Tax, you paid for what should have been free, then you're in line to get a check. It comes automatically to customers, there is no form to fill out.
When you get the check, you can make sure it's the real thing by putting the check number and claimant id into this checker system
THE FACEBOOK SETTLEMENT CLAIM
The only way to get the money is to fill out a claim form.
"A lot of people are eligible for this and this is if you happened to use Facebook in the U.S. between May 2007 and December 2022 then you might get a piece of this settlement, even though it might not be that much,” said Cordilia James of The Wall Sreet Journal.
We don't know how much you'll get, but it's more than you have right now, so why not? You can expect a payment sometime after September.
This is the claim form. It's pretty straightforward. You're asked for your name, address, and current email address. All of these fields are required.
You'll be asked for the email address associated with your Facebook account, and the phone number. and the username of your page (which is probably not just your name, so go to your account settings to find it)
You can get your payment by prepaid MasterCard, PayPal, Venmo, direct deposit into your bank account, or Zelle. You can even get a paper check mailed to you.
You have to fill out the claim form by August 25, 2023, to get the payout.