Tens of thousands of New Jersey residents who were tricked by TurboTax’s owner Intuit into paying for free tax services will begin receiving checks from a $141 million multistate settlement announced in May 2022.

New Jersey will receive more than $2.28 million for more than 75,000 consumers who were tricked into paying to file their federal tax returns.

Eligible consumers will be contacted by email about the settlement.

Checks will be mailed throughout this month.

In 2022, the Division of Consumer Affairs joined the attorneys general of New York, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, in announcing a $141 million multistate agreement with Intuit for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the agreement and approximately 4.4 million consumers nationwide will receive checks.

“When something is advertised as free, that means it has to be free—no strings attached,” Cari Fais, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said in a statement.

Eligible consumers include those who paid to file their federal tax returns through TurboTax for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 but were eligible to file for free through the IRS Free File Program.

Consumers who are eligible for a payment will be notified by email by the settlement fund administrator, Rust Consulting.

These consumers will receive a check in the mail automatically, without filing a claim.

Checks are expected to be mailed out starting next week.

The amount each consumer receives will be based on the number of tax years for which they qualify.

Most consumers are expected to receive between $29 and $30.

For more information about who is covered by the settlement, and information about the settlement fund, please visit www.AGTurboTaxSettlement.com.