TurboTax is a popular tax filing software package. It also offers quick tax refunds with the TurboTax debit card, or Turbo Card. There are several versions ranging from a free online basic TurboTax edition to a Home and Business TurboTax and more. They all in work in pretty much the same way. The software guides the user through a bunch of fill in the blank entry screens and does all the math and complicated tax worksheets automatically behind the scenes.
For a great many Americans, using TurboTax software is just as good as paying an accountant to file taxes. But, watch out for TurboTax debit card fees if you get your refund on the TurboTax card, called the Turbo Card this year.
Turbo Tax Debit Card Refund
At the end of the Turbo Tax filing process, the software offers users the ability to get their tax refund via a prepaid Visa card, which is kind of like a TurboTax debit card. The Turbo Card is a Visa card offered through Green Dot Bank. Green Dot Bank is most familiar for its reloadable debit cards you can buy at 7-11 and other places, especially drug stores.
There are two options for a faster refund. One is a TurboTax Refund Advance, which is really a loan against your income tax refund. This is not like the Rapid Refund scams of years gone by. There are no up-front fees, and there is no interest on the loan. The TurboTax advance is available for a percentage of you refund amount, no more than 50%. That being said, the whole thing borders on being a TurboTax Refund Card scam.
Like all legitimate businesses, Intuit, maker of TurboTax, covers itself in a sea of fine print and disclosures buried deep beneath the suggestion that this refund method is actually advantageous for the taxpayer filing their taxes. So, technically, everything is on the up and up. However, chances are you’ll be better off by getting your refund a different way.
The most important TurboTax card trick is that your whole refund will be deposited onto your TurboTax card even though you will only get up to 50% in advance. If you are getting a $1,200 refund, the maximum refund advance amount is $500. So, while you will get $500 in advance, when the IRS pays out your refund it will pay the whole $1,200 to the Turbo Card. TurboTax will then deduct the $500 advance.
Your Turbo Card refund looks like this:
- $500 put on the TurboTax Visa debit card right away.
- $700 put on the TurboTax card when your refund comes through from the IRS.
Is Acorns safe? A review.
The good news that you can get that part of your refund fast. TurboTax deposits your refund advance money on your debit card in just a few minutes, and then emails you a “virtual card” that you can use right away. A virtual card is just a credit card number, expiration date, and CVC code. This will work like a champ for payments online, but don’t expect anyone to take it in person based on your word that it is real.
Even when you get your real TurboTax debit card, it is important to remember that it still is not the same as cash. You can’t use a debit card to pay your credit card for example. You can use things like Venmo or Zelle to send money to friends and family. You can use your debit card at stores, and to pay bills that allow payment via credit cards.
Despite the Visa logo on the card, there is no credit card feature to the refund card. Rather, the card is the same thing as a Turbo Tax debit card, but instead of a bank account, it has the funds from your IRS refund. For those of you who don’t have much experience with prepaid credit cards, it works the same as a debit card only instead of being attached to a checking or savings account at your bank, funds are attached to the card itself. It is very much like a gift card with a prepaid amount on it. The difference is that you can refill it.
Many merchants have similar setups. I have a Starbucks card that works just like this, only it doesn’t have the sneaky fees that push this card from being a legit card to being very close to being a scam.
Remember, gas stations do weird things with debit cards if you pay at the pump, so be careful when using it that way.
TurboTax Debit Card Fees
Of course, the devil is in the details. In this case, the devil is in all the fees for the TurboTax Refund card. The first month you have the TurboTax Visa Refund card, there is no monthly charge. This year, there is no monthly fee for the TurboTax debit card. That is one the Turbo Card pros.
Next up is the fee for cash withdrawals. This is the big TurboTax Card con as people try and turn their Turbo Card into cash. Remember your whole refund gets deposited onto the TurboTax card, even though you only get up to 50% of your refund in advance. Using an ATM withdrawal to get cash from your TurboTax card is free, but only if you use an in-network ATM. If the ATM charges you fee, TurboTax does not refund your cash advance fees.
Turbo Card Direct Deposit
TurboTax offers a fast refund via its ASAP Direct Deposit. Even if you don’t get a refund cash advance from TurboTax, you can still have your refund deposited on your Turbo Card. TurboTax says that you can get your refund up to two days faster this way. Essentially, this is a difference in processing the ACH from the IRS. Your bank will wait until the funds are in your account, and then may wait up to 24-hours to give you access to those funds depending upon your bank’s deposit policies.
TurboTax knows that the IRS is good for it, and will put your refund on your TurboTax Card right away instead of waiting for the actual funds and then processing them before making them available to you.
Is Turbo Tax Refund Card Worth It?
While the TurboTax debit card is legit, it is not a good deal for most taxpayers that have a bank account.
If you already have a bank account, just have your refund direct deposited by the IRS into your checking account. It will be just as fast as having it sent to a Turbo Tax card, and chances are you already have plenty of ways to access your money ranging from an existing debit card, to checks, ATM cards, and even teller withdrawals, all without having to worry about tripping over any additional fees or expenses.
If you do not have a bank account, the TurboTax Refund Card will get you your refund faster than waiting for a check from the IRS. Another option is to withdraw the whole amount in one ATM transaction. That first one is free, but remember there is a daily limit to how much you can withdraw. If it will take you two withdrawals (or more) to get all of your cash, be sure to leave at least $50 on the card to avoid the monthly charge. Otherwise, your refund could disappear quickly in a sea of fees.
If the money isn’t burning a hole in your pocket, consider just waiting for the check. (Update: Stimulus payments are being sent automatically, and fastest, to tax payers that provide direct deposit information for their refunds. Consider getting a bank account and using that information so that you may be better set up to get any future stimulus checks, or other government payments.)
TurboTax Card Customer Service
While there have been some reports of people having trouble contacting customer support for TurboTax cards, there is a 1-800 number for TurboTax card problems. The TurboTax card phone number is (888) 285-4169.
DO NOT USE THIS CARD. I SELDOM WRITE REVIEWS BUT LITERALLY EVERY NEGATIVE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN AND HAS BEEN MENTIONED ON THIS IS SITE HAS HAPPENED TO ME. I AM DISGUSTED NOT ONLY BY THE KLACK OF CUSTOMER SERVIVE BUT BY THE LACK OF OWNERSHIP TO ISSUES IT IS ALWAYS NOT THEIR FAULT AND NOTHING CAN BE DONE. I DID MY DUE DILIGENCE WITH TJHIS ISSUE WAS GIVEN INCORRECT INFORMATION TWICE AND WHEN THEY SCREWED UP THE DEPOSIT FROM THE IRS THEY SAID OH SORRY YOU WILL NEED TO WAIT 14 DAYS TO RECIEVE THE MONEY. UNLIKE THIS CORPORATION AS MANY OTHERS THAT CHARGE FOR MISTAKES MADE THEY CUSTOMER I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY NONE OF US EVER HAVE ANY RECOURSE TO ISSUE THAT AT MADE DUE TO THEIR NEGLAGENCE. I WILL BE CHARGED LATE FEE BY THE COMPANY I NEED TO PAY FOR THEIR SERVICE FOR BEING LATE PON MY PAYMENT WHY AND THE HELL IS TURBO CARD NOT HELD RESPONSIBLE IT IS WRONG AND COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS. DO NOT FILE TAXES WITH TURBO TAX OR USE THEIR CARD I GUESS THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO TRY TO SHUT THEM DOWN THEY DONT CARE WHEN THEY MAKE THE MISTAKE THEY ARE NOT GONNA PAY YOU ARE GET A PREPAID CARD YOUR SELF OR SIGN UP WITH CHIME WHICH IS A WAY BETTER SERVICE TO RECIEVE YOUR PAYMWNT TO SAVE YOU OWN HEARTACHE AND LATE FEES DONT NOT EVER EVER USE TURBO CARD OF TURBO TAX THEIR ARE OTHER COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT TAKE OWNER SHIP OF THEIR MISTAKES AND RECTIFY OR AT LEAST TRY TO RECITFY IT WITHOUT DISCONNECTING YOU HOPING THE ISSE WILL GO AWAY. I AM SO SO ANGRY ABOUT THIS IT HAS THRZOWN OFF MY ENTIRE WEEK AND MONTHLY BILLS BY NO FAULT OF MY OWN. PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE. DO NOT USE THIS CARD FOR ANY REASON. I WILL ALSO BE CONTACTING THE BBB TO LET THEM ALSO KNOW ABOUT THIS COMPANY AND HOW THEY CONDUCT THEIR BUISNESS. GOOD LUCK!!!
They are holding my money and won’t let me access it. My wallet was stolen so I didn’t have an ID. I went and got one to send in and they closed my account said that my ID didn’t pass verification. Now i can’t get my money I can’t help that they give paper id’s in Tennessee
The turbo card is terrible. They had two holds on my account for over TWO MONTHS! One for 94 dollars and one for 98 dollars. Then low and behold over two months later they released one of the holds and my money was put back on the card but mysteriously the other hold disappeared with no record of it and the money was not returned. I’ve tried contacting customer service multiple times but hung up after being on hold for hours. I’ve used turbo card for my tax refunds for the last two years and have had nothing but problems. They are thieves and control how much money you can use on your card only allowing u to withdraw 2500 dollars a month. In my experiences turbo card has been proven to be nothing but a scam run by crooks who wanna hold your money so that they can earn interest off of you. I wouldn’t recommended this card to anybody
twice i have had to file a dispute because of unauthorized transactions on my account long story short this company is okay with ppl money being stolen they dont attempt to give you your money back with or without a police report this is a horrible company
In 2019 I had my taxes loaded on to TurboTax prepared card the next day someone stole all my money off my card over 7,000 and TurboTax will not give me my money back even though I made a police report and u can see multiple transactions over and over again as if someone got ahold of my card they are the worst company ever
I am completely livid over this dumb turbo tax prepaid card…and customer service number only works for the first few calls after that EVERY call seems to get disconnected…ironic? Not at all…these people don’t care about us or our money. I have been unable to access any of my money for a week…..and who knows when this so called replacement card will show up. First & last time using turbo tax. They are full of s***
Are Yu still waiting on card ? What can we do? What number can we call I only get automatically system
Im still haven’t got my card
And I don’t know how to get it replaced
how did you get them to send you a replacement card?
So is it an actual bank or green dot? I’m also waiting on a card since Jan 29th still nothing. I’m thinking about calling and having it canceled and wait on a paper check.
Your consumer service is junk !!!! I have been waiting 2weeks for a card . When I ask for a supervisor they hang up on me .
I too am still waiting on my card. It’s been 2 weeks for me. Did you ever receive your card?
i lost my card my stimulas check has been deposited but can’t get a hod of anyone to tell them the situation i get the automated service and they want a card number i don’t know the card number so they tell me to call back when i have the card! their customer service does suck i have no idea where my money is just a letter from the goverment saying that it was deposited and when i put in the last 4 digits of the card that the web site said it was deposited to i am told it was a invalid entry what the f
is anyone having problems with their card being blocked because of unable to verify identity documents??? i cant get in contact with any kind of an actual human being and all my money is gone just like that…i am thinking about going to the police.i feel scammed
This card sucks. Its embarrassing. They decline you as if you’re trying to use a card with no money. Embarrassing!
Yes.. verified card number name social security number but because I can’t remember a phone number I had two years ago I’ve been blocked .. this is bs
Not sure when this article was written, but it seems all comments are from 2018, so I assume it was posted this year. I just wanted to clarify that on the actual Turbotax Prepaid Card website under “Fees” it states that you need to keep a balance over $1,000 in order to avoid the $5.95 fee, not $50.00 which is a pretty big difference I felt people should be aware of. & Maybe this article can be edited.
I’m not sure about everyone else out there, but I’m pretty sure most people requesting to receive this card (likely due to not having a bank account), most likely can’t afford to just keep $1,000 on a card untouched to avoid a $6 fee every month. Of course, they are aware of that which is likely why they set the limit so high.
I received my card in the mail almost right away, but I didn’t receive my state return until about a month and a half after receiving the card, but that was due to NYS, not Turbotax. I haven’t had any issues thus far, but I am thinking that I will probably take out the rest of the money and close the account before being charged any fees.
Also as an FYI, the Turbotax Prepaid card website does have a section where you can type in your zip code to find all fee-free ATMs near you and answer any other questions. For a card that is designed to suck money out of people that can’t afford it, the website is surprisingly straightforward and easy to navigate.
can i overdraft this card?
I had my card stolen. I sent in the police report, and the paperwork from the doctor showing that I was in the hospital for over 2 weeks, and they said the transactions were all valid transactions. I was like how ma’am when I was in the hospital and she said good question. I have disputed these transactions 4 times now as of today. I RECOMMEND THAT NO ONE USE THIS CARD! I WILL BE GETTING A CLASS ACTION lawsuit together!
Same just happened to me they won’t return my money how can I be apart of the class action lawsuit
Please let me know how it turns out, the same thing happened to me. I proved that I was 1/2 way across the state using my card to buy a car while someone in another part of the state made 5 charges to 3 Hannaford, draining my account. I have filed police report & report with Attorney Generals office.
They have not showed any paperwork proving that these were “valid transactions” because they are not.
I have told everyone I know not to use this card.
Please let me know how this turned out. I am on my 3rd dispute for a similar situation. seems like they’re not interested in helping me get my money back. I dont know what else to do.
I received my refund from the IRS on April 7th. I did not receive my first card when I initially filed my taxes on March 21st. I requested a new card on April 8th and STILL have not received it. Yesterday made the 7th business day and it is still no here!! Customer service is a joke, they barely understand what you are saying and all they can tell you is that THEY ARE SORRY we can send you a new one. But if the card im waiting on now miraculously pops up I can’t use it and have to wait for the new one!! I am beyond pissed off!! How can I not access my own money?? This is ridiculous!!
Omg my money went on the card feb 11 i calked customer service told me the card was mailed feb 4, its feb 19 amd I still have not received my card
how long did it take you to get the card i am still waiting its been 13 days and i got a email 5 days ago saying that my card was at the local post office. and i still havent got it ?
Once my taxes were accepted by irs I received my card within 10 business days. Not just waiting on refund to be deposited. It’s website said April 17th it is officially April 17th at 1:58am but no money on card. Related subjects states people were waiting on money for weeks but other said between 8:30am and 13pm the day of. So crossing fingers
Can you give me number call about my card still haven’t got my
What phone # did you call??? I only get a robot
It’s not letting me take money off my turbo tax card!
I received my refund on feb 22 and I still can’t get my refund off the card. A lady that was very rude name Rita would not help me get the pin to use the card and the pin they gave me not working. I can’t access the account. They won’t transfer me to a supervisor. I can’t pay my bills because it’s stuck on their card.
Ridiculous! I’ve called every day for a week and was told it will come.on this date,then they said it will come on this date. The tenth business day is today so I again called. Spoke with a lady named lovely. She refused to let me speak with a supervisor. So I agreed for her to cancel the original card and reissue one without charging me 5 dollar fee. I hung up and called right back and spoke to Albert who did finally transfer me to a supervisor. Supervisor was no help. They absolutely refused to put my money on a prepaid card I have in my possession now. So I thought I’d call turbo tax only to find out that if you filed with their free option your not allowed to speak with a representative!!! Unbelievable!
Did you talk to a live operator? I can’t get ahold of anyone about never receiving my card. My refund was loaded nearly two weeks ago onto the card but I don’t even have the card yet. Please let me know if and how you talked to a live person. Thank you.
My refund is scheduled to be sent on 3/19/2018 what happend to 2days faster? Its 3:14 am an still nothing… Come one people it’s my money and I want it now
How can a withdraw a large sum from my turbo tax debit card??? Im trying to buy a car and need to know how to withdrawl 4000 dollars since a atm wont let you do but so much
At what time of the day are funds typically deposited?
Its been 3 weeks since i havent gotten a card. I called 2 weeks ago to see whats up they said it should have been delivered okay so where is it??? I check my mail everyday not there. So i order another she waived the expedited fee said it will be here this thursday called to make sure 2 reps said its comming but something told me to call again. Called and he said its comming in standard mail noooo mf what happend to thursday expedited shipping dude im sorry i can waive the fee for you nooo u idiot yall just did that i just want my money. Do anyone know where i can go to get help with this issue????
I just spent over an hour getting a run-around Wont refund canceled transactions. I mean jeeze, is this fraud?
First I was told to conference call them with the merchant to verify cancelled order to remove pending transaction. I did so and was hung up on 10+ times. Finally got through and was told basically to forget it and just wait til they got confirmation from the merchant, who was on the phone at the same time trying to help talk sense into these people. After my frustrating call I requested to take their customer service survey because I wanted to give feedback about how unsatisfied i was, so they hung up on me instead.
My money was released from the IRS on the February 28. It is now March 1st and this stupid turbo card won’t let me access my funds. Every time I check the card, they keep telling me no money has been deposited from the IRS But the IRS telling me that they deposit the money. I’m super duper pissed. Will never do business with them again also I’m telling all my friends and family to stay away from these scam artist.
Have you received your refund on your card yet? I’m having the same issue, funds were sent from IRS on Feb 28th but my balance still says ‘0.00’ on my card…
Have either of you recived your regund yet?
Oh my god I’m dealing with the same thing did you find out anything.
what did yall find out Im 2 mins from making a police report. I will never again try to get an advance I never been through this but I always have it sent to my bank.
NOT IMPRESSED. Will NEVER EVER have my refund loaded on this card again. I got an $8,000 refund and I needed to withdraw $2500 to pay my mom and my aunt back some personal loans. I was able to withdraw $1100 at my bank’s ATM and then it declined my next withdrawal saying to “contact insurer.” I called the number on the card and got some foreign woman that I couldn’t for the life of me understand because of her heavy accent. I politely asked if I could speak to someone else because I couldn’t understand her. She told me NO. She had no ability to transfer me or let me speak to anyone else or a supervisor. A call center without a phone transfer button? Umm…yeah. Ok. When I asked her much I Could withdraw in a day she stated $3000.00. She said I could go inside to a teller or to an ATM. So I asked her why I couldn’t get any more than 1100 out. She said she didn’t know. So, I said fine…I will just go to the bank and withdraw $3000 per day until I can get my refund OFF this card. She says “NO.Sorry. You can only get $3000 out PER MONTH too!!!” What?!? Can’t I go to a bank and get more than $3000 A MONTH? She said I could use it at a point of sale as much as I wanted and get $100 cash back at places like Walmart. WTF? So, I asked her if that meant I had to go to Walmart and buy 30 candy bars, 30 separate transactions so I can ask for $100 back each time for THIRTY times??? WTF!!!! She’s like, “yeah. sorry” THIS IS A SCAM!!! THERE IS NO WAY TO GET ALL MY MONEY AT ONCE IF I NEED IT!! I realize to prevent fraud there should be ATM limits…but If I physically go to a bank and show my ID…I should be able to withdraw EVERY penny if I want. It’s MY freaking money!!! THIS CARD IS A SCAM!!!! They keep my money as long as they possibly can by putting ridiculous withdrawal limits so that THEY can collect the interest on the money! Think….if EVERYONE is having to withdraw their money this way, this bank is just making so much profit off of what should be OUR interest. Their extra hidden fees are terrible and their customer service SUCKS!!!! They are condescending and rude and impossible to understand. I have a bank account and the only reason I put my refund on this card is that I falsely believed it would be faster. Well, that’s a lie! Direct deposit is just as fast! The only reason that ANYONE should get this card is if they have NO bank account That’s it!!!! STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS NIGHTMARE OF A CARD!!!!
Worst company out there. Possibly a scam. They have had my money for over 2 weeks and fail to get my card to me. 0stars. They should be out of business.
I just got my refund . Card came in 6 business days and 2 days later the money was there. Going to attempt to go to Walmart and withdraw as much as I can
My name is Kirk ,I recieved an email yesterday,Feb 22,2018 saying that my refund had went to the bank.When I filed my taxes,I told them that I wanted my refund loaded on my turbo tax card.I checked my card and it’s not there.How long will it take for turbo tax to fix this,or what bank did they send my refund too?How long does it take for them to load my refund on my turbo tax card?
They only send it to a bank if you give them the info. If you didn’t give them banking info, be very careful that you aren’t looking at a scam email trying to get your bank info in order to “fix” your issue. Log directly onto TurboTax (do not click on any email link) and check your status.
How long did it take for u to get ur card
Bad service no one to talk to bad service
The card is a fraudulent they sent me a card and blocked it do I couldn’t use it asked me to send in id I did it 50 times and they lied and said they couldn’t read it then closed my account and said they where sending my money back to the IRS and it will take 20 days don’t use they card don’t use they card it’s a bunch of mess
DONT recommend if u have it and get lucky to have your refund take it all out and never use it again worst prepaid card ever… had my funds blocked bc I returned and item I bough with the same card and had funds placed back on to card and they froze account asking for documents ( receipt) and missing 1,500 from my refund they say they don’t know and u get a ringing and no answer and when u do u either get they are having technical difficulties or that u need to wait 2 business days or get a live agent who don’t speak English from another country. BS never doing business with turbo tax again have for 5 years never had a problem but with this is good enough waited long time to get refund for them to just freeze account just bc they feel like it.. nope
Omg did you get things resolved? Im in the same situation! How do I get this card unblocked
Did you figure out how cause I have money stuck on a blocked account
they completely closed my account!! apparently they couldnt “identify my documents which was my license!! ive had this card for a whole year..every since last years taxes and never had a problem..now i feel like they were just waiting for me to build up my money to take it.. i cant even call the card and talk to them so i can figure out how to get my money bcuz everytime i put my card info in it just says sorry your card has been closed and u will never be able to get another one . is there a number where i can speak to someone?
ZERO STARS.. SCAM COMPANY
This is the worst company when it comes to customer service and help. I’ve been trying to get ahold of TurboPrepaidCard for 2 whole days now. They will not answer, and if they do answer, they will hang up on you. Very unprofessional and seems to me they want to keep my money because they sure ain’t helping me get it. They only have one number to call, which is 888-285-4169 and its a joke. You have to call off a landline, because a cell phone doesn’t work. There is no other way to contact this place. Don’t ever use them
I cant call # on the back of my card
I’ve been wondering the sme thing all day. I called and the lady said you can only withdrawal $3,000 a month through a teller.. $500 a day through a ATM. I was told I can’t pay someone by having the money deposited into their bank account using the card at a bank. And the 2 websites I went to said 2 different things.. Turbo tax website said you can only withdrawal $3000 a month from a teller , yet the website used to see balance said you can withdrawal $3000 per day from teller. So it’s very unclear as to what you can withdrawal from your card. I hope this helps but it didn’t help me much and I’m still left questioning it.
Where do you go to get a withdraw from a teller?
Im calling the number on the back of the card and it literally just keeps ringing and I’m really starting to have concerns anyone else having this problem and when I try to go online to email ut says site is unavailable
How much can you take off of the card in one day
That’s what I’m trying to figure out myself.
Don’t get this card if you actually want to access your refund. It’s been almost a month and I still haven’t received my card. I can’t get through the menu when I call, it just says my info is wrong. My refund is scheduled to be deposited in 2 days. I feel cheated. 5-10 business days is a lie. If you do get someone on the phone good luck understanding them.
UGH same here. My refund should be here tomorrow and I still haven’t received my card. My refund was approved on the 4th! Everyone I call seems to not know anything! So freaking annoying!
Me too. Not good so far.
My card was supposed to be mailed the 6th of March. The 26th I called and they said they were sending a new one. Its the 3rd of april and the second one hasnt come. Now when I call they say the card was returned to them. Which card? The 1st or 2nd one. Now they want to send a 3rd. Im getting pissed. I need my money and this is a joke. Im going to wait til the end of this week and call again so they can send me a 3rd card. Yea getting someone you can understand isnt going to happen and then they dont understand you either very frustrating.
Where is my turbocard haven’t received it yet
Me neither
Filed Feb 4 got it Feb 22. Check irs website for status
How long did it take u to get ur card