When Does TurboTax Deduct Their Fees from Refund? (First Time User)

TurboTax takes fees when the IRS releases your refund. Not before. They use a temporary bank account. Your refund goes there first. Fees get deducted. Then you get the remainder. This happens automatically. You won't need to do anything.

I just went through this process in February. The Refund Processing mechanism initiates when the IRS approves your return and releases funds. TurboTax utilizes a Temporary Deposit Account (TDA) where your full refund amount is first deposited. The software fees, filing fees, and any add-on services are automatically deducted from this TDA before transferring the remaining balance to your designated account. I'm still waiting for confirmation that this happened correctly for me.

Have you tried contacting TurboTax directly about this? I had the same question last year and spent 3 hours trying to reach their customer service. Ended up using Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) to get through to the IRS to confirm my refund status when I was worried about the fees. Saved me hours of waiting and confirmed exactly when my refund was being processed. That way I knew exactly when the TurboTax fees would come out. Have you checked your transcript to see if your refund has been approved yet?

Think of your refund journey like water flowing through a series of pipes. The money starts at the IRS reservoir, flows through the TurboTax filter system where impurities (fees) are removed, and then continues to your personal collection tank (bank account). The entire process is automated and typically takes 24-48 hours from when the IRS releases your refund. The timing is dependent on several technical factors including ACH processing windows, bank settlement periods, and verification protocols. Most users see the net amount (post-fee deduction) appear in their accounts within 1-2 business days after the IRS shows 'sent'.

OMG I was literally just dealing w/ this last week! So here's what happens - IRS sends ur whole refund to a temp bank acct TurboTax sets up. Then TT takes their fees from that acct (mine was like $89 total for fed+state+extra features). THEN they send what's left to ur actual bank acct. For me it took exactly 1 day between WMR saying "sent" and $ showing up in my acct. Hope that helps! GL w/ the kids' activities btw!

I researched this extensively when I used TurboTax this year. Here's what happens: • IRS approves your refund • Full refund amount goes to a temporary bank account managed by TurboTax • TurboTax deducts their fees from this account • Remaining balance transfers to your personal account • Process typically takes 1-2 business days after IRS releases funds Worth noting: if you check your bank account frequently, you might see a pending deposit for the full amount briefly before it's replaced with the actual (reduced) amount. This confused me at first!

I tracked this process exactly with my refund this year. The IRS released my $3,247 refund on February 27th at 12:01am. TurboTax received it in their temporary account within 24 hours. They deducted exactly $119.98 ($49.99 for federal filing, $54.99 for state, and $15 for the refund processing option). The remaining $3,127.02 was deposited in my checking account on March 1st at 3:17am. So it took approximately 51 hours from IRS release to my account. I'm a bit concerned about your timeline - if your deposit date is April 3rd and you need the money by April 5th, you might be cutting it close.

Based on everyone's responses, it sounds like you should have your money by April 3rd as expected! The key thing is that TurboTax handles everything automatically once the IRS releases your refund. Since you filed March 12th and WMR shows April 3rd, that gives you 2 days before the kids' activities start on April 5th - should be plenty of time. Just keep an eye on WMR and maybe check your bank account on April 2nd/3rd. The process is really seamless once it gets going. Good luck with the spring activities!

Just wanted to add my experience to help with your budgeting! I used TurboTax's refund deduction option for the first time last year and was nervous about the timing too. Here's what happened: my WMR showed "refund sent" on a Thursday, and the money (minus TurboTax fees) hit my account early Saturday morning. The whole temporary account thing happens behind the scenes - you literally don't have to do anything except wait. One tip: make sure your bank account info is 100% correct in TurboTax because if there's an error, it can delay the whole process by weeks. Since you filed March 12th and have an April 3rd date, you should be totally fine for the April 5th activities! The system works pretty smoothly once the IRS releases your refund.