Free Turbo Tax Premier available on Fidelity

[braumeister]

After reading this thread, I called my Fidelity rep and was told to qualify for the free turbotax download, you have to have over 1 million in non retirement accounts. The majority of my money is in my IRA so I don't make it.

I don't think that is actually Fidelity policy. If it were, I certainly would not have qualified. Bottom line is that your PCG rep has a lot of discretion in where he or she strokes the customer. Hence the encounter I had a few years ago. I knew about others getting the free TurboTax and I asked my rep about it. His response was "Oh, I didn't know you used that. I'll put you on the list." Since that time, I've been given the offer.

So I would say your denial was from your PCG rep, not Fidelity. I doubt if Fidelity actually has a policy apart from the standard $20 discount they give everyone. The free software can only be obtained when your rep "puts you on the list." Short of asking for a different rep I'm not sure if there is anything you can do about it, though. Just out of curiosity, had you already established a friendly relationship with him or her?

Or I may have it completely wrong, but it's a strong impression. There is also the possibility that your rep was correctly citing the official policy and other reps (like mine) are simply overriding the company line. Who knows?

 

[Sunset]

.....
So I would say your denial was from your PCG rep, not Fidelity. I doubt if Fidelity actually has a policy apart from the standard $20 discount they give everyone. The free software can only be obtained when your rep "puts you on the list." Short of asking for a different rep I'm not sure if there is anything you can do about it, though. Just out of curiosity, had you already established a friendly relationship with him or her?
...

I would think he simply needs to phone the rep again and ask again, and when told no, then ask the rep how long will it take to transfer the IRA to Vanguard, since he feels unfairly treated.

 

[FIREd_2015]

After reading this thread, I called my Fidelity rep and was told to qualify for the free turbotax download, you have to have over 1 million in non retirement accounts. The majority of my money is in my IRA so I don't make it.

I would have to agree with others who said you're getting bad info. I currently only have around $12k in non-retirement assets at Fidelity and never had anywhere near $1m in non-retirement assets there. My understanding was company sponsored accounts (401k, 403b, etc) didn't count towards the $1m threshold but individual IRA and ROTH accounts do.

 

[Dawg52]

First year the free version appeared on my Fidelity page. I inquired a couple of years ago about it so maybe that finally paid off. I have used H&R Block the last couple of years and had planned to go that route, but the TT download was painless so might as well take advantage of the freebie.

 

[COcheesehead]

That is not consistent with my understanding. You should qualify for Private Client Group (PCG) at $1M total family assets housed at Fidelity. That includes retirement and non-retirement accounts for yourself and your spouse. We don't have $1M in non-retirement, yet we are PCG and get the free turbotax download every year, among other benefits. I would suggest you call back and talk to someone else.

Yes, he should be a Private Client and have access to the offer. Something is not correct about this.

 

[explanade]

I would have to agree with others who said you're getting bad info. I currently only have around $12k in non-retirement assets at Fidelity and never had anywhere near $1m in non-retirement assets there. My understanding was company sponsored accounts (401k, 403b, etc) didn't count towards the $1m threshold but individual IRA and ROTH accounts do.

So you get it with just $12k in assets?

What is the verbiage for the free TurboTax offer?

I don't have a PCG rep. But my father has a ton of money with them so where does he look or whom should he ask?

 

[COcheesehead]

So you get it with just $12k in assets?

What is the verbiage for the free TurboTax offer?

I don't have a PCG rep. But my father has a ton of money with them so where does he look or whom should he ask?

It's right on the summary page of your account and it looks like this.

 

[explanade]

Hmm, when I log in, the left column has an account total and lists of accounts.

The type of account it lists is "Individual - TOD" with a "Brokerage" account number.

Maybe I need one of the accounts where they manage the investments and extracts a management fee?

 

[COcheesehead]

Hmm, when I log in, the left column has an account total and lists of accounts.

The type of account it lists is "Individual - TOD" with a "Brokerage" account number.

Maybe I need one of the accounts where they manage the investments and extracts a management fee?

What is to the right? The offer on my page has it right there. I don't have ANY managed accounts.

 

[bingybear]

Hmm, when I log in, the left column has an account total and lists of accounts.

The type of account it lists is "Individual - TOD" with a "Brokerage" account number.

Maybe I need one of the accounts where they manage the investments and extracts a management fee?

for what? free tax program. I don't have one at Fido. not at schwab either since I terminated the one small account.

 

[COcheesehead]

I just checked again. It is on the Summary account tab. The very first page you get after you sign in. That may be as a result of my login preference, so explore the site a bit.

 

[explanade]

It shows, Asset Allocation, some box detailing my accounts, and then Tax Information is the box on the far right.

However, I just chatted with a representative.

He told me there is a discount for every Fidelity customer but to get it for free, you need to do 500 trades a year.

Of course I know that's not the case with some of the people who posted here.

He gave me this link:

https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/turbotax-discount/overview

 

[COcheesehead]

It shows, Asset Allocation, some box detailing my accounts, and then Tax Information is the box on the far right.

However, I just chatted with a representative.

He told me there is a discount for every Fidelity customer but to get it for free, you need to do 500 trades a year.

Of course I know that's not the case with some of the people who posted here.

He gave me this link:

https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/turbotax-discount/overview

That sounds like the right page. That page is customizable and you can open and close boxes containing all kinds of data, news, your winners, losers, your retirement score, etc. Sounds like you have the offer box closed possibly.

 

[explanade]

Hmm, if I click the 2016 Tax Information box, it goes to a page with "Tax Resources" section on the bottom of the page.

In that section are links to the $20 off Turbo Tax ("courtesy of Fidelity"), H&R Block, Fidsafe (some service for storing documents securely) and a link to IRS documents.

I guess that's all I'm eligible for, $20 off probably the full price, so it may be about the same as buying from Amazon.

 

[COcheesehead]

Hmm, if I click the 2016 Tax Information box, it goes to a page with "Tax Resources" section on the bottom of the page.

In that section are links to the $20 off Turbo Tax ("courtesy of Fidelity"), H&R Block, Fidsafe (some service for storing documents securely) and a link to IRS documents.

I guess that's all I'm eligible for, $20 off probably the full price, so it may be about the same as buying from Amazon.

It's not under the tax information box. Without taking a screen grab of my entire account, I can't be of anymore help. Sorry.

 

[nwsteve]

So you get it with just $12k in assets?

What is the verbiage for the free TurboTax offer?

I don't have a PCG rep. But my father has a ton of money with them so where does he look or whom should he ask?

If your dad is PCG, he can connect you as part of their family program. We are private client and daughter and SIL get the same benefits and use the same rep.

 

[FIREd_2015]

It shows, Asset Allocation, some box detailing my accounts, and then Tax Information is the box on the far right.

However, I just chatted with a representative.

He told me there is a discount for every Fidelity customer but to get it for free, you need to do 500 trades a year.

Of course I know that's not the case with some of the people who posted here.

He gave me this link:

https://www.fidelity.com/tax-information/turbotax-discount/overview

I've made zero trades the last couple of years nor do I have any managed accounts. Assuming PCG status is the requirement for the free Turbo Tax, this is from Fidelity's website for PCG qualification:

"Fidelity Private Client Group® program membership is generally available to investors whose eligible retail household relationship assets are over $1 million, of which at least $500,000 is registered under the same Social Security number (SSN) or tax identification number (TIN) or lists the same SSN or TIN for the custodian of a Uniform Gifts/Transfers to Minors Act account. Eligible Fidelity retail accounts generally include those maintained by Fidelity Brokerage Services or held in Portfolio Advisory Services accounts [excluding assets maintained through Fidelity-recordkept retirement saving plans, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plan assets]. Household relationship assets will be determined by aggregating the assets of eligible retail accounts held by the investor and his or her immediate family members who reside at the same address."

 

[explanade]

No biggie if I have to buy.

I am not interested in becoming a PCG client just to save $50. The fees much more than $50, I would assume.

 

[COcheesehead]

No biggie if I have to buy.

I am not interested in becoming a PCG client just to save $50. The fees much more than $50, I would assume.

Nope. No additional fees.

 

[bingybear]

No biggie if I have to buy.

I am not interested in becoming a PCG client just to save $50. The fees much more than $50, I would assume.

what fees? I can't think of any additional fees when compared to other Fido clients. But I would not move more $ to fido just for the tax program deal.

BTW, this is the first time I'm taking advantage of the offer. This offer looks (at first) like online only. I prefer download... so I have bought another brand in years past. When I saw you can get a download, I decided I'd try it. I also bought my other program before seeing this deal. I'll compare both this year.

 

[explanade]

So what is a PCG client then, still DIY under a different name?

Sounded like some kind of investment management thing.

 

[COcheesehead]

So what is a PCG client then, still DIY under a different name?

Sounded like some kind of investment management thing.

Where did you get that impression? Didn't you read the definition of a Private Client in just the last few posts?

 

[nvestysly]

Glad I Stumbled On This Thread...

I've been looking at the local newspaper ads as well as online retailers looking for TurboTax software at a discounted rate. Somehow I missed this "offer' from Fidelity. I guess I don't pay much attention to my initial home screen when I login to Fidelity.

Having stumbled across this thread I now feel $50 - $60 richer as this is what I would have paid otherwise.

Thanks to the OP and others who chimed in on how to find the offer on the Fidelity web site.

 

[Sunset]

So what is a PCG client then, still DIY under a different name?
.............

Sounds to me like a diy, where you have a nice sized account

 

[Sunset]

I've been looking at the local newspaper ads as well as online retailers looking for TurboTax software at a discounted rate. Somehow I missed this "offer' from Fidelity. I guess I don't pay much attention to my initial home screen when I login to Fidelity.

Having stumbled across this thread I now feel $50 - $60 richer as this is what I would have paid otherwise.

Thanks to the OP and others who chimed in on how to find the offer on the Fidelity web site.

I switched from Turbo Tax to H&R Block years ago because H&R is always cheaper (and they do taxes). And it's always cheaper every year.

The switch was easy as it imported the previous year TT info.
I just bought this year Fed & State for $21