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Intuit beats FTC in court, ending restrictions on "free" TurboTax ads

March 24, 2026
•Ars technica
Intuit beats FTC in court, ending restrictions on "free" TurboTax ads

Here's something that caught my attention — Intuit just scored a big legal win against the FTC. An appeals court threw out the Biden-era agency’s attempt to clamp down on TurboTax ads claiming they’re free. ((slower)) According to Jon Brodkin, writing in TechCrunch, the FTC had argued that Intuit misled consumers by not clearly disclaiming that for around two-thirds of taxpayers, TurboTax wasn’t actually free. But here’s where it gets interesting — the 5th Circuit court side-stepped the FTC’s earlier ruling, citing a violation of the separation of powers, as Brodkin reports. This decision not only halts the restrictions on TurboTax ads but also sets a legal precedent that could shake up how agencies enforce deceptive advertising claims. So what does this mean for consumers? It’s a reminder that big wins in court can shift the rules of the game — especially when it comes to how companies communicate what they’re really offering.

An appeals court invalidated the Biden-era Federal Trade Commission's attempt to punish Intuit for allegedly deceptive ads that pitched TurboTax as free.

Under then-Chair Lina Khan, the FTC determined in 2024 that the TurboTax maker violated US law with deceptive advertising and ordered it to stop telling consumers, without more obvious disclaimers, that TurboTax or other products are free. The FTC’s chief administrative law judge had previously found that Intuit's ads violated prohibitions on deceptive advertising because the firm “advertised to consumers that they could file their taxes online for free using TurboTax, when in truth, for approximately two-thirds of taxpayers, the advertised claim was false."

Intuit appealed in the conservative-leaning US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and got a resounding victory on Friday in a 3–0 ruling issued by a panel of judges. "Following the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, we hold that adjudication of a deceptive advertising claim before an administrative law judge violated the constitutional separation of powers," the 5th Circuit panel said.

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An appeals court invalidated the Biden-era Federal Trade Commission's attempt to punish Intuit for allegedly deceptive ads that pitched TurboTax as free.

Under then-Chair Lina Khan, the FTC determined in 2024 that the TurboTax maker violated US law with deceptive advertising and ordered it to stop telling consumers, without more obvious disclaimers, that TurboTax or other products are free. The FTC’s chief administrative law judge had previously found that Intuit's ads violated prohibitions on deceptive advertising because the firm “advertised to consumers that they could file their taxes online for free using TurboTax, when in truth, for approximately two-thirds of taxpayers, the advertised claim was false."

Intuit appealed in the conservative-leaning US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and got a resounding victory on Friday in a 3–0 ruling issued by a panel of judges. "Following the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, we hold that adjudication of a deceptive advertising claim before an administrative law judge violated the constitutional separation of powers," the 5th Circuit panel said.

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