Intuit got off to a hot start for the 2012 tax season. However, the pace of growth has slowed since it issued filing results in February. When it reported sales through February 13, sales of TurboTax Web sales had risen by 19 percent while desktop unit sales had dropped by 2 percent. The results for the season through March 17 showed Web unit sales up by 14 percent while the desktop numbers were off by 3 percent.
Still, the company expressed pleasure with the results because it said it had improved it performance against competitors. "In consumer tax, we continue to be pleased with our online share gain, estimated at approximately 1 point of share,"
Dan Maurer, SVP and general manager of Intuit's consumer group, said in a prepared statement. He also reiterated past statements that the company's providing free tax advice has been well received by consumers.
For the period ending March 17, the company sold 5.1 million federal desktop units, down from 5.3 million for the corresponding period a year ago. The Web total reached 12.4 million, up from 10.9 million. the total was countered by a 7 percent drop in units sold via the Free File alliance. The total TurboTax count was 18.4 million, an increase of 8 percent from 17.1 million for the same period in the 2011 tax season. The total filings dropped from the 10 percent increase reported through February 13.
