Intuit says it is gaining share at the expense of retail stores as the company reported returns for the tax season from January 30 through March 16. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said for the period, sales of TurboTax Online Units were up 29 percent over the prior year with total TurboTax federal units up 26 percent for the period.
With the delay in accepting returns by the Internal Revenue Service, tax season started about two weeks later than usual. Compared to the 2012 season from the start of e-filing through March 1 6, TurboTax unit sales were roughly flat. The company did not specify how much market share it has gained. But the increase compares to a decline of 7 percent for returns through February 16.
Dan Maurer, SVP and general manager of Intuit's consumer group, said in a prepared statement that returns received by the IRS are down 7 percent as of March 15. However, that shows that the pace of filing is catching up with a normal tax season.
Intuit reiterated its guidance that consumer tax revenue will grow by 8 to 10 percent and total company revenue will increase by 10 to 12 percent for the year ending July 31.
The company has sold 5.1 million desktop TurboTax units which is up 15 percent from January 30 through March 16, compared to the same period last year, and down 2 percent compared to the entire 2012 tax season to date. There were 12.5 million federal TurboTax Online units sold so far in 2013, up 29 percent for the same period a year earlier and 2 percent from the start of tax
With the results for the TurboTax Free File Alliance included, the total units sold to date this year were 18.4 million, compared to 18.3 million from the start of the 2012 tax seas through March 16.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
