Intuit Inc. is an American financial technology company that develops financial software and services, including TurboTax and QuickBooks. Founded in 1983, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California. It went public in 1993 and that year acquired ChipSoft, maker of TurboTax. The company later expanded with the acquisitions of Credit Karma (completed in December 2020) and Mailchimp (completed in November 2021).
Intuit has been the subject of reporting and regulatory actions related to U.S. tax filing. In 2019, ProPublica investigations found that Intuit had steered eligible taxpayers from its free IRS Free File product toward its paid TurboTax Free Edition, including through search engine delisting and a discount marketed to members of the military. Intuit left the Free File Alliance after the 2021 filing season. Its marketing of "free" tax services led to a $141 million multi-state settlement in 2022 and, in 2024, a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Opinion and Final Order limiting "free" claims unless eligibility is clearly disclosed. The order was vacated by the Fifth Circuit in March 2026 and remanded to the FTC. The company was also a defendant in the High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, which it settled out of court.
Intuit has lobbied against IRS proposals to create a free, pre-filled tax filing system. Critics of Intuit's lobbying often note that such pre-filled systems are standard in many other developed nations.
History The company was founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx in Palo Alto, California.
Scott Cook developed the concept for Intuit after his work at Procter & Gamble helped him realize that personal computers would lend themselves towards replacements for paper-and-pencil based personal accounting. While seeking a programmer, Cook met Tom Proulx at Stanford University. The two started Intuit, which initially operated out of a small room on University Avenue in Palo Alto. The first version of Quicken was coded in Microsoft's BASIC programming language for the IBM PC and UCSD Pascal for the Apple II by Tom Proulx and had to contend with a dozen serious competitors.
In 1991, Microsoft decided to produce a competitor to Quicken called Microsoft Money. To incentivize retailers, Intuit included a US$15 rebate coupon. Industry observers at the time noted this as a novel strategy for a software company. Around the same time, the company engaged John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins and diversified its product lineup.
On March 12, 1993, Intuit went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol INTU. The proceeds were used to make a key acquisition: the tax-preparation software company Chipsoft based in San Diego. Following the IPO, the company expanded its market share, leading to a 1994 buyout offer from Microsoft in 1994; at this time Intuit's market capitalization reached US$2 billion. However, the United States Department of Justice sued to block the acquisition.
As Microsoft competition intensified Intuit's Quicken business in the late 1990s, the company pivoted its strategy by developing web-based products while prioritizing QuickBooks for small business accounting and TurboTax for tax preparation—market segments where Microsoft faced less competition. The company made a number of investments around this time. Among others, it purchased a large stake in Excite and acquired Lacerte Software, a Dallas-based developer of tax preparation software used by tax professionals. It also divested its online bill payment service unit in exchange for an equity stake in CheckFree.
In June 2013, Intuit announced it would sell its financial services unit to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $1.03 billion.
As of May 2018, Intuit had more than US$5 billion in annual revenue and a market capitalization of about US$50 billion. In August 2018, the company announced that Sasan Goodarzi would become Intuit's leader and CEO at the beginning of 2019. Former CEO Brad Smith remained as chairman of Intuit's board of directors. In August 2020, Intuit QuickBooks Canada was expected to reveal intentions to partner with Digital Main Street, as the company aims to help digitally turn Canadian small businesses.
In July 2024, Intuit announced it would lay off 1,800 employees, or 10% of its workforce, in order to refocus resources on generative AI initiatives. In May 2026, Intuit laid off a further 3000 employees, or 17% of its workforce, once again citing a need to streamline operations and focus on generative AI.
Legal issues
Intuit formerly offered a free online service called TurboTax Free File as well as a similarly named service called TurboTax Free Edition which is not free for most users. TurboTax Free File was developed as part of an agreement whereby members of the Free File Alliance would offer tax preparation for individuals below an income threshold for free in exchange for the IRS not providing taxpayers with free pre-filled forms. In 2019, investigations by ProPublica found that Intuit deliberately steered taxpayers from the free TurboTax Free File to the paid TurboTax Free Edition through deceptive practices, including search engine delisting and misleading discounts targeted at members of the military. Subsequent investigations by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the New York State Department of Financial Services reached similar conclusions, the latter concluding that Intuit engaged in "unfair and abusive practices". As of 2022, Intuit is the subject of multiple lawsuits and is under investigation by the FTC and several state attorneys general. On May 4, 2022, Intuit agreed to pay a $141 million settlement over misleading advertisements.
Current products CEO Sasan Goodarzi oversees all products in all countries.
TurboTax Offered in Basic, Standard, Premier, and Home & Business versions, as well as TurboTax 20 for preparing multiple returns. QuickBooks Small business accounting and financial management software, offered in EasyStart, Pro, and Premier versions. QuickBooks Online Web-based accounting software designed for companies to review business financials through live data and insights to help make clear business decisions. ProConnect Professional tax products, including ProConnect Tax Online, Lacerte, ProSeries Professional, ProSeries Basic, and EasyAcct. Credit Karma Access to credit scores, reports, and monitoring. As of 2024, Credit Karma includes the personal account capabilities of former Intuit Mint. QuickBooks Commerce Open platform that consolidate sales channels into a central hub for product-based small businesses. Intuit Business Credit Card No annual fee business credit card, issued as a World Elite Business Mastercard, that syncs transactions with QuickBooks Online so spend management, credit access, and financial insights sit in one place. Intuit Prosperity Hub Program Empowering local economies by creating new job opportunities, preparing students for jobs of the future and supporting small businesses. (which includes the SaverLife Solutions platform) Mailchimp E-mail marketing platform. Intuit Enterprise Suite Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software suite for mid-market businesses.
Intuit Professional Tax Software Intuit Professional Tax Software is a portfolio of tax preparation products developed by Intuit for accounting and tax professionals. The portfolio includes three professional products: ProConnect Tax, Lacerte Tax, and ProSeries Tax. Each product is designed for a different segment of the professional tax market, from individual practitioners to firms that manage complex or high-volume returns. Together, they form Intuit’s Professional Tax software lineup and support a broad range of workflows and firm types.
ProConnect Tax Online Source:
Intuit ProConnect Tax Online (formerly Intuit Tax Online) is a cloud-based professional tax preparation software designed for accountants and tax advisors. The platform enables tax professionals to prepare and file individual and business returns entirely online, with workflows accessible from any location.
ProConnect Tax Online is a cloud-based tax software that supports over 5,700 tax forms, including Forms 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120-S, and 1065, and features more than 21,000 error diagnostics. The software integrates with QuickBooks Online Accountant to streamline bookkeeping-to-tax workflows. It includes tools such as Intuit Link for client document collection, built-in e-signature capabilities, and integration with Intuit Tax Advisor for generating tax planning strategies. It is used by accounting firms that prefer cloud-based tax preparation workflows. ProConnect Tax is offered as a package or on a pay-per-return basis. Intuit ProConnect Tax is offered as a package or on a pay-per-return basis In 2024, it became the first professional tax software to offer built-in tax-planning strategy generation through its Tax Advisor integration.
Lacerte Tax Software Source:
Intuit Lacerte Tax is a desktop-based professional tax preparation software designed for large accounting firms and complex tax returns. Originally developed by Lacerte Software Corp., founded by CPA Larry Lacerte, the software was acquired by Intuit in May 1998 for approximately $400 million in cash.
Lacerte Tax is a desktop-based tax software that supports over 5,700 forms, including individual, corporate, partnership, fiduciary, estate, and gift tax returns, and features more than 25,000 error-checking diagnostics. The software offers advanced tools, including comprehensive tax planning utilities, what-if analysis, and integration with QuickBooks Desktop for trial balance imports. Although it requires local installation, Intuit offers optional cloud-hosting services for remote access. Lacerte is primarily targeted at mid-size and large accounting firms, as well as smaller firms handling particularly complex returns, and is typically sold either as an unlimited-use license or on a pay-per-return basis, positioning it as a premium offering in the professional tax software market.
ProSeries Tax Software Intuit ProSeries Tax is a desktop-based professional tax preparation software aimed at individual practitioners and small to mid-sized firms. ProSeries predates Intuit's acquisition of Lacerte and has been offered by Intuit since the 1990s.
ProSeries is a desktop-based tax software available in two editions: ProSeries Professional, which supports individual and business returns, including Forms 1120, 1120-S, and 1065, and ProSeries Basic, which is primarily limited to Form 1040 individual returns. The software features a forms-based interface that displays tax forms on-screen for direct data entry, offering approximately 3,700 forms and schedules, along with around 1,000 error-checking diagnostics. ProSeries integrates with QuickBooks Desktop for importing financial data, and optional cloud hosting is available. Intuit markets ProSeries to small and mid-sized tax practices seeking a balance of functionality and cost, positioning it as a more affordable tax software to Lacerte, with licensing options including unlimited annual licenses or pay-per-return plans.
International operations
Canada
Intuit Canada ULC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Intuit, is a developer of financial management and tax preparation software for personal finance and small business accounting. Services are delivered on a variety of platforms including application software, software connected to services, software as a service, platform as a service and mobile applications. Intuit Canada has employees located all across Canada, with offices in Edmonton, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario.