Legal Proceedings

12 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2025

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]


13. Legal Proceedings

Beginning in May 2019, various legal proceedings were filed and certain regulatory inquiries were commenced in connection with our provision and marketing of free online tax preparation programs. We believe that the allegations contained within these legal proceedings are without merit and continue to defend our interests in them. These proceedings included, among others, multiple putative class actions that were consolidated into a single putative class action in the Northern District of California in September 2019 (the Intuit Free File Litigation). In August 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the putative class action claims be resolved through arbitration. In May 2021, the Intuit Free File Litigation was dismissed on a non-class basis after we entered into an agreement that resolved the matter on an individual non-class basis, without any admission of wrongdoing, for an amount that was not material. These proceedings also include a class action lawsuit that was filed in the Ontario (Canada) Superior Court of Justice on August 25, 2022.

These proceedings also included individual demands for arbitration that were filed beginning in October 2019. As of January 31, 2023, we settled all of these arbitration claims, without any admission of wrongdoing, for an amount that was not material. In June 2021, we received a demand and draft complaint from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and certain state attorneys general relating to the ongoing inquiries described above. On March 29, 2022, the FTC filed an action in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction enjoining certain Intuit business practices pending resolution of the FTC’s administrative complaint seeking to permanently enjoin certain Intuit business practices (the FTC Actions). On April 22, 2022, the Northern District of California denied the FTC’s requests for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. Beginning on March 27, 2023, a final hearing on the administrative action was held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) at the FTC and, on August 29, 2023, the FTC’s ALJ issued a decision in favor of the FTC and adverse to Intuit. On January 19, 2024, the FTC Commissioners affirmed the ALJ’s decision and issued a final order that requires us to adhere to certain marketing practices and does not contain any monetary penalties. On January 21, 2024, we filed a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and this appeal is pending. The FTC’s order became effective on March 23, 2024, and is now pending review by the Court of Appeals. We intend to continue to defend our position on the merits of this case. However, the defense and resolution of this matter could involve significant costs. The state attorneys general did not join the FTC Actions, and, on May 4, 2022, we entered into a settlement agreement with the attorneys general of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, admitting no wrongdoing, that resolved the states’ inquiry, as well as actions brought by the Los Angeles City Attorney and the Santa Clara County (California) Counsel. As part of this agreement, we agreed to pay $141 million and made certain commitments regarding our advertising and marketing practices. We recorded this as a one-time charge in the quarter ended April 30, 2022, and paid the full amount to the fund administrator in the quarter ended January 31, 2023.

In view of the complexity and ongoing and uncertain nature of the outstanding proceedings and inquiries, at this time, we are unable to estimate a reasonably possible financial loss or range of financial loss that we may incur to resolve or settle the remaining matters.

To date, the legal and other fees we have incurred related to these proceedings and inquiries have not been material. The ongoing defense and any resolution or settlement of these proceedings and inquiries could involve significant costs to us.

Intuit is subject to certain routine legal proceedings, including class action lawsuits, as well as demands, claims, government inquiries, and threatened litigation, that arise in the normal course of our business, including assertions that we may be infringing patents or other intellectual property rights of others. Our failure to obtain necessary licenses or other rights, or litigation arising out of intellectual property claims could adversely affect our business. We currently believe that, in addition to any amounts accrued, the amount of potential losses, if any, for any pending claims of any type (either alone or combined) will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The ultimate outcome of any legal proceeding is uncertain and, regardless of outcome, legal proceedings can have an adverse impact on Intuit because of defense costs, negative publicity, diversion of management resources, and other factors.