“We saw TurboTax Live draw about 10 points more from that category than regular TurboTax Online does,” Smith said. That source includes customers of tax stores and CPAs.
Smith said the new tax law is also likely to bring more customers into the DIY market since they will be able to claim a standard deduction instead of itemizing.
“They can move into lower end price products or even free,” he said. TurboTax Live enables users to opt within TurboTax to ask for help from a tax professional. Intuit had no shortage of professionals who wanted to work with the company, Smith noted. "It is the legislation and TurboTax Live that we think will let us fundamentally grow the category," he said.
Revenue from tax and accounting professionals, which Intuit calls its Strategic Partner category, hit $131 million for the third quarter, a rise of 4 percent from $110 million in revenue for the category in last year’s corresponding quarter.
Operating income for the professional tax segment for the most recently ended quarter was $89 million, an increase of 21.9 percent from $73 million a year earlier. The 67-percent operating margin compares to an 80-percent operating margin for the consumer tax business and 39 percent for the small business and self-employed group, which includes QuickBooks revenue.
Overall, Intuit reported net income of $1.2 billion for quarter, a 24.5-percent increase from $964 million a year ago. Revenue of $2.93 billion was 15.1-percent higher than the $2.54 for the same period of fiscal 2017.
