Anyone who filed taxes online through H&R Block, TaxAct, or TaxSlayer while the Google Analytics pixel was live could fall within the proposed nationwide class — and the case is now headed to a jury.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes an active class action lawsuit. The statements below are unproven allegations. Google has not been found liable, and there is nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
Latest Update: Jury Trial Set for November 2, 2026
The Google tax-filing privacy case is going to trial. Court records in Smith v. Google, LLC (Case No. 5:23-cv-03527, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division) show a pretrial conference set for October 6, 2026 and a jury trial scheduled to begin November 2, 2026 before Judge P. Casey Pitts.The case cleared its biggest early hurdle in June 2024, when Judge Pitts denied Google's motion to dismiss. Google argued that the tax-prep companies consented to Google Analytics by installing it; the court found that argument drew too many inferences in Google's favor and held that tax filers plausibly had a reasonable expectation that their tax information would stay private. There is still no settlement, no claim form, and no money available — but a case that survives dismissal and reaches a trial date is one to watch, because most class actions that get this far either settle before trial or produce a verdict. We will update this page as the trial date approaches.
What Is This About?
The class action, filed on July 14, 2023, accuses Google of wiretapping electronic communications on major online tax-filing websites. According to the complaint, Google Analytics tracking pixels embedded in the websites of H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer transmitted taxpayers' sensitive financial information to Google as people filed their taxes online — including income, refund amounts, filing status, and scholarship information.The complaint grew out of a July 2023 U.S. Senate investigation, "Attacks on Tax Privacy: How the Tax Prep Industry Enabled Meta to Harvest Millions of Taxpayers' Sensitive Data," which reported that major tax-prep companies had shared taxpayer data with Meta and Google through tracking pixels. The complaint alleges TaxAct and TaxSlayer disclosed to Senate investigators that adjusted-gross-income and refund amounts were sent to Google, and notes that federal law makes unauthorized disclosure of tax-return information by a preparer a crime (26 U.S.C. § 7216). Google has denied wrongdoing, and the allegations remain unproven.
How the Alleged Tracking Worked
The complaint centers on the Google Analytics tracking pixel — an invisible 1×1 web bug installed by default when a website uses Google Analytics. When a visitor loads a page carrying the code, the pixel collects information about how the visitor interacted with the page — clicks, scrolls, searches, form interactions, and downloads, up to roughly 200 different metrics — and transmits it to Google in real time, where it is processed into reports.The plaintiff alleges Google benefits from this arrangement well beyond the analytics reports it gives website owners: the data feeds Google's advertising algorithms and its broader profile of users across the web. While Google says the information is pseudonymous and that its policies prohibit customers from passing it identifying or sensitive data, the complaint cites a Stanford and Princeton study finding that browsing-history data of the kind Google collects can be de-anonymized, and alleges Google admitted it never contacted or suspended any of the tax-prep companies over the transmissions.
Who Is Covered by the Proposed Class?
The complaint proposes two classes:• A nationwide class of all people in the United States who used online tax-preparation providers such as H&R Block, TaxAct, or TaxSlayer while those websites had the Google pixel installed.
• An Illinois subclass of Illinois residents who used the same websites.
Given that these services process tens of millions of returns a year, the proposed class likely numbers in the millions. Class definitions can change during litigation, so the final scope of who is covered — if the case settles or the plaintiffs prevail — may differ.
The Legal Claims
The complaint brings claims under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code §§ 631, 632, and 635), the federal Wiretap Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510 et seq.), and common-law and California constitutional privacy theories, including intrusion upon seclusion. The plaintiff seeks statutory damages — up to $5,000 per violation under CIPA and the greater of $10,000 or $100 per day under the Wiretap Act — plus injunctive relief and attorneys' fees. All of these are requests tied to unproven allegations; no liability has been found and no money has been awarded.Is There a Settlement or Claim Form?
Not in this case. There is no settlement fund, no claim form, and no payout in Smith v. Google — the case is headed to trial, and most cases at this stage either settle beforehand or go to verdict.A related but separate case over the same Senate-report pixel scandal did settle: TaxAct paid $14.95M to resolve claims that it (rather than Google) shared customer data through Meta and Google pixels. That settlement's claim deadline passed in September 2024 — see our coverage of the TaxAct class action settlement. Google has also settled other major privacy cases recently, including the $68M Google Assistant privacy settlement, which is open to claims through August 27, 2026.
If Smith v. Google settles or produces a plaintiffs' verdict, a formal claims process with its own eligibility rules and deadlines would be announced — we will update this page if that happens.
Read the Complaint
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the latest update in the Google tax-filing pixel lawsuit?
The case survived Google's motion to dismiss in June 2024 and is now headed to trial: court records show a pretrial conference set for October 6, 2026 and a jury trial scheduled to begin November 2, 2026 before Judge P. Casey Pitts in the Northern District of California (San Jose). There is no settlement and no claim form at this time.
What does Smith v. Google allege?
The complaint alleges that Google Analytics tracking pixels embedded on online tax-preparation websites — including H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer — transmitted taxpayers' sensitive financial information to Google without consent, including income, refund amounts, and filing status. It brings claims under the federal Wiretap Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and common-law privacy theories. These are unproven allegations; Google has denied wrongdoing.
Who could be covered by the proposed class?
The complaint proposes a nationwide class of everyone in the United States who used online tax-preparation providers such as H&R Block, TaxAct, or TaxSlayer while those websites had the Google Analytics pixel installed, plus an Illinois subclass. Class definitions can change during litigation, so check back for updates.
Is there a Google tax-filing settlement or claim form?
No. There is no settlement fund, no claim form, and no payout in this case. Google was not found liable, and the case is scheduled for a jury trial in November 2026. A related but separate case against TaxAct itself produced a $14.95M settlement whose claim deadline passed in September 2024.
What should tax filers do now?
There is nothing to claim right now. People who filed taxes online through H&R Block, TaxAct, or TaxSlayer can follow the case for updates — if it settles or the plaintiffs win at trial, a formal process with its own eligibility rules and deadlines would be announced. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
Sources
• Class Action Complaint, Smith v. Google, LLC, No. 5:23-cv-03527 (N.D. Cal., filed July 14, 2023).• Order Denying Motion to Dismiss, Smith v. Google, LLC, No. 5:23-cv-03527-PCP (N.D. Cal. June 3, 2024).
• Case schedule, Smith v. Google, LLC, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (cand.uscourts.gov).
• U.S. Senate report, Attacks on Tax Privacy: How the Tax Prep Industry Enabled Meta to Harvest Millions of Taxpayers' Sensitive Data (July 2023).
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