
About H&R Block
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H&R Block is a tax preparation and financial services company that has been providing its clients with tax advice and assistance for over 60 years. With a network of over 10,000 retail tax offices in the U.S. and around the world, as well as an online tax filing platform, it offers both in-person and do-it-yourself tax preparation services.
Overall Satisfaction Rating
- 5 stars
- 4 stars
- 3 stars
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- 1 stars
Pros
- Free basic file
- In-person services
- Max Refund Guarantee
Cons
- In-person help can be pricey
- Limited time for Refund Advance loans
Bottom Line
H&R Block offers tax services for every filer, including free basic 1040 returns. Customers can choose in-person tax help or a drop-and-go option for their taxes.
Top H&R Block Reviews
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I have used H&R Block for the past five years and I am very satisfied with the service. I opt to pay the extra $29.95 and have access to my last seven years’ tax filings. I always...
Read full reviewHave used them for many years. Excellent service, stand by accuracy, provide assistance. Friendly, pleasant and courteous. Some of their software needs improvement, though I have ...
Read full reviewWhat is H&R Block?
H&R Block is a well-known tax preparation company that provides tax prep services to individuals and small businesses. Whether you want to do your taxes completely yourself, hand them off to a pro or get a mix of the two, there is an option for you. On average, H&R Block’s tax professionals have 10 years of experience and over 73 hours of training.
H&R Block uses several layers of security measures to ensure your data is protected when you file online or in person. In addition to web browsing encryption, the company has a security protection team that monitors data 24/7, regularly performing security audits.
H&R Block offers a wide range of resources and tools to help you make sense of your taxes. Its website features a wealth of helpful guides to help you understand the ins and outs of the tax code. You will also find calculators to help you estimate your tax refund and calculate your tax liability.
How does H&R Block work?
H&R Block provides in-person and electronic tax filing services. Customers can choose to file themselves through the guided software or use a dedicated tax professional. You can also use H&R Block for audit support. Just schedule a free consultation, and you will receive upfront pricing before starting.
To start using H&R Block, create an account on the website or visit your local office. The company offers walk-in services as well as an option to drop off your tax paperwork. It is best to schedule an appointment time, though — especially as the tax deadline draws near.
H&R Block services
H&R Block offers both DIY tax services and professional services. The following is available for taxpayers who prefer to file on their own:
- Free online: For those with simple returns and standard IRS deductions, you might qualify for a free state and federal file.
- Deluxe: This plan allows you to do itemized deductions and store your tax returns for six years.
- Premium: With the premium plan, you can do everything the free and Deluxe plans can, plus file for rental income and investment income.
- Self-employed: This is the highest level of DIY tax services available and includes every form you need for investment income and side business income and claiming business deductions.
Unlimited expert help can be added on to any of these levels for an additional fee. You can also have a tax professional file your taxes for you virtually or in person.
H&R Block pricing
Filing your taxes early can allow you to access discounts off H&R Block’s services.
The following prices are the retail prices of services at the time of publication, but you might be able to receive a discount.
- Free online: $0 for qualifying taxpayers for federal and state files
- Deluxe: $55 plus $37 for state
- Premium: $75 plus $37 for state
- Self-employed: $110 plus $37 for state
- Add-on tax support for DIY filing: $70 plus additional state fees
- Filing with a tax pro: Prices start at $85 plus additional state fees
H&R Block FAQ
Does H&R Block offer advanced refunds?
Yes, you can receive your refund as an advanced loan with a 0% annual percentage rate (APR) and no loan fees. However, these loans are usually only available several weeks before the April tax deadline, so if you wait to file, you can miss the chance to qualify.
What refund options does H&R Block offer?
Alongside the Refund Advance loan, customers can choose to have their refunds deposited on the H&R Block Emerald Prepaid Mastercard. Additionally, you can receive your refund as a direct deposit or check.
Does H&R Block offer a money-back guarantee?
H&R Block offers several guarantees to its customers, including a Maximum Refund Guarantee that ensures you'll get the biggest refund possible or your money back. It also offers a 100% Accuracy Guarantee, which means if it makes an error on your tax return that results in penalties or interest, H&R Block will pay those fees for you. Its satisfaction guarantee will refund you if you are not happy with the in-person services or the tax software.
Do I have to pay H&R Block upfront?
No, you can choose to have your payment for the service taken out of your tax refund. However, there is an extra $39 refund transfer fee to pay with your refund.
Do we recommend H&R Block?
H&R Block is a solid financial institution that's been around for over 60 years. It has helped file over 800 million returns worldwide since it first opened its doors. Its multiple guarantees make it a trustworthy tax company to try because if you do not get the best return or have an inaccurate return, H&R Block will make it right.
H&R Block Reviews
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I Have been using them for 9 years.. After 2020 my taxes were withheld when I called them to ask what was going on.. They got an attitude and refused to answer me. They had no problem taking their fees out of my state refund while my federal was being withheld.. Not to mention they don't give any discounts or incentives to long term clients. Being a single self employed mother I find it absolutely ridiculous that their fees jump around so much. Paying 553.00 to have them done in 2020, And last year 520.00. So this year I decided to go with a program of those of low income to see my refund.
They make a big deal to advertise maximizing your refund. When in reality they can give you the same amount you can get from free programs. This is not to mention the people working on your taxes are those who are retired or needing extra money. Needless to say I've gone through so many who have worked there, And most of them don't look like they have the mind to be doing taxes. They constantly ask others for help. Definitely not somebody that I would be paying so much money for with little professionalism. I make sure everything is organized and written all out. All They're doing is putting it in the computer. So my question is why are they charging so much when there's nothing special they're doing.
Hi, I first took an appointment at the store, she never got back to me, took all my documents and never responded back. I kept calling and texting her. She never got back to me. Then I went online and filed from H&R block website, then they forced me to buy $50 pro so they can sign on my taxed, now it has been so long, no updates on their website. I keep calling them just so they can transfer me to other department and then hang up. Please stay away from this tool.
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H&R Block is a collection of nice tax accountants who have zero competence to write and maintain software. I e-filed my taxes in mid-February with downloaded H&R Block software after it repeatedly indicated there were no errors or problems with the return. From my end, the submission froze in IRS servers and has stayed that way for over three weeks. At the H&R end, the IRS informed them that their software created an error in my filing (a fake report of rental income, when none existed) and told them within five minutes of my submission that it had been rejected. Since that moment, my return has been listed as pending in their software and the software will not allow resubmission.
The worst part of this company is that they only pretend to offer customer support. At least half the time, the staff that answers the phone almost immediately hangs up on a customer (in fairness, the staff seem to have to create a new case number for each call and that step seems to trigger disconnection). The basic staff seems nice, but innocent of any technical expertise or basic support practices (like looking up the case record before having a caller repeat every detail with every call, all while denying this problem could exist when the record clearly indicates that it does).
The frontline staff must consult two different systems to respond to customers (one accessed with email, the other accessed by social security number), and some staff members seem unaware the second system exists. And most ridiculously, the technically competent staff can be accessed by the basic staff only by sending short text messages. In my last call, the staff member sent some 9 short messages over the course of an hour, with the technical staff reading only minor details of my case and giving nonsensical responses that frustrated the person trying to help me even more than they did me.
A firm with this structure and these systems is designed to fail. The front line staff answering the phone is unable to do anything other than spew lies fed them by the technical staff. Examples:
• a March 2nd update for federal forms would fix the problem – no it did not.• my case was escalated to the mysterious technical staff and they would respond directly to me in two days – never received any response at all
• actually, it would take the technical staff five days to respond, not two – again, no response ever received
• the IRS would automatically clear my tax return after three weeks and reject my return so I could fix the H&R Block created error – nothing of the sort occurred.
The one detail where the support staff was consistent and clear is that no refund would be provided for my purchase of the software. H&R Block takes zero responsibility for its product and is nothing but a monstrous waste of time and money. The only worse outcome here would have been for me to wait until early April to file my taxes with their software. As it is, I can purchase TurboTax and start over from scratch.
H&R Block Expat Tax Services is an online tax preparation service specifically for overseas residents who need help with their US tax filing. They has been giving me the runaround for the last 3 weeks. I asked my supposedly expert "tax consultant" 3 times, via the portal's Message Center, to give me a rough estimate of fees before starting the Streamlined Filing. I received no answer, and yet he repeatedly emails me with a system-generated message: "I'm so close to finishing your tax return, but I need a bit more information. Please sign into your account to see what else is needed. If you need help or have questions, feel free to reach out to me in the Message Center of your account." I am now in the process of engaging one of the many other professional online expat tax services to help me.
I have been a H&R block user for years and have had no issues. I have received the e-file rejection code FD-32-S1-F1040-080-02 while trying to submit my return, the fix was supposed to happen on the update of 2/2/23 and then on 2/17/23 and still no fix and now I am being told it will happen on 3/2/23. I have lost all confidence with H&R block that the fix will ever happen, I have spent over 8 hours on hold or talking to support to fix this issue to no avail. I have talked with a representative about the situation and I asked for a refund and was told to get it from Amazon, which I am unable to due to it being past the time for a refund because I have been waiting for a fix for the program.
Refunded for tax prep service that wasn’t provided.
I paid over $200 for the preparation of my 2022 taxes because the online software required me to add a “tax professional” in order to report a total of three losses on Section 1256 Contracts it did not allow me to enter on my own. Long story short, I prepared 98% of my return myself, paid, uploaded every tax document immediately for the tax pro’s review, and waited. And waited some more. After a week had elapsed and there was no progress, I sent a message to my assigned tax pro and she never responded. Another day went by, I sent another message urging her to please respond because she was holding up my filing and refund, and still no response. I placed a total of six calls to H&R Block, having to re-explain my situation each and every time, and after being promised multiple times to be reassigned a new tax pro I still hadn’t been.
I finally requested a refund and sat on hold while a very nasty representative said she needed to ensure that a refund was warranted. The moment I confirmed I’d been refunded and hung up that call, I immediately filed with Turbo Tax which let me enter all of my information myself and only charged me $130. I will never go back to H&R Block after using them for years. Because I was so dissatisfied with my experience, I decided to look up my “tax pro” on LinkedIn and she’s not even an accountant and has no accounting-related work experience or education. They charge over $200 for that? Shameful.
I have used H&R Block for the last 5-6 years and never had an issue. However this year after completing my taxes I filed using e-file. In less than a minute it came back rejected. The rejection letter indicated that the issue was with form 8962 (a calculation error). I inspected the form and found no issues with it. I then called H&R Block's help desk and the gentleman that took my call was just as confused as I was. He could give no explanation as to why it was rejected but advised me to e-file again. So I e-filed a second time and it was rejected within minutes.
I finally used TurboTax, and inspected each form to make sure they were correct. Form 8962 was exactly the same as H&R Block's. I e-filed the return from TurboTax and within 3 hours it was accepted by the IRS. I can only surmise that the file sent by the H&R Block software was somehow skewed. The only reason I am giving H&R Block 3 stars is because they gave me a refund for their product with no hassles.
Error 1 of 1Rejection Code: **
Form 8962 Calculation
Problem: If Form 8962, Line 1 Total Family Size has a non-zero value, then Line 5 must be equal to Line 3 divided by Line 4.
Solution: Review Form 8962 for any errors. If you find errors, correct them and try e-filing again. If you don't find any errors, you can use the HR
Block Tax Software to print and mail a paper return.
I have been having a terrible time with H&R deluxe software not connecting to the server!! Google it and it's easy to understand. I'm not alone! They are unable to fix this and I have supplied endless information which still gives me the VERY SAME RESULT! They are selling software which has a problem and they are unwilling to fix it!!
I usually file with Turbo Tax but this year some things have changed for me with refund advance and I really wanted the advance. I heard H&R Block offered it. I had to file in person or remotely to qualify for the advance. I understand why now. Anyway after 4 hours of waiting to get started, now comes the best part. It cost me 419 bucks to file. Normally I pay 39 bucks with Turbo. I thought well I need the advance so I did it. Lady did not explain that it goes by your credit score and bam! I was denied. I lost 419 and did not even get the advance. Never Never Never again will I ever file with these guys. I'm pissed. I had a w2 with nothing special. 419 is insane compared to 39 bucks. Ugh.
I have used H&R Block Premium Tax software for years. I filed late this year and was paying close attention due to the losses our business took and noted the amount of tax owed based on my taxable income was being calculated incorrectly (29K of taxable income and I owed less than $100). I contacted H&R Block and they provided an updated version of the software that did not fix the problem. No one seemed to know what to do. I have not seen any other complaints about this. Ended up filing a paper return to correct the issue. I would think H&R Block would have some avenue if a bug in their software is detected, someone could email them to let them know and respond. The phone people do not know how to handle this.
H&R Block Company Information
- Company Name:
- H&R Block
- Website:
- www.hrblock.com
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