If your taxes are easy, H&R Block might work for you. However, if you have anything more complicated than a W-2, you're better off avoiding H&R Block.
I usually complete my taxes on my own because they are simple, but this year had some additional complexity (I moved from another state mid-year, as well as had some self-employment income.) I went into H&R Block to get a professional set of eyes to complete my taxes to work through the complexities, but unfortunately left feeling not so confident about my choice.
To start, as a new customer, I expected a little bit more of a welcome and explanation of the fees and the process. Instead, she jumped right in without any of that and left me feeling like I was leading the session, instead.
Throughout the session, she did not explain anything that she was doing and was careless, sometimes leaving misspellings, etc.
She lacked quite a bit of knowledge about my situation. For instance, she struggled with how to report additional income that I had received as an independent contractor, that was not enough to warrant receiving a 1099 form. She didn't know how to account for tuition that was partially reimbursed by my employer. She didn't know how to report deductions for my mileage as an independent contractor. She couldn't give me a straight answer as to if this tax filing covered the regional tax filing from my prior state.
My appointment took over an hour. When we thought we were done, she received an error when trying to submit them and couldn't figure out what it was. After waiting awhile, she told me it would be better if I went home while she looked into the issue. She called me maybe 15 minutes later and thought she figured it out, but hadn't. Then she called me a bit after that and had resolved it (it was an issue with how she reported my mileage.) So I headed back. At this point, she informed me that I would owe over 400 just to file my taxes, since they had to charge me as a business because I was an independent contractor. This seemed excessive, but at this point, I wanted to get out and continue on with my day.
So all in all, don't go in expecting them to know anything. All they do is enter your info in the appropriate box on their system. They won't ask you any questions to determine if your situation requires any different considerations. They won't know the answers to any questions you have. And they won't know how to handle any situations beyond a single w-2 income. If you're looking for a "professional," to help you, this is not the place for you. read more