Would you trust H&R Block to do your taxes?

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CLKeenan

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Its getting to be crunch time for taxes now and since I've moved, I'm not going to be using the accountant I used last year. With that said, would you trust H&R Block to do your taxes?

Has anyone had any good or bad experience with them?

Thanks,
-Chris
 


NO.

I worked for Jackson Hewitt for a tax season because I was kicking around the thought of being an accounting major when I first got out of the military and started college. The vast majority of the people that went through the 2 week training and thus were ultimately tax preparers were idiots, bad salesmen, downright crooks, or all three.

The tax preparers rely on the software to guide them through it 100%. Hardly any know anything about tax law or the current tax changes. The only reason they "may" be able to recite certain things to be able to sound like they know what they are talking about is because of pure, unadulterated repetition.

99% of the clientèle were straight W-2 employees looking to get their income tax refunds back as fast as possible and willing to get raped in the ass to do it. Which Jackson Hewitt and all of its employees did as much as they could. Including myself. I'm not exactly proud to admit it but I figured if I didn't take the commission on their refund loans someone else would have.

Anyone other than that 99% that came in would get their file tossed in a bin to be "handled later." When that later time came it usually consisted of the tax preparer that decided to work on it on the phone with Jackson Hewitt corporate being walked through it as if they were a two year old. It was ridiculous. And complex returns were almost ALWAYS wrong.

H&R is the exact same way, I can assure you.

Do yourself a huge favor and just do it yourself using Turbo Tax. You are 100 times smarter than the high-school dropout drooling idiots and thieves they have working in H&R block and every other one of those hack shops and you will save yourself a ton of dough in the process. Trust me, it ain't that hard.
 
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I've always done my own taxes. He's right: it isn't that hard.

Take a few hours and read through some the IRS docs that pertain to you (I never said it would be exciting!) and do it yourself.

Are you incorporated or do you just file a 1040?
 
It really depends on how complicated your tax situation is for the year. If you are just a single person and filing just the basic forms then you'll probably be just fine with the basic tax software. But if you have other investments such as real estate or stocks (capital losses/gains) to include it can get very complicated as tax laws change yearly.

I took my tax returns to my local H&R Block and was very happy with them. Not all their tax professionals are coming straight from some 2-week course. There are different seniority levels at the offices. Wherever you do go, get a tax advisor that has the most experience at the office and is specific to your tax needs.

Oh, wait... you don't have to pay any taxes according to the "America Freedom to Fascism" video (it's funny how that video re-appears on the web EVERY year at this time, lol) :rolleyes:
 
pocketrockets said:
Oh, wait... you don't have to pay any taxes according to the "America Freedom to Fascism" video (it's funny how that video re-appears on the web EVERY year at this time, lol) :rolleyes:
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No, it said we shouldn't have to pay any federal income tax because our constitution forbade it. And it also stated the reality the IRS will throw your ass in jail if you don't regardless. It didn't say we were exempt from corporate tax, payroll tax, etc.
 
if you trust last year's accountant and he did a good job, just overnight him your stuff. heck you could probably fax him your documents.
 
About 4 yrs ago I had them do mine. They said I owed over $400 plus charged me close to $200. I had someone else look at them and I was supposed to get close to $1000 back. I had to fight it but I did get a refund months later.

Turbo Tax is easy and much cheaper.
 
I actually know someone who does taxes for Jackson Hewitt, and they do an awesome job and have saved me a ton of money. As others noted, though, that is the RARE exception. Most of the people in those places are likely much less capable than you doing your taxes.
 
aeiouy said:
I actually know someone who does taxes for Jackson Hewitt, and they do an awesome job and have saved me a ton of money. As others noted, though, that is the RARE exception. Most of the people in those places are likely much less capable than you doing your taxes.
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Yeah, I liked to think that I was one of those rare exceptions guys. Especially since I'm one of those rare dorks that enjoys tax law - to an extent.
 
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