Almost 20 year user of H&R Block tax software. Very disappointed this year. It took three times (and almost a month after all said and done) for the govt. to accept my return because (paraphrasing H&R Block) "we're experiencing problems with our e-file system, update the software on X date, and re-file." As a Mac user, I'm also not pleased with the built-in update feature. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't work, I am forced to go to the H&R Block help center, search for the page where updates can be downloaded, and install the update outside the actual software. This has happened for two-years in a row. The icing on the cake for me this year was that when I bought the deluxe + state + file software, the state software package did not install (instead it kept asking me to "buy" the state software). This required help-desk interaction and provision of a download link by the help-desk after verifying that I indeed had originally purchased the state software. I think next year that I'll give TurboTax a try again.
H&R Block's tax preparation software makes many tasks easier than TurboTax (whose interface has not been updated in years). Importing my 1099 forms from Fidelity and Vanguard was a breeze and did not require me to enter my credentials, which greatly increases my sense of security.
I do wish that H&R's handling of 1099-Q and 1099-R forms was easier. (I should not need to calculate the taxable portion manually when H&R could do it easily.) Computing "foreign tax paid" on Form 1116 is also unnecessarily manual and difficult.
Why isn't the state tax e-file available at no cost as the federal one is? Unless I missed something? This should be available at no cost too. I can understand if you're filing (2) different state ones but if you're only filing for (1) state it should also be free to e-file.