Federal and state rules for use of standard versus itemized deductions should be considered before recommending which should be used in returns. In Maryland, one must use the standard deduction if it is used in the federal return. It would be to my advantage if I used itemizes deductions even though my federal taxes would be higher. H&R Block software should consider this before recommending which deduction to apply.
Very easy to use. Program walks you through the steps and calculates your refund automatically after each step. Even though I am taking the standard deduction and no longer itemizing I still find using the program so much easier than manually filing and the 5 e-files make it worthwhile.
Pros: Easy to prepare, Maximizes refund, Easy to import documents, Fast
I was unable to upload last years data to my 2022 return but finally figured out how to do it. Clicking the upload button did not do it. I had to go into the top left portion of the program and found a upload button that worked.
It has been four days since both my Fed. and State show as successfully e-filed. and are still showing as "pending". I cannot find anywhere information about what I should do next other than to wait some more.
I've used H&R Block's tax software for every year starting before it was acquired from Tobias' TaxCut. With some exceptions it has served me well. It didn't handle REITs properly which was a problem years ago. My primary complaint has been that it doesn't allow the user to capture and preserve the final install software for either the Federal or selected state. For a small number of years the user can install from scratch but soon the updates disappear from your servers and re-installation is difficult or impossible. The support for older state programs is especially spotty, often unavailable or only by additional purchase. This makes it nearly impossible to maintain historical records when computer systems are rebuilt or upgraded to more modern hardware.
I found an additional problem with the 2022 version. When I have finished my tax preparation I like to produce two PDF copies for both the Federal and the state data. One copy is the forms "as filed" and the second includes all of the supporting worksheets.l This year, when I went to produce the "as filed" version of the Federal forms the software presented a dialog box that allowed me to name the file and point to where I wanted it put. However, all subsequent PDF generations of any sort failed to present the "save as" dialog box and gave no indication of what the file was named or where it was being generated. Even when I installed the software on a different system the failure persisted. Even the first PDF production on the second system didn't present the "save as" dialog box.
Overall, I would highly recommend this software for any taxpayer whose tax situation does not include lots of esoteric aspects like income recapture under nit picking IRS rules. Preparation is simple and fast with lots of detail conveyed from the previous year or online from 1099 issuers. Here in western North Carolina it's helpful to be able to access specific help from H&R Block online or present partially filled out forms to a local CPA. My taxes are modestly complex and I've always been able to complete my filings in a single sit-down session.