I have used H&R Block's software for a couple years. The first year that I had used it was fine and didn't have any issues. However, I was a filing as single. I had gotten married last year and so I did both of our taxes with H&R Block. This year, my experience with the software was terrible. It ended up costing us a lot of money. We have pretty simple taxes and so I was kind of astonished that it messed up so badly.
One of my biggest complaints that I have is that there is not a good way to see which option is better; married filing separately and married filing jointly. I had initially done our taxes married filing jointly. Then, I chose to see what it would be if we filed as married filing separately. I copied our married filing jointly file and redid the necessary sections for married filing separately. For some dumb reason, H&R Blocks software doesn't update the tax numbers properly unless you go step by step through them. I was amazed that it didn't just run all of the numbers each time a section was complete. This was a major source of frustration because after reviewing, but not explicitly clicking through all of the pages, the software was showing that we would save a few hundred dollars if we filed as married filing separately. So, I filed my wife's return. As I was going through to file mine, the tax numbers suddenly changed on my return, which cost us nearly $300 from filing jointly. This is another major source of contention for me. The numbers can randomly change if you don't go sequentially. There was no explanation or anything as to why the value changed. So, you had to just assume that it did it correctly. As someone who develops software as well, I was very surprised at how poor the software was at doing its main function.
The real kicker is that my wife had gotten the $1500 IRS pandemic rebate credit, which we would have qualified for if we filed jointly. However, we did not know that we would not qualify for it if we filed separately and neither did the H&R Block Software. We only found out whenever the IRS sent us a letter saying that she did not qualify for that reason. So, all told the software cost us nearly $1800.
For the longest time, I had done all of my taxes by hand. I switched to using this software so that I would not have to spend as much time reading the tax provisions for myself. I had put my trust in H&R Block to do their research appropriately and to implement it adequately into their software. However, they didn't. So, now I am left with a lighter wallet.
Great program that makes filing quick easy and comforting to know that it was done right. This is the 5th year in a row that I have used HR Block, and I will continue to use it in the future. I would recommend this program to anyone.
Pros: Easy to prepare, Maximizes refund, Easy to import documents, Fast
It is an excellent and easy way to prepare and submit your Federal and State tax return. Takes you step by step through the process--well worth the money.
I have used several tax software programs and find H&R Block to be more accurate and easier to use. I feel confident that the final return is not only accurate but is not missing any tax advantages available to me.