I've been using H&R Block for my taxes for years. Being able to import the previous year's return saves me a lot of work. Electronic filing couldn't be easier. The software is easy to use and hasn't let me down yet.
Pros: Easy to prepare, Easy to import documents, Fast
The software worked well, as it has the past many years. It was easy and fairly straight forward. My only issue arose during the transmission of my returns. The program stopped my progress stating I needed to update my state tax program before proceeding, which I did. I had checked the day before, so I was surprised there was a state update, since it said there was no state update expected. I began the transmission of my tax returns again, which proceeded without any issues. Later that afternoon I checked the status of my returns and found that while my federal return was accepted, my state return was rejected. I then went to my states reason, which was my interest income and my dividend income when added together did not equal what was listed as the total of the two. I didn't see how that was possible that the software would have line A and B not equal line C, so I checked the addition and found it was indeed correct. I went to the worksheets for both and they equaled what was listed for A and B, which again equaled C. My thinking is that the update required to transmit my state return somehow changed what was transmitted to my state and was not what was showing on the printout of my return. After all the same information was transmitted to the IRS and they accepted my return. Anyway, so now I have to print my state return, assemble all the 1099 documents and mail them to my state.
I have been quite happy with H&R Block tax software for the past three years. Although I only used paper and electronic fillable forms prior, so I can't compare it to competing products.
Not easy to use. Inconsistent performance between state versions. No ability to remove non-primary submitter from the return. 5498-SA form has no questionnaire, have to calculate and enter manually every single year - this is unacceptable. Was on the phone with support for 1.5 hours, then "transferred", and then disconnected after another hour of waiting.
Super easy to understand and to use. Software is written in cook bock language that allows a continuous flow of questions that retrieves all the data to be recovered seamlessly from my brokerage and in-hand data.
Pros: Easy to prepare, Maximizes refund, Easy to import documents, Fast
Good software and easy to use for an accountant. There were a few bugs that needed attention and were fixed quickly once they were reported. I spent more time trying to report the issue than was needed. Trying to contact by phone call was a joke with waiting times in excess of one hour. I finally decided to use Facebook messenger and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I received a reply. The online chat was not helpful and should be replace by something else. It is really just an FAQ search.