Another year and another happy return. Simple to install, import last year's data (even from Turbo) and use. Had started online with another product, but had to wait for them to get approval from my state. HRB was much easier to enter the values and did a pretty good job of transferring to the state return.
Pros: Easy to prepare, Easy to import documents, Fast
I used the Block tax package several years ago, but switched back to TurboTax because of TT's ease of use. This year I decided to give Block another try because of the lower price coupled with the new Tax rules which should have made it a simpler process ... Block didn't meet that goal. Specifically, it should ask early in the process if you are taking itemized deductions or the standard deductions. If the latter, then it should be unnecessary to go through all of the unnecessary questions, forms, etc. Additionally, the flow between categories is inconsistent. Why does it ask for Dividends information but not Interest data? I had to go into forms mode and manually enter the data. Very sloppy. I'm truly disappointed, but I guess you get what you pay for.
Cons: Time consuming, Hard to prepare, Hard to import documents
Easy to use. No complicated tax codes to interpret. Interview questions are easy to answer to eliminate unnecessary tax forms. Filing is quick, easy, and painless.
Nothing is 100% perfect, so as this software. I have been using HR & Block (old TaxCut) since 1996! While it is a seasoned application that helps millions of people do their taxes with ease, there are some shortcomings listed below that hopefully HR & Block will implement in the near future. 1) The state program interview should be in more detail and more automated versus making you transfer your data into the forms manually. I do not fault HR & Block on this issue as there are so many states and too little time, but the current condition could be improved. 2) I have noticed in 2019 version that the Audit Risk listed four (4) items for my federal return but none of them applied to my tax case specifically. It appears this was a general random audit with some soft conditions in my return. This could be improved. 3) Another survey at the end of program after efiling and acceptance by IRS and your state asks if I felt HR & Block interview resembles Caring about my tax condition. Again this is far from specific. In future perhaps the software can be written with algorithm and/or AI to focus on this issue with more apparent proof. 4) Lastly, at the bottom of this survey the Pros and Cons are preselected and they are in contrast to each other!? Not ideal! They should be open to the reviewer!