Block Advisor

I’ve always done my own taxes using TurboTax. Got married a couple of years ago. Suddenly things got ridiculously complicated and filing online was no longer an option. Hell, the Spouse and I had no serious arguments that first year of matrimony… until it came time to file our taxes. I was so angry I thought of filing for divorce; the Spouse and I communicated for several days with grunts and death-​stares. All because we couldn’t figure out how to file our freaking tax returns, what with different types of income, my moving from DC to VA, a job loss for me, collateral damage/​obligations from Spouse’s first marriage, my hyper Type A tax paperwork organization versus the Spouse’s more «casual» record keeping approach, Spouse’s crazymad MIT-​brain numbers skillz versus my math phobia, etc. Our situation was not terribly unique — people get married/​divorced and move to/​from various states every damn day — so it was incredibly frustrating that we couldn’t get it sorted.
I told the Spouse I was declaring defeat and making an appointment at H&R Block. I searched for a «premium» office, one with tax professionals with particular expertise navigating the morass of state filings.
We were set up with Curtis, whose many years of experience dealing with every single income category/​deduction/​life situation with the IRS, DC, and VA meant that he immediately spotted our mistakes, knew of critical deductions we’d missed, and in the end, was able to secure heaps more in federal and state refunds than we expected.
[We’re still married, so there’s that.]
I know others have written negative reviews at this particular office. Most people can file their taxes using Turbotax, etc., and I definitely recommend handling your own taxes if possible. Big life changes typically require some professional assistance. Our experience with Curtis was incredibly positive. If you need help with your taxes, I recommend you make an appoinment with Curtis at H&R Block.

First of all, prepare your taxes early. Don’t delay. I won’t be making that mistake again.
Second of all, don’t use this location.
While I can appreciate the amount of individuals coming in to file taxes the night before deadline, I cannot excuse the intolerably long wait times for service, especially when an appointment/​reservation is made.
I made a reservation for 7PM, and was assigned a specific individual, whose name will be omitted from this review for privacy concerns. I arrive at the location at 6:30PM, and begin chatting with a gentleman who had been waiting for his appointment as well. The front desk lady came and told him that she would reschedule him to the next available preparer, since his designated one was running late with a different customer.
I waited until about 8:15PM to receive any assistance. During that time, I observed at least two preparers who were not helping visibly assisting customers for at least 10 minutes at a time. I was told that I would be reassigned to the next available preparer. I was not.
During my wait, five other customers walked in with appointments for later times, such as 7:30PM, 8:00PM, etc. They were seated immediately with their preparer, while I stayed behind, because I had the misfortune of being assigned a preparer with a full plate to deal with, and for some reason, I’m not afforded the same opportunity for reassignment?
I am finally seated, and the preparer blows through my tax needs, although the person seemed to be somewhat unfamiliar with portions of the process. Seemed to take longer than it should have. I can’t really speak too much on that.
The bill ended up being a significantly high amount, and it didn’t sit well with me that there was no effort to even give a token discount for the time wasted.
Edit: 2015-​06-​11 — Apparently, H&R Block messed up my state tax return. Don’t go here.

I made an appt. for 12noon. 12:20 and no sign that they’re going to be able to help anytime soon. Try some where else that wants your business

I had my taxes done at this location — same kinda service you would expect from a cookie cutter tax prep shop — long wait times, and a-​okay service. This is good for most folks who have simple tax returns to be filed — most of which can be done rather easily online nowadays.