H&R Block

My experience at this office was a complete disaster. I usually use H&R Block online, however this past year I was working as an independent contractor and thought it would be better to make an appointment at one of the H&R Block offices.
When I called to make my appointment, I asked what the fee would be. I was told about $ 35 to file state, about $ 35 to file federal. The receptionist said that it could get a little more expensive from there depending what other forms I needed to have filled out. This sounded completely reasonable.
I spent about an hour with the tax preparer at the office. At no time did she mention any additional fees. At the end of our session she gave me a $ 600 bill for her services. $ 600!!! My taxes are about as simple as they come, I own no properties, no businesses, I have no children, am unmarried, have no money in stocks, and I was charged $ 600! That’s about ¼ of my monthly salary. That’s the cost of my rent. People I know who go to private fancy offices and own several properties don’t even pay that much to have their taxes prepared.
I am still livid. I’ve asked around, and apparently a lot of people have suffered the same fate. BE WARNED!!!

I can’t believe I’m writing a review on something so boring as taxes, but here goes. Major props to H&R Block. This is the place to go if you need taxes done or tax help. It is a «Premium» office and so services are a bit pricier than others, but the folks here are actually tax professionals, not just tax preparers.
Now, I’ve been doing my own income taxes ever since I was a baby in diapers, but this year I had some complexities in my return. .. having had multiple employers in multiple states (cuz ya know I’m stable like that). Anyway, I called up a few different H&R block locations to get an estimate over the phone.
The lady I spoke with Ms. Taylor (forget her first name) reminded me of my high school geometry in her tone — somewhat distant and frank but still courteous, but more importantly she was helpful in actually giving me an estimate of the cost. This is compared to the other places (including other H&R Block offices) which are basically a tax factories that pop up during tax season only and won’t give you an estimate unless you physically come in with all of your documents for a sit-​down appointment. What mattered a helluva lot to me, though, was that based on our conversation, I could get a sense that she was really on top of it and familiar with nuances in my tax returns without even having seen them. Now nothing inspires confidence more than a tax pro who knows taxes.
Sure enough, I made an appointment with Ms. Taylor, and she did not disappoint. And although I suffered through flashbacks to the Pythagorean theorem, I did have all of my questions answered. .. my taxes were filed. .. and my refund was in the bank shortly thereafter. And I can sleep at night knowing the feds won’t be after me.