Liberty Tax Service

The worst tax service of all time!!!
— $ 350 dollars for state, federal and student taxes (please! Go still from another, no me!) I’m single and I don’t have kids or houses.
— Send my taxes to IRS with misspelling on my first name (Unacceptable!!!)
— Instead my bank account number, I found out that he filled with a F… phone number!
Hey viewers! believe in me!!! Don’t spend your pennies with this company!

I’ve found Benjamin to be the perfect combination of cost, excellence, and reliability to date.
As Kristy M pointed out, this business is now BOL Global, not Liberty Tax.

Excellent! This was the first year since I started my business, I was scared but Kyle did a great job and help me through this process. I will do my taxes again with this company next year because they have done a great job,

**This is NO LONGER LIBERTY TAX**
Not sure why they haven’t updated their Company name but it’s now called B.O.L. Global, Inc. which occupies both 2830 and 2890 Geary Street in Laurel Heights. BOL Global took over the Liberty franchise and still utilizes their software but it’s a completely different entity.
With that said, I had my taxes done by BOL Global last night and was pleased with their services (if not a bit outraged by the $ 225 it took to complete, IMHO, a pretty simple tax return). Overall satisfactory service.

Third verse, same as the first. I met with Simon for my third year running and despite my tax situation changing (I was laid off in 2011), we took care of everything in a quickie one-​and-​done appointment followed by my faxing in a couple of follow-​up forms.
Until I move away from the area, or Simon does, I’ll continue to bring my business here each year.

I visited Liberty Tax Services last July to discuss my somewhat complicated tax situation. I had left my job mid-​year, and had started an independent consulting firm.
I had estimations about my income and my business expenses laid out, and I spent two hours with one of their accountants, Benjamin. I got the sense that Benjamin thought I was not terribly bright, due to my inferior of knowledge about taxes and sole proprietorship business accounting. Still, I left with coupons for estimated tax payments and I felt confident that I had guidance from an expert.
Earlier this year, my husband (a college professor) had an opportunity to participate in a loan forgiveness program, but there were several variables that I wasn’t sure I understood, so I sent an email to Benjamin asking for guidance. He responded the next day telling me to «google it». At that point, I decided not to return to Liberty Tax Service– for $ 150/​hr, I expect someone to at least TRY to find out details about my request.
Along came tax season this year. I had dutifully kept track of all receipts for my business expenses, and knew precisely how much money I had earned and how much I had paid in estimated tax, etc., and they were pretty close to my estimates back in July, so I used TurboTax to file my taxes. It turns out that Benjamin had instructed me to pay taxes as though none of my earnings prior to the start of my business had been taxed– which they had. I overpaid almost $ 30,000 in combined taxes to the IRS and the FTB!
I realize that this is, in one sense, very good news, but consider this: it could have gone the other way. It would have been much less stressful to have that $ 30K in the bank, than «on loan» to the IRS!
These people are NOT experts. They were NOT interested in helping me with a question, and if the timing had been different, they could have caused me to CLOSE MY DOORS because the business didn’t appear to be adequately profitable.
A careless accountant is worse than no accountant at all.

I struggle to find why there are so many positive reviews for this place. For the past two years and have run in to the same issues each time. Making a phone appointment was laborious in and of itself. I was seen late again even though I showed up on time. My preparer seemed disinterested and offered little to no new insight. The cost I thought was exorbitant considering there was nothing special with my preparation-​$ 167. Will go back to Matt Whatley, aka tax ninja for 2012.

Fast, efficient, knowledgable and friendly. Will return next year!

I want to start off by saying it was apparent my serviced was new. We all start somewhere and it’s challenging. But…
The service was slower than expected. I spent 1.5−2 hours there compared to a bigger competitor which took 30 – 40 mins. My servicer also seemed unsure of what he was doing and wasn’t able to answer all my questions clearly. Pricing was ok, although I was quoted a significantly lower price over the phone.
It was not the 5– star experience I was expecting based on the other Unilocal ratings. That being said my servicer was very polite and respectful.

I searched my area for a solid tax preparer. I was glad to find Liberty close to home.
Ronn was very detail oriented and knowledgeable. I feel very confident with his work and professionalism. I will go back for next years tax.

Simon Law is the man! He did a joint filing with a schedule C in a timely manner and maximized our refund! He answered all but 1 question on the spot from memory, and knew about the final question but wanted to double check the new tax laws since they change so frequently. So he answered that question later on.
All in all the best tax return experience for us yet! We will definitely be seeing Simon again next year for our taxes.
If you want your taxes done right the first time (don’t ask…) go see Simon, he is truly good at what he does.
Thank you Simon!

IF YOU ARE FILING CALIFORNIA RDP RETURN — READ THIS REVIEW
Excellent, fast, responsive, research based, reasonably priced… all things you want in a tax service. I was referred to this Liberty Tax Service location by a co-​worker. Before I made an appointment, I checked their Unilocal review and their 5 star rating is well deserved. I have prepared by own taxes for 20 straight years; last 7 years I have done it for myself and my partner. With the addition of a baby, the new May 2010 IRS community property ruling, I figured I’d get professional help for the first time in my life.
I made an appointment (they have great hours). I met with Edward, a youngster with 2 years of tax filing experience. A surprisingly professional and efficient data collector. He reassured me that all work would be «double checked», and it was. Simon, a clearly more experience office mate, made timely appearances to answer difficult issues. I felt very comfortable and secured handing over my private information.
I learned that Liberty is a franchise operation and locations are operated independently. I can not recommend this location more highly, especially if you are filing California RDP return. The IRS has a surprise for you this year (2010). The price for doing our returns was very reasonable, under $ 300 — 1040s, Schedule A, 540s and special form for IRS community property ruling. After 20 years of preparing my own taxes, I am sure I would have been able to come up with the same result but, seriously, the money I spent was way worth not having to spend hours/​days trying to figure all the new rules out.
Last comment… I hate it when I make an appointment (or restaurant reservation) and arrive timely only to be told to wait. I arrived for my 11am appointment at 11:05am, was greeted, asked to complete a customer intake form and seen right away. Add a 6^th star for that. It’s tax season so I suggest you pick up the phone and give them a call.
Last, last comment … In January, I mentioned to some friends that I was in need of tax service this year. I was emailed names of 2 «tax professionals» who «specialize» in same-​sex filings. The first one had his personal assistant call me (no joke) to say the minimum fee is $ 600. The second one called me last week (yes, I called them in January !) and said they can see me March 22 (!) and they start at $ 450/​couple (!) «Sigh» it’s just tax returns. Same-​sex, diffierent-​sex, no sex, there still just tax returns.

The bad: I had to come back the today after battling my way across town because they were too busy to take me yesterday.
The good: My return was solid and they gave me 20 off of their basic 95 dollar service in under 30 minutes.

I found Liberty Tax, specifically Benjamin, three years ago and feel very lucky I did. Benjamin and the team are very knowledgeable in tax preparation and have excellent customer service. I will continue to use them.
If you are struggling to spring a little to have your taxes prepared by a professional, trust me, it’s worth every dime. (and it’s really not expensive)
Thank you Liberty Tax!

They were quick, cheap and close to work. Sold.
I don’t know how a tax preparer could be bad but the IRS hasn’t gone after me yet so I think I have been in good hands. Thank you Liberty Tax!

All about Simon! Simon was very easy going to work with, knowledgable, very professional and he explained things clearly. He’s now my go to tax guy based on my recent experience with him for my personal and my small business returns.
If you have any tax questions, just ask for Simon. You’ll be glad you did; he’s the man!

Benjamin is the best!
Never in my life did I imagine that taxes could be done in such a simple and efficient manner. Ben was extremely knowledgeable and precise, AND helped me to receive a HUGE tax refund! He even discovered a $ 1,400 student refund, which I (and another accountant for that matter) had no clue even existed…
Prices are beyond reasonable, and the service received is extraordinary. I look forward to seeing Benjamin each and every year.
I cannot say enough good things about this practice.

I retained Simon’s services and I must say I am extremely impressed by his professionalism and work ethic. I know numbers like it’s no one’s business, but when it comes to tax law etc. it gets a little tricky.
After the first call into the office, I spoke with Simon for about 15 minutes to tell him my situation and he was more than helpful; all other places would have asked me to schedule an appt but he was more than happy to hear my out and give me a piece of mind.
I wish I would have worked with him sooner but lesson be learned; I’ll be coming to him with all my tax questions from here on out. He is more than flexible with arranging times to fit around his clients’ schedules. You will never feel like you are at an H&R Block office where the CPA is trying to get you in and out ASAP; here you will get the service you need and all your inquiries will be given the level of attention that it deserves.

Truly and simply the best tax experience i ever made. If you have a complicated tax return as myself, are self-​emplyed with all kinds of bells and whistles there is nobody else but Benjamin I would ever want to go to for advice. Benjamin is a true rockstar of an accountant, polite, understanding, and patient. he explains every step: what can help in the future, and if you are like me, more importantly what helps in the moment. I expected to pay taxes from my own business, but benjamin helped me make the right choices, and I ended up paying much much less than i expected and still have enough to put in my IRA. What else would I want?!
About the place: please make sure you go to this location! This is a franchise and independently owned, so the other service by the same name further down on Geary, is NOT the same thing. I am so lucky I went here and found such a competent and great group of people to work with. 5 stars still doesn’t feel enough to me for such great service. Best of all, independently owned neighborhood service, that’s what it all should be about. We support each other, and provide great service.
Needless to say, but I found the service that will from now on manage not only my taxes, but also my other accounting needs. Worth every penny you pay and highly recommend.

As long as we’re in San Francisco, we’re not going anywhere else to get our taxes done!
We decided to try them out for the first time to get our ’09 taxes done (first time filing married jointly & for 2 states, so it was a little messy) on Feb 21^st and received both our federal & state returns today! Benjamin is TOTALLY awesome! He took the time to ask us about our situation & answered all our questions. He was very knowledgeable & explained things very clearly. He even found a HUGE error on my ’08 return (done at the popular place with the green box) and we’re going to get even more money back! It couldn’t have been easier.
Don’t go anywhere else. These guys know what they’re doing. :)