Monday, February 20, 2006
H&R Blockheads
I generally do my own taxes. They are not very complicated. However, this year my wife and I bought a house. So, I decide to avoid mistakes, penalties, and overpaying by going to a tax professional. I hand over the files, answer the questions, and sit patiently to hear the bottom line. I am shocked -SHOCKED- to learn that we OWE more money. SHOCKED. We go over the numbers again and sure enough... it seems we owe more. Dejected we sign the papers and head home.
Sidebar: today is President's Day and we have the day off. end sidebar.
Not satisfied that we could possibly owe more taxes, I decide to do a little reading on the irs.gov web site. Sure enough, the good folks at H&R Block left out a $3500 deduction. For crying out loud! What is the point of getting "professional" help? If I wasn't a stubborn bullheaded pain in the assumptions, we would be overpaying $800. Added together with the $155 dollar fee to H&R Block and we would have close to a grand... or 20% of Dwight's 450r.
Not only that, but they ruined a perfectly good day off.
Sidebar: today is President's Day and we have the day off. end sidebar.
Not satisfied that we could possibly owe more taxes, I decide to do a little reading on the irs.gov web site. Sure enough, the good folks at H&R Block left out a $3500 deduction. For crying out loud! What is the point of getting "professional" help? If I wasn't a stubborn bullheaded pain in the assumptions, we would be overpaying $800. Added together with the $155 dollar fee to H&R Block and we would have close to a grand... or 20% of Dwight's 450r.
Not only that, but they ruined a perfectly good day off.
# posted by Rob : Monday, February 20, 2006
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NEVER NEVER NEVER go to H$R block. If you are not comfortable with filling out the forms by hand, $49.99 for TurboTax deluxe is cheaper, PLUS that price usually includes the electronic filing fee. My Neighbor moonlights for H&R block during tax season, and I asked him point blank what he could for me that TurboTax doesn't. His honest reply was "Nothing, except give you the rapid refund loan check right away" So, if you are not in a hurry for your refund (and clearly you were not because you are not even getting one), then do yourself a favor and buy TurboTax.
The only time when Turbo Tax won't do it for you is when you start having various complicated forms of income - self employment, capital gains and losses, etc.. If that happens, then you need to find a real accountant, not one of the flunkies at H&R block. Those boobs that sit in the little kiosks at walmart or the malls are not necessarily real accountants - they took a six week training course back in September. They don't know anything except how to use the software program. Also, here's another little secret. They charge you by the number of forms that get filled out, not by how much time they spend on your return. It doesn't pay for them to actually look up the tax law on something. A real accountant gets paid by the hour and will spend as much time on your return as you want him to.
So did you tell H&R Block to refund the money for your return? Don't they offer some sort of Guarantee?
The only time when Turbo Tax won't do it for you is when you start having various complicated forms of income - self employment, capital gains and losses, etc.. If that happens, then you need to find a real accountant, not one of the flunkies at H&R block. Those boobs that sit in the little kiosks at walmart or the malls are not necessarily real accountants - they took a six week training course back in September. They don't know anything except how to use the software program. Also, here's another little secret. They charge you by the number of forms that get filled out, not by how much time they spend on your return. It doesn't pay for them to actually look up the tax law on something. A real accountant gets paid by the hour and will spend as much time on your return as you want him to.
So did you tell H&R Block to refund the money for your return? Don't they offer some sort of Guarantee?
More disappointment when I pointed out their error.
The first person I talked to told me to wait a month before coming in to submit an amended return. I was not impressed.
So I talked to the regional office. I am going in tonight. We'll chat about their fee then.
The first person I talked to told me to wait a month before coming in to submit an amended return. I was not impressed.
So I talked to the regional office. I am going in tonight. We'll chat about their fee then.
hehe, I like how you equate the money you owe to the percentage of Dwights machine that it is.
I've done my taxes at taxactonline the last two years. I've been happy with the results, but then my taxes aren't any more difficult than filling out a 1040 EZ like when I was 16.
I've done my taxes at taxactonline the last two years. I've been happy with the results, but then my taxes aren't any more difficult than filling out a 1040 EZ like when I was 16.
I used freetaxusa.com the last couple years. It worked well, but like I said, this year I was worried about home purchase stuff.
purchasing a home in and of itself is not a big deal tax-wise, especially if it's your first. However, the mortgage deduction is usually the thing thing that pushes you over the edge from going with the itemized deduction vs. taking the standard deduction, and then all of the smaller crap has to be taken into account (taxes paid to local governments, student loan interest, charitable giving, donated items to goodwill, and ironically - tax preperation fees,etc, etc,.. )starts to add up. That is where the freebies can come up a little short.
anyway, I hope you learned your lesson. If H&R Block won't refund your preperation fees, then you should offer to let Jackson Hewitt use your story in an advertising campaign.
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anyway, I hope you learned your lesson. If H&R Block won't refund your preperation fees, then you should offer to let Jackson Hewitt use your story in an advertising campaign.
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