Side by Side Comparison of: H&R Block

H&R block still leads the pack with their tax software. Based on Kiplinger's Tax Cut and many new versions since then, this is easy, fast and reliable.

Even for small business owners, for itemizing deductions, and other one off credits and deductions, the software collects the information and checks it against tax laws and lets you know when a certain deduction, credit, depreciation is or is not applicable for your specific return.

This is my first year with H&R Block Tax Software. I've been using TurboTax for many years. Most recently as a user of Premier as I have rental and partnership income to address. As you may have read - they've changed their feature/pricing structure. They've gone to incremental feature pricing and the base pricing compared to their H&R Block is significant. So, I decided to take the plunge and try to change.

I purchased the download version of Premium from Amazon because the feature has saved my hide in the past. You never know when you will need to revisit your taxes years down the road and having the ability to go back to Amazon and re-download rather than searching for install media is priceless.

After downloading I imported last year's TurboTax return. It worked fine - no hiccups. All my tax, personal, employer, partnership (K-1), property and most importantly carry over passive losses transferred just fine. It's really early so I've just been adding some base information to my return for my rentals. The last couple of years TurboTax seemed to have gotten non-intuitive in many of their wizards. I've found I like the wizards with H&R Block. They're concise, clear and effective.

I'll update my review as I continue to work through my return over the next month. But, so far, no regrets in the changeover.

** Update 12Jan15
- Today I started the program and it downloaded and installed the first update since initial installation. With my 15Mb/s broadband and medium speed PC the entire process was about 2 minutes. Not bad.
- Since I got the update I tried to download both my employer payroll information (W2) and investment data (1099-B).
** First - I had to figure out how to do it. I clicked on Federal tab, then Income sub where it gave me a list of sections/tasks for my return. I started by hitting the 'Go To' under sales of Stocks, Bonds, etc. There I found two tasks, Add Asset and Import Assets. I guessed import where it tried to download a list of available financial institutions. Nothing yet - just a message indicating no institutions available - check back in mid-January.
** Second - back to the menu - click on Federal, Income, Wages Go To - there is a list of the imported (from last year) employer data. I click on Edit, Import - !! Lo and behold, there's the EIN and it finds my data from my employers payroll servicing!! - But - I can't download as it is asking for my wages from my W-2 Box1 to confirm. I'm still stuck waiting for my employer to make it available/mail.

I continue to be impressed. It is working as best as I would expect in early January. The navigation has been intuitive. I'm still glad I made the switch.

** Update 20Jan15
- Another update from Quicken today. It took about 30 seconds including download (1MB/s)
- Attempted to download my 1099-DIV from my financial institution. I clicked the import and a comprehensive list of financial institutions popped up in a selection list. I selected mine but, unfortunately, after connecting to the institution I got a message back indicating the data won't be ready for download until February 2nd.

I've used the HRBlock software for several years now and it works fine. My taxes are fairly complicated with various forms of income including royalties, stocks/bonds, dividends, small business, rental properties, standard salaried income and so forth. And, doing the state taxes is especially easy since all the federal information is automatically imported. As a result, doing state taxes literally takes only a few minutes after answering questions. For the person new to all this, the questionaire is clear and easy to follow, making doing what you're supposed to pretty easy. A few years ago I had a strange situation and had to call to take my "one-time consult a tax professional for free" consult and was able to get the answer I needed. It took a little time, but I got a written response which, according to the software, HRBlock will stand behind should there be a problem with the IRS. I never heard from the IRS so presumably all was well. I recommend this software for doing federal and state taxes.

I've been using Turbo Tax since 2003 - but now they've gotten really greedy and it's a huge turn off. Sure, costs go up everywhere, but seriously, $30-$40 more for the same software H&R does? Oh, and the $10 off for prime members isn't enticing either because as most people know, it'll be $10 cheaper at costco next month anyway. (Update: It's $20 off now because nobody is buying them)

This is the first time using H&R Block tax software and it's pretty much the same thing Turbo Tax does. Sure, there's slight variation to format and inputting information. But, at the end of the day, it all leads up to the same place.

Took 2 minutes to download and install. Took my old TT 2013 information in a few seconds. Now just got to wait until the IRS sends updates and a few more things. I'm a happy camper.

Update (Jan 27, 2015):

Just finished my taxes and IRS accepted them. I'm all done.

In case anyone is wondering, my taxes aren't too complicated. The most complicated and tedious task is inputting the information for my small business. I don't use Quickbooks to automatically transfer input since I keep my own records using customized excel spreadsheets. But even that was relatively simple.

Cons: I wish navigation was a bit more fluid. But to settle myself I just remember 15-20 years ago how arduous taxes were and I feel happy again.

I used TurboTax for many years. I Purchased this software because TuroTax removed several forms from their Deluxe package and required you to pay an additional $30 to get the same functionality as last year. This is just as easy to use and imported my TurboTax file from last year with no errors. Can't give full review until I finish filing my taxes, but so far appears to be just as good as TurboTax.
Just finished filing my state and fed taxes and all went without a hitch. Very good software, goodbye TurboTax!!

The program can appear somewhat obtuse at first with all the accountant's jargon. However, with patience and a willingness to learn a little the program provides an easy to follow process to completion. There is great error checking so the final return that goes to the IRS is complete. With regard to contacting H&R Block via online chat or telephone the wait is so long it does not seem worth the effort. Doing a Google search for answers is generally better especially since you learn a lot. For next year H&R Block could benefit in having a sample of ordinary tax payers use the program and identify the areas that they might find confusing. Armed with this information H&R Block could provide a more comprehensive Help Section.

I've used this software for at least 5 years. We have several different types of income, including Self-Employment (our own businesses) and this does the job. A few years ago, I had to amend a return and it was a real advantage that Amazon keeps a copy/record of the software I purchased, so I could re-load it. Very nice feature, and why I buy from Amazon.

This is the 2nd time I've used H&R Block for my taxes (first time was 2014), and I honestly have to say it was better this time around. I do relatively simple taxes (Sch C), joint return, few kids, handful of deductions and credits, and a few other things.The process was way easier this time. I noticed a few more tips and changes in this version than in 2014. It just flowed smoother.Also, no hidden fees! All I needed was to pay for state e-filing ($20). But I easily saved that by NOT paying for Turbo Tax hahah. Anyhow, taxes are done and I'm awaiting my refund. The end.

I used the H&R Block 2014 Premium + State version last year after Intuit/Turbo Tax decided to raise the prices to beyond what was reasonable. I had used Turbo Tax for AT LEAST the 10 years previously so it was a tough choice to make. I decided to take a chance on H&R Block again for 2015. I'm happy I did - I wanted to get an early start so I would have an idea of our upcoming tax situation due to some changes this year. This year, so far, was as easy to complete as last year.

I have rental properties so the Premier version is a must. I have an accounting background and can manage may way around tax forms if needed yet this does provide exactly what it should provide. A great interview process. The ability to hop around to different topic. If i'm afraid I'll forget to go back to a page, I'll mark the amount as tentative so it pops up later.

I review the results in depth. It was exactly the correct result And I love the option to download this instead of waiting for it to arrive. I had to contact customer service because I didn't know how to find my key and they responded very quickly (as in <1 hour). Very impressive.

My only complaint is that the Idaho download isn't available yet. It keeps getting bumped by a few days. At the same time, I'd prefer they (their developers) have it correct rather than push something out that isn't ready. I've had that happen before and waiting a few extra days won't be too horrible. I'm just impatient. I can wait until 1/19 to get it.

Love H&R Block Tax software. It is incredibly easy to use and guides me through each step of my tax return. Also, it is very easy to jump from one area of the return to another. I've used the other tax software, and H&R is way above as far as ease of use. No problems downloading or retrieving my information from the previous year.

Got the job done quick. I used the gift certificate program too and it worked smoothly. You get a 10% bonus if you take your refund in gift cards at various retailers. I thought that might be some kind of scam, but I looked around online for any mention of deceptive practices and it seemed to be legit, so I tried it, and I got the bonus in gift cards for retailers I already shop at. It all worked great. I've already spent some of the gift cards and didn't run into any hassles.

The software itself was easy to use. I've used TurboTax for years, but got tired of their shenanigans. So I tried this. It was cheaper, worked just as well, and got me my refund quick. At a few points I had to hunt a bit for a form I needed, but that was usually true of TurboTax as well.

Love this program !!!! I was extremely nervous about starting over with another company but was upset about the changes that were not openly disclosed by a company I trusted. I was a turbo tax cust. For 10 years and switched over because I went to buy turbo tax and started reading reviews. Everyone was switching to HR Block due to turbo tax being deceptive. I never realized HR Block even had software. I started researching and found this program for a considerable price difference. I loved it. It even imported from turbo tax with ease no hassle! I even like many features better than turbo tax like the help buttons that explain deductions. They are more detailed and accually learned things I didn't know. A bonus was the audit help guarantee.
Only thing I didn't like is when I had a question there was no one to talk to on live chat which was a inconvience. I had to research myself for a hour on the net. Only associate I could chat with was a tech. And they couldn't help due to not being certified accountant. I was 1st told the Tax specialist option was down by one tech. Then I was told they are working on getting chat for non tech questions, so I really don't know if you can get chat help or not? I couldn't get a definitive answer. That's why I only gave 4 stars. Turbo tax you know someone will help on chat all day and it's easy to get ahold of them. They get right on. I like turbo tax a lot I just don't like the price. Overall I am glad I switched so I am now a loyal HR Block customer.

Like many of you in the past I had always used Turbo Tax. The whole schedule D thing though caused me to use H&R Block this year. I ordered it from Amazon a couple hours ago and have just finished my federal and state returns. My taxes are simple, and it was pretty smooth. Only glitches were figuring out where the product key was, and the lack of an address of a form that might not have been HR Blocks fault. I am happy with the product, the end result is probably the same as it would have been with Turbo Tax, only cheaper. I've never thought highly of HR Block, and still don't, and if TurboTax returned to the functionality that their program once had, at the same price as HR, I might go back to them.

My third year using this H&R Block downloaded version for my small business, and I'm still a happy customer. Easy walk through that imports the previous years basic info, eliminating a lot of work.

This year the only slightly annoying feature is the 'update' as a notification states that the next Federal update for windows is on, or before Feb. 12. You could still file before the update, but no one seems to know what happens if you file BEFORE the update? Not sure if it's H&R, the Federal Government, or Windows fault for the late update, but it certainly should have been completed long before Feb. 12. I can't seem to find out for sure if this package will submit a 1040X (extension) if the update requires any substantial changes

If not for the late update (also had to wait for State update to file) this would have been 5 stars, and I do recommend, and I'll continue to use the H&R Premium download from Amazon. ...but someone please speed up the updates for early filers.

UPDATE: 2/12/15 The latest update was installed, and even though I already filed, no further action seemed to be needed as nothing was changed for me. So even though I'm still not 100% sure about updates, I can only conclude updates are for extraordinaire circumstances.

I purchased this software after using Turbo Tax for 20 years. I made this decision after Turbo Tax decided to engage in price gouging this year. They have lost me as a customer. HR Block works fine and instantly loaded up last year's Turbo Tax Return. Oh by the way, two days after I purchased HR Block, Turbo Tax issues their apology and rebate program....sorry too late.

It worked well for my older computer. I had been using Turbo Tax but they no longer make a version which supports Windows XP so this was the only good option. Some of the help screens were not particularly helpful. The program isn't bad but is a bit kludgy. I hope this year's version is a bit smoother. I will buy it again as I plan to use XP for a number of years.

Because I work more than one job, plus freelance and independent contractor work, the Premium is my choice. It's easy enough to go through all the questions, and easy to go back and revise or change information too. I've been happy with H&R block for several years now.

I have been using this product since it was called TaxCut. The federal version seems to be pretty solid. I use it for earned income, my small Sole Proprietor business and rental property. The Colorado state version is a little slack, they tall you to fill out forms found online and then enter the results into some of the fields like penalty for underpayment of taxes. Every year I curse this product but the following year I buy it again. Maybe it is just the act of doing taxes I really don't like!

Taxes are a necessity, and I've used H&R Block for several years. I've generally been happy with it, but this yearI tried to throw the state e-file into the mix, and it was not accepted, and the error code was not helpful at all. Fortunately, they don't charge the $20 until the return is electronically accepted, so I sent in the paper return. Another quibble....the address they wanted me to mail the return to was not correct, so check with your state's tax site if you need to mail your return.

Great price, had an issue with the 1099B entries this year as it did not allow entry of the person the 1099b was issued to and showed the wrong person as the receiver and would not allow a correction that I think was an overlooked software issue. According to the tax adviser chat on H&R block this would not present a problem with filling, we will see. They at least offer free audit protection. I think the price difference for this premium software over other brands I could name make this a very good buy.

What I read here was not totally clear, so I'd like to add this about the Activation Code. You need to enter this number, in order to electronically file your return. If you download this program from Amazon, the Activation Code appears in your Software Library next to this item, but it called Product Code. Just copy and paste the Product Code number, when you're asked for the Activation Code, in the final stage of e-filing.

Hard to find the actual pages you are filling out. Turns out instead of a link to look at "my forms" you have to go to "reports" to view the forms. Some things have a form limit set by the IRS - like how many pages of items you can donate to a charity, so the choice becomes tricky but not insurmountable. Do you categorize all the ski equipment you don't use as "ski stuff" or put in a separate donation sheet for each pair of professional racing skis? Turbo Tax does that part better, at least. I actually completed my taxes this year on both TT and H&RB. Got a much lower tax due bill on H&RB.
Another problem is that if you are halfway through a section of the interview, and you hit the back button, you don't just go to the previous item in the interview but back to the opening page of the interview. If you are trying out the options, say, of making a certain size deposit to your IRA and want to see how it changes the tax you owe, you have to leaf through several time-wasting pages to change the amount. It would be so much simpler if "back" simply meant back one item, not back to the beginning.
Compared to TurboTax, I'd still use this one, but it has a glitch-y feeling to the way it works, and you have to be ready to really hunt for things.

Switched from TurboTax to HRBlock this year because of known cost increases in TurboTax. HRBlock is marginal replacement - definitely more user friendly in TT. Trying to jump in and out of my taxes (like how did this value get calculated) was difficult in HRB - would get to the right section eventually but then after that section was done, it would immediately start me in the next section. Can't you just jump me back out? Also, liked their Shoebox function where you can identify where a piece of info should be filed in your taxes given that you have the piece of paper in front of you. Should be an option to search for particular tax record (like where do I put my 1099's?). Right now, it is just click and see if your form is in their dropdown. Help features are not that helpful. Would have liked more soft links to other documents. Also, lots of the questions inside the program seem to be pulled straight from the tax document itself versus 'humanizing it' or 'dumbing it down' for ordinary citizens such as myself! Proof is that I found myself searching more on Google for info as often if not more than using the HRBlock help function. That wasn't the case that I remember in TurboTax. Overall - adequate replacement this year for TT. Hoping Intuit listens to customers and sees financial impact of their cost increase and returns their product to a fair price point for taxpayers!

This has been my first year of using H&R Block software after many, many years of using Turbo Tax. After finally completing my tax return, here is a more or less complete review, based on my experience:
1. Overall, the H&R software did the job, and was less expensive than TT. Download, installation and several upgrades (Federal, State and software itself) did not cause any problems in my Windows 7 environment. The online help has been adequate; menus/navigation and user interface are a little bit confusing and counterintuitive, but this may just need a little bit of getting used to. Importing of the previous year tax return (TT file) was easy, with a single exception – H&R software failed to import one of the carryover deductions (deductible points from the mortgage refinancing a few years ago – this amount is spread over the life of the loan, and TT picks it up every year without a problem).

2. Preparation of the tax return (both Federal and State) was fairly simple and straightforward. Some of the interview questions were not simple (for me) to answer, so I had to look for online help (it was not very helpful) and search Internet (oddly, the best and clearest answers came from the Intuit web site) . This year my tax liabilities were (expectedly so) a bit higher than usual, and the software nicely walked me through the estimate of the penalties for Federal tax return (which ended up being minimal). However, for the State tax return, I was asked a few fairly cryptic questions and then a State form was shown, and I was asked to fill it in. Well, do I really need H&R software to fill in tax forms manually? This was not a big dial, so I filled the form in, and then the software estimated the penalty (ended up being $0).

3. I finally E-filed the Federal tax return without any issues; then I paper-filed the State return. All the forms were printed nicely, I liked the option of selecting which forms to print or save in PDF for archiving, and whether to include or nor the worksheets and checklist. The software worked well preparing backup copies of the tax return, in both H&R and PDF formats. I missed the feature which TT has – comparing my financials with the rest of the population in my income category; this is a feature that H&R could easily add.

4. As happens (to me) almost every year, one of the investment accounts sent an amended 1099-DIV after I have filed the 2014 returns. Normally, it would take me about 15 minutes in TT to prepare amended Federal and State returns, and send them (on paper) for processing. It became quite an adventure with H&R software. For Federal return, I had to go through a number of not very intuitive and often manual steps to create, print and assemble an amended return (and I am still not sure that I assembled it right - H&R should be better in saying which forms/schedules got changed and need to be re-submitted). Goof news is that it was created, printed, and sent. For State, the only thing I received from the software was a message that Form 502X (amended return for my state) is not included with this software, but I can download it from my state web site, fill it manually, and send it to the State tax authorities. Which I did – and why would I need H&R software if I ended up doing all of this manually?

At this point, I am giving this product rating of “3” (meaning "it's OK"), and next year I will think whether to stay with H&R or switch back to TT.

I tried to switch to H&R this year. I really didn't want to buy the TurboTax product after the way they treated their existing customers this year. My return is fairly difficult with rental property, farm rental and self employment income. Last year's return from TT transferred to H&R OK, but I had difficulty understanding their terminology as I worked through the return. The help was not as complete as I had hoped. I finally ended up buying TT just because I have used it for years and understand what the words mean.

Due to Turbo Taxes price jump I changed software. Seems to get the job done but did not walk you through everything as easily. I ended up needing to backtrack and find some deduction sheets after I finished and realized it never asked for write-offs we normally get. If I did not know about these write-offs I likely would have missed them. At first I assumed tax law changes but after looking up on-line I found out they were still in effect and searching the software I found where to enter the info. This likely would have cost me more than I saved by changing software.

nothing special to say just didn't like the product that much

I was able to file my 2015 federal taxes, butI had problems installing the State return.I'm going to try it on a different computer

I got my taxes done, but it was miserable. I do our taxes every year, so the misery was not new - just much worse than usual. Granted we had a few more variables than we usually do, but I would not call this program user friendly. I'm halfway expecting to get a letter...

Not easy to find the page wanted. Also on the descriptions it appeared that e-file was free for the state. It is not. Who needs 5 free e-file for the feds but not for the state. Rather misleading. Will probably go back to turbo tax next year.

This is the first year I used H&R Block's software, having used TurboTax for well over a decade. I found the price to be too attractive this year.Overall, I wish I had gone with TurboTax again. HRB found all my deductions and imported last year's data flawlessly, but the walkthrough was more peremptory than TurboTax and not as intuitive (no pun intended), and before I caught it I found where the program had entered the same property tax exemption twice, because its instructions on how to report my real estate income were imprecise.The only real frustration was when I tried to e-file my mother's federal taxes. Since her only income is Social Security, she has to file but doesn't have to pay. HRB's software told me there was an error, and I spent half an hour talking to a friendly customer service rep who could not explain why I could not e-file. In the end, I printed and mailed the forms. I assume that there is no e-filing unless money changes hands with the Treasury, but it would be nice to know that for sure rather than having a program I relied on for my own taxes telling me there is a vague error.Overall, for simple 1099s and W-2s I don't see much difference between HRB and Intuit, but if you have a little more complicated income stream, I'd recommend spending the extra money on TurboTax.

I think H R block is probably no worse than Turbo Tax from my experience. They do have on line chat support where they will answer unlimited # of tax questions, but be advised, their tax answers are not always correct.

I've been using Tax Cut (now called H&R Block Tax Software) for over 15 years and it has generally worked very well, until this year. My wife and I are self-employed so we bought health insurance through the federal marketplace. After entering in half of my information, I got to the part where I had to enter in my health insurance premiums and how much income was generated by the various business activities that are supporting that insurance. Fine, easy. Except that the program then gave me an error message that my premiums are decuctible, but since I bought my insurance through the marketplace, it requires additional calculations that aren't part of a the program, and therefore I should consult an H&R Block tax professional. WHAT?!

I called customer service and the woman very nicely explained that it was a glitch in the program (obviously) and that I would need to file it through the online version which does not have the glitch but for some inexcusable reason, the downloaded version does. She was nice enough to give me a key code to use so that it wouldn't cost me the additional $80 it would cost to do it through the online version, compared to the downloaded Amazon version. But I still need to re-enter the half of the information that I already put into the program.

This glitch is ridiculous and they have no good reason to not fix it. Even if we had received subsidies, this should not be that hard to calculate in their program. I would have given it a one star if not for the helpful customer service rep.

Does not handle ACA Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit together with Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction . By IRS design there is a circular reference between the two, and an iterative calculation is needed to resolve. Premium reports that it does not handle this calcualtion and recommends contacting an H&R Block preparer to resolve (at an additional cost)! The calculation is fairly simply but tedious; I manually performed it. But then to add further insult it does not let you efile with this condition I understand Turbotax does handle this condition, so would recommend choosing it or some other vendor's product instead.

Before I purchased this top of the line program H&R Block sells, I chatted online with a company representative who assured me 100% that it would handle K-1s and the sale of Master Limited Partnership units. Well, once I started putting in information for the K-1s, here is the message that came up:
"Publicly traded partnerships (PTPs) are subject to special rules that are beyond the scope of the program this year. You may need to revise the entries on your return to reflect these special rules."

I can only hope that what the program DID enter on my return was accurate enough not to be questioned by the IRS, as I was expecting a bigger tax bill this year due to a forced sale of a PTP.

Other than this misrepresentation the program did work pretty well.

Disappointing features; extremely long wait times for customer support; 3-day wait for tier II response to my problem; and I am still waiting to hear beck from tier III. I gave up waiting, re-keyed the parts of the interview that I think the program was screwing up the handling of, and went ahead and filed.

FEATURES
I enjoy being able to right-click an see how either an interview question or a field on a form links to other parts of the return. More often than not, there is no information available when clicking to this option. Very frustrating when trying to track calculations or learn something about the forms/code/rules.
Related, context-sensitive help lacks linkage to context-specific tax rules--just refers to general pubs.

What a joke that I can file federal (relatively complicated) returns electronically at no extra charge, but the company wants to charge me $19+ to file the relatively calculation-free State return.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Support technicians I spoke with on the phone--and one via online chat--were truly concerned and responsive, but were as puzzled as I was when they reproduced my problem on copy of my return I had uploaded to them and unable to resolve, elevating my problem report to the next level.

I have done my taxes for years on excel spreadsheets I have set up for the purpose, going through and changing formulas annually to reflect changes I tax code/rules/values. I thought that I would try one of the well-rated products to give myself a break, and to (later) compare my own calculations to as a baseline for possible future reliance on my spreadsheets.

Mistake.

I spent too much time on hold (40 minute wait time initially before hanging up. 40 mins another time before contact and another hour on phone (most of it on hold) with tech trying to look things up. another 30+ mins waiting for agent on chat. and ditto the wait and call times when contacting tier II.

As a courtesy, the agents ask when is a good time for return calls to be made (for tier II and then tier III to get back to me. I told them "now" or late in evening (when I am free). When tier II called back, it was middle of afternoon, leaving msg. so I of course had to get on hold again when I got home and could call back. (Why ask when is a good time to call back, and create an expectations gap?)

The problem:
donating a vehicle as one of 8 non-cash charitable donations. Following the interview, which asks for clothing etc. first, the vehicle ended up as item "f"\ which placed it on the second copy of the form along with two others. Tier III is charged with figuring out why this may have contributed to a rejection of the return for E-filing and I may learn someday, but my, tier I and tier II attempts to follow steps on the rejection report to regenerate the respective form resulted in identical rejection codes. deleting and re-keying the vehicle donation did not address it. I thought to try and get the vehicle on to the FIRST copy of the form, so I deleted enough contributions so that I only had 3 clothing-based ones, THEN skipped ahead in the interview to key in a vehicle (which became donation "d", on the first copy of the form) before keying in the other clothing and then other donations in sequence after that.
That worked, and the e-file was then accepted.

I had speculated with tier II that trying to get the vehicle onto the first form might be a workaround.
Do you think HRBlock might pay me a the consulting fee for pointing them toward where the bug in their software is?
I might be happy with a phone call back from tier III someday, but I think I will have to settle for simply asking for my money back.
but I have not checked the return in my spreadsheets yet, so a refund might waive my right to audit support if the software screwed something else up on my return! [snark!]

02-07-2015
I just started doing my taxes and I am having two issues at the moment:

1. The software is not creating FORM 4562 (calculation for depreciation) that needs to be filed with Schedule E
2. The software is creating FORM 8582 which is not required in my case because I don't have any allowed loss on my rentals.

I may update the rating if I find the answers or if I am mistaken on my assumptions on the need of these forms. First time user of H&R software, btw. Been using TT for 15+ years.

2014 was easy with H&R Block Premium, my tax scenarios remained consistent yet 2015 was full of problems. H&R has missed the opportunity to take full advantage of Intuit's blunders and become the market leader. My return took 4-6 hrs longer than it should have, some of the lowlights:- asset depreciation parameters were not accurately transferred from H&R Block 2014 to 2015- H&R Block 2015 Premium tried to minimize my tax bill by duplicating a property tax deduction, applying both the full amount and that same amount less the home office portion.- there is no comparison between current and prior year to help confirm accuracy- the state program prompted me with 'Your state does not follow federal law regarding value <x>. Please enter a compensating adjustment.' H&R block has some nerve.The software workflow is lacking and non-intuitive.Grade: D+

I have used this software for the last 3 years. I have noticed some errors over the last couple. On the federal return the software only imported HALF of my state taxes I paid in from the previous year. I also have to enter local taxes. Not only did it enter the wrong amount of taxable income, it also entered a deduction that is not allowable for real estate rental loss. The only positive I can say about this software this year is it caught an error I made on a date through the data verifications. However, I wonder what errors this program made without me knowing...

pros are that they have great tax support people, and it works great if you have simple tax requirements.cons are that it's not very robust, not laid out very well (i.e. 1099 deductions are not in the deductions portion), very difficult to find the support people, can be long waits, if you don't fit into their simple methods you may not be able to e-file (i.e. I needed a 5th form, but they only offer 4, so I had to add entry in 'attached list' and paper file), doesnt inform you as much as TurboTax so you might have near miss out on simple items like I did, etc, etc

As posted by another reviewer, this product has had me (on at least 4 occasions) having to go to the IRS website and read/understand/apply rather large worksheets that seem to perfectly suited for a computer program. Just 1 of these worksheets had an IRS estimated 21 hour completion time at the end of the doc. HOLY CR*P! As it turned out, I needed to find a table and apply a value of a leased car to it. Why can't H&R do this??? Also, it seems that the interview asks for the same item in multiple places, and seems to "double apply" the item. The explanation for the items doesn't say "if you applied this elsewhere, do not enter it here", so it seems the program may get you in audit trouble re: this. A good example is a house based biz that can only apply a fraction of the home expenses to the office, but then later it apples the whole amount again for deductions on the samebiz. Very worrisome.I have been a loyal user of TaxCut/H&R for over 10 years, but I am seriously considering the competition for next year. As for install & last year import, all went well, so I don't know why another reviewer had probs with importing.

Each year I use both H&R Block and TurboTax. The sad thing about our tax system is each year I get a different result from different tax softwares using the same data. I use a spreadsheet to compare apples to apples. Last year H&R Block actually saved me a couple hundred dollars more compared to TurboTax. This year, H&R block said I owed $3,453 more money compared to what TurboTax said I owed using the same data. That is an insanely high difference.The reason I give them two stars is because they stand behind their guarantee. They told me they'd send me a full refund for their software (so supposedly I'll received a check in 4-6 weeks).

I have used TurboTax for the last 2 years, but I purchased H&R because of the additional 10% tax credit rebate for an Amazon Gift Card. Boy was I disappointed. It was much more difficult to use - presented 1099 form input with all fields initially, when most fields are blank or 0 , it didn't include Form 8911, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, which will more than pay for TurboTax. When I went to H&R Block's program help and online help to search for it, there was 0 information at all on it. Turbo Tax online has it even in their free online version.TurboTax 2015, here I come.

As others have mentioned, H&R Block failed to get a vital software update out on time. If you're self-employed (and why else would you use their Premium software?), and you pay for insurance on the Marketplace, you're in for a rude awakening once you try to pay the IRS. The software's too stupid to figure out your taxes. So you just wasted time and money on this program. This is a huge failure for H&R Block.

1. Invalid tax calculations. Product doesn't calculate taxes properly for some of the 1099 and 1098 variants and for many of the schedules that the premium software claims to handle. As of 03/29/15 they have no updates so it appears these problems will not be fixed.

2. Help system and online help links don't work. When you click on the help links the program opens Internet Explorer even when it's not the default browser, then it starts giving website errors like "Unexpected Error. Please close your browser and try again". It looks like the program has hardcoded links for Internet Explorer and then the website is broken.

3. Technical support is a joke with extremely long wait times. If you try to go to their customer support website for a chat session you will watch "waiting for next available agent" for hours, and if you call on the phone you will sit on hold for long period too. The product support appears to be broken too.

Bottom line - it claims to be a "Premium" version but doesn't go through the interview process correctly - it skips many itemized deductions and keeps wanting you to use the standard deduction even when it's much less than the itemized deduction total. Instructions are wrong and taxes are calculated incorrectly for many of the basic schedules.

I've used this product for many years and this is the first year it has not worked properly. It looks like they tried to streamline the product and destroyed much of the needed functionality. Very disappointing software quality,

It may be time to switch to TurboTax...

Will update review as I continue to wait for answers to problems with this software.

Update: The chat support and phone support which the website claims are 24/7 are actually only available during business hours on Monday - Friday. Any other time the phone line just gives you an automated attendant that is useless because it can only answer a few questions and always refers you back to the incomplete help files in the program. The chat support just sits and keeps sending "You will be connected to the next available agent" and will continue this for hours. The website says "Anticipated wait time 0" for both, so the website is also broken. When you have to print the forms, make corrections and then override the program to "use the whole form" just like you were filling it out manually there is something wrong with the software. It looks like it is designed for a lower level program and cannot handle the situations listed for the Premium version. I finally got taxes prepared, but ended up using the software to manually fill out the forms and override some of the calculations because it has trouble adding and subtracting properly. End conclusion - this was more of a hassle this year than I've ever had with this product. It seems that H&R block has joined the race to mediocrity. They even look like they're turning the premium product into an advertising banner because when you get set to e-file it comes up with a gift card deal for "selected retailers". It's not just tax preparation software - it's marketing third party products too.

This program will not allow you to efile if you are taking a marketplace health insurance credit and a self employed health insurance deduction. HR Block then recommends you see a tax professional. All the updates have been installed. Here is the exact error from the program.
"Inconsistency
Since you're claiming the self-employed health insurance deduction and have marketplace health insurance, your return requires additional calculations that aren't part of our program. To file an accurate return, we recommend you complete your return with an H&R Block tax professional.
You must fix this problem before filing."

Anyone who files more than one state tax return will find this software difficult. H&R Block state returns are NOT seamlessly integrated as they are in TurboTax. My husband works partially in New Jersey and we reside in New York. We get a credit on our New York return for the taxes paid to New Jersey.

After preparing the H&R Block New Jersey return, the New York return had no idea that we were entitled to a credit for NJ taxes paid. Consequently, I had to jump back and forth between the NY and NJ returns and manually enter the NJ numbers in the NY return! This is in stark contrast to TurboTax. In prior years, after working on our TurboTax NJ return, our NY return knew exactly what to deduct. I'm a tax professional and I knew to look for the credit on our NY return. Someone less familiar with income taxes might not.

Another issue arose when allocating wages on the NJ return. I found a work-around that involved overriding the data on the NJ 1040 non-resident form. Once again, TurboTax made this easy in prior years.

I saved/closed/re-opened the returns to see if NY and NJ somehow recalculated and were integrated,. No such luck. I plan on doing a thorough, line-by-line review of the state returns to see that there are other issues not yet discovered. I'll also probably return to TurboTax next year despite their pricing issues for 2014.

Update after line-by-line review of returns: Other income was incorrectly imported to NJ return. I can't find a way to correct it, so I guess I'll do a paper return.

As of today, the Schedule E has fatal bugs. It incorrectly imported last years Turbotax return data - completely messing up the depreciation schedules for my rentals. For example, last year (2013) the depreciation on one of the properties was $53,681, which was correct. H&R Block calculated this years depreciation for the same property at $176,083!! It messed up the depreciation numbers for my other two rental properties as well, zeroing one out completely and incorrectly calculating the other.
The software gets confused when you have more than one rental, and incorrectly handles the itemized lists, refusing to display some, and bringing up the wrong list for others. It appears to only display itemized lists for the first property entered.
This is the buggiest software I've ever purchased - I'm going back to Turbotax.

Jan 23,15 update:
Downloaded the updated software today - it's improved but still messes up the imported depreciation schedules. Many line items are duplicated and you have to go through them line by line manually to delete the duplicates!! In my case, I had to manually go through over 250 line items.
Clicking on a box to bring up detail lists is better with Turbotax - when you click on the input box to create or view an itemized list, you get a list of every itemized list on the return even though all but one are unrelated. You have to manually determine which one is the correct list to open. Turbotax just brings up the requested list without making you locate and select it (again) from the long list.
Unfortunately, all the hours of work I prior to the update had to be re-entered!! So, H&R improved with the update, but still has critical bugs dealing with importing Schedule E depreciation data from 2013 TurboTax.
Just a comment - before retiring I was a Senior Software Manager for a Fortune 500 company. If I had allowed software to be released in this condition with critical bugs like these - I would have been terminated for cause, along with the Software Test Manager.

Feb 20,15 Update
Forget it! It still messes up Schedule E import depreciation data, and I'm through dealing with this garbage. Unfortunately H&R wasted my money and my time. I tried importing to a completely new return thinking it might work - no such luck. It still messes up the prior year's data import as before. So, I purchased TurboTax Premier today. My conclusion is that Intuit is a software company who knows the tax system and is primarily a software development company (with a terrible marketing strategy this year). H&R Block is a paid tax preparation company that has software as a sideline - and it shows in the poor quality of their software product.

When you get stuck the help here is non existant. I got stuck in the passive loss carry forward amounts. When you click the highlighted words to determine what it is talking about it says ""Passive Loss Carryforwards You will find this in previous years' tax returns, on the IRS's worksheets for Form 8582, Worksheet 5, column (b)."Well, Column B is very obviously not the loss carry forward as it is just a multiplication ratio. When I went to click for more help I got stuck in endless loops very obviously designed to frustrate you into searching somewhere else to get your answers. Also, in the same area they mention an alternative minimum tax, what is their description of this? Glad you asked:If you used this program last year, this amount is the amount on the Rentals and Royalties Worksheet, in the section labeled "Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Worksheet for Rental Activities", in column (5), "This year unallowed loss."Similarly, the amount that appears in column (5) this year will be the response to this question for next year.So.... what happens if you didnt use this worksheet last year.... Well I know what I wont be doing next year.

This is the last year I will use this software. We have a simple, straightforward return that includes modest income from wages and a rental property with a small loss. The Federal portion of the program works adequately, but the California state program is useless. Every year I have to clunk through manually completing worksheets for CA form 3801. There are no instructions or an interview. The FTB's instructions are cumbersome but manageable. I worked as a tax preparer for several years during college and I have a degree in Accounting. I don't use it, but I haven't lost it. This isn't my first bar-b-que.After getting all the numbers to line up right in the software a few years back, I just follow the old form and all the numbers line up in the right place year after year. The amounts entered are transferred to Schedule CA and the return is done. Except this year my return was rejected by the state. This year we had no taxable state refund for federal purposes, so no adjustments were made on Schedule CA. Consequently, the software doesn't include the form (Schedule CA) when filing. I wont even go into the nightmare that filling out the 3801 form worksheets is just an exercise. It's a huge frustration because all of the information needed to fill out the form is found in the program. Even if there were other adjustments, the software (this is why I buy it) should be able to ask the relevant questions and fill out the form for me.This is where the software broke completely for me. Because Schedule CA has no adjustments in our case, it's not considered needed for the return and isn't included. Except - form 3801 - remember this form? the one you have to painstakingly fill out manually? - this form triggers the need for Schedule CA because somewhere in the electronic filing process, the State checks to see if the numbers on 3801 match the numbers on Schedule CA. No Schedule CA? Oh..... REJECT.According to customer support, there is no way to override the software and force the missing schedule CA to be included. I could go back to the federal return, itemise deductions instead of taking the more favorable (for us) standard deduction, then the adjustment for taxable state refunds would cause Schedule CA to be included. It also increases my tax liability, but even if i chose to pay the price to get the return off my desk, the federal return is already accepted and you know what? I SHOULDN'T have to do that.This software cannot accurately complete my tax return. It doesn't know what forms are needed. It doesn't do what it claims it can do. I have a simple return with no obscure forms, no weird tax situations, and I take the standard deduction! I could have filled out paper forms by hand in less time than it took to troubleshoot this nightmare, and it would have been less frustrating. H&R Block has lost my business forever.

Buy Something Else..... anything is better than this. Despite advertising it will upload prior year returns, they neglect to indicate you cannot upload a prior electronic version into the downloaded version. The "Help" button only opens a Search window - it does not intuitively offer any help for the form you are currently attempting to fill out. When I searched for the form, it froze the program again and again and refused to load it. So, they say you can get Help from any H & R Block office?: LIES. I called our local H & R Block office, and they said they could not offer any assistance at all. They claim to have 24/7 help lines in the month of April, and yet I was on hold two separate times, one time for over an hour and never got a live person to take my call. Their "electronic" operator cannot understand English, and repeatedly asked me if I wanted help PURCHASING a product. I gave up for the evening thinking I'd try again the next day only to find out their website was down for maintenance today, April 14th. I was given the option to enter my email address to be notified when they would be back online, and over 15 hours has passed without any notification. This is absolutely the last time I will ever use H & R Block. Time to return to Turbo Tax, which is a bit pricier, but worth every penny as opposed to the torture of using H&R Blockheads

I identified a problem with the GA state program. I spent over 13 hours over a number of days discussing the problem. I was given mis information several time, The issue was lost and I had to sart over, The second time it was lost I refused to accept the answer and it was found, It was elevated to level 2 support with no luck , It was evelaved to level 3 support who gave mean answer that was wrong. I explained why and they said hey would get back to me. I received an email with the same incorrect answer and you couldn't respond to the email. I finally got through to a different level 3 representative who listened and said she would contact he developers. She called back he next day an told me he developers already knew about the problem and the fix would be in he next update. It was but took me over 13 hours of chat and phone exchanges to find out they knew about the problem. What a waste of my time and energy

I purchased this as part of an Amz deal and got it for fairly cheap. I have to tell you though, it is still not worth it.I have used the competing software to file taxes for years and decided to give H&R a chance as the competing software had gotten too big for its britches. And H&R was priced half of that.The problems started when I tried to use it. The W2 imported well enough, but then the questions got complicated. I couldnt figure out whether to answer yes or no to a lot of them so I answered yes, saw what happened, then answered no and tried it again. When I tried to do something slightly more complex, I kind of got the feeling I was being double taxed for the same transactions. At that point this software lost my trust. If I cant be sure the calculations are right, then there's no point using it any further.Reading through the reviews I found a way that I could get a refund and I sent off the letter immediately. I dunno whether I will get my money back or not, but I learned a good lesson not that expensively. Sometimes the extra twenty bucks might just be worth it.

If you are filing a simple return the software is probably fine. I ran into a serious problem, though, when I reached the healthcare Premium Tax Credit. The program made a math error calculating MAGI. The error prevented the efile from working, and it would not allow a line override or a file deletion. The only possibility to correct was to create a new return (a long process on a complex return). I did and the program made the same error with the MAGI. I cannot efile and have to create my own form 8962 and then correct the final 1040 result by hand. I am not going to waste further time with this software.