Tax / CPA type question...

[MarkF48]

I've done my own taxes for better than 40 years. One year I decided to try HR Block and when they were done I rechecked their numbers and found they missed/omitted a couple deductions. I think many tax preparers tend to lean on the safe side and don't push what could be questionable.
In recent years I've been using an Excel spreadsheet from Federal Income Tax Form 1 (Excel Spreadsheet) Income Tax Calculator which has really helped out with working through the numbers.

 

[Sigarms]

One year I decided to try HR Block and when they were done I rechecked their numbers and found they missed/omitted a couple deductions. I think many tax preparers tend to lean on the safe side and don't push what could be questionable.

I went to H&R block one time when I first moved "back" to NC. Never again after that. It dawned on me some people that worked there probably shouldn't if you didn't have "cookie cutter" tax returns.

 

[Richard]

I went to H&R block one time when I first moved "back" to NC. Never again after that. It dawned on me some people that worked there probably shouldn't if you didn't have "cookie cutter" tax returns.

I know a handful of people that work(ed) there. They had a normal day job (one of them was in retail, selling jewelry) and moonlighted at H&R for extra income. As I understand (recall from probably 20 years ago) they had to attend one/several classes in order to work there however, I'd be willing to bet a dime that the classes was more about paperwork process than tax law (but I freely admit I don't know......furthermore, I'd presume that there is a CPA around there SOMEWHERE in the event questions do arise)

 

[3Ts]

My experience with H&R was with a partnership. The other partner was responsible for the day to day record keeping and they used H&R for taxes (and bookkeeping and financial advice). After many years the partnership was sold, but had a problem with the H&R records - the last 2 years could not be reconciled as determined by 2 different CPAs. It was eventually resolved but took a year and lots and lots of money to resolve. Sometimes a CPA is cheaper in the long run.

 

[ovrszd]

If I had a complex business system and/or multiple complex sources of incomes and potential deductions I would most certainly use an expert. That wouldn't be any of the local H&R stores around here. If I was in a situation where H&R might be feasible, I'd use a Turbo Tax program or something similar.

I have friends that work seasonally at H&R. Their only training is how to use the newest program. It's strictly plug and play. The fine print in the document you sign with them clearly states they are only liable to report what information you give them and only represent you to testify that's true.

 

[Bird]

Many, many years ago, the first income tax return to do after we bought our first house was something a bit new to me, so I decided to use H&R Block. The old gentleman who did it, in my presence, said he had to sent it in to his superiors to review, then they'd mail it to me to sign and send to the IRS. What they sent me contained some pages from MY income and some from someone else's form. The only thing we had in common was that, in addition to our salaries job, we were both claiming $1100 in cash income from which no withholding tax had been taken. Anyway, I received it in the mail on a Saturday afternoon and they said they had discovered an error on a certain pay number and had corrected it. So I had half of my return and half of someone else's. I couldn't contact H&R Block on the weekend, and we were getting close to the deadline to file, so I did a return myself and went ahead and mailed it that Saturday. Monday I called H&R Block, told the guy what happened and he said to bring it in and they'd redo it. I told him I'd already filed, but thought they owned me a refund. He said, "Oh yeah, after you have our figures you can do it yourself." I told him I was mailing all of their stuff to him, and I thought they owed me, but that if he thought their forms could be used for anything to just forget it. I got the refund in the mail in a few days.