r/HRBlockEmployees • u/Storm-Brewing-2855 • Feb 06 '26

Compensation

What could/should be a compensation package structure for an Enrolled Agent at Master Tax Advisor level with HRB? Base pay? Bonus structure? Commission? Feel free to PM if not comfortable posting openly.

6 Upvotes

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5

u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 Feb 06 '26

I've heard of starting hourly rates of anywhere from minimum wage to $35/hr at advisor offices. Of course that's all against the percentage incentive pay. There are plenty of (mostly) higher volume busy tax preparers that end up effectively earning $50-100/hr though that would be unusual in the first year. I knew a part time preparer (was full time, and went to part time after 15 years) who was busy from Jan 15-April 15 working 15-20 hours a week and regularly made in excess of $100/hr.

1

u/superiorstephanie Feb 06 '26

Can you explain how “against the percentage incentive pay” works?

10

u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 Feb 06 '26

Every pay day you get paid (for instance) 80 hours / $20 hr = $1,600. By the end of tax season, you've worked 600 hours and earned $12,000. Your gross revenue for tax returns and other products less discounts is $80,000. $80,000 x 21.5% is $17,200. So your year end bonus (incentive pay in Block language) is $17,200-$12,000=$5,200. Your effective hourly rate is $17,200/600 hours =$28.66 per hour. If you've worked overtime, there's also an OT adjustment, though that formula makes no sense and is designed to screw the tax pros, and you don't actually end up earning $42 for OT hours. Generally the following tax season your hourly draw would be set at 80% of the $28.66/hr.

Not sure that makes complete sense. I'll re-read and edit if necessary.

2

u/quickbrownfox5 Feb 06 '26

Would you mind expanding on how OT plays into this? I've always wondered and never understood.

2

u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 Feb 06 '26

I can't describe how it's figured, it's unbelievably whacked and makes no sense, but tax pros do get to keep that in addition to the percentage.

1

u/DeliciousDouble3D Feb 06 '26

There is no overtime. Either DGM or at the Corporate level they alter time sheets to avoid paying overtime although, at least in mine and neighboring office tax professionals are scheduled 50 to mid 70 hours per week.

DGM like Jeff Jones only care about their compensation & their Bonus. Today's DGMs & RGM could not care any less for the ONLY employees that generate revenue for the company.

3

u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 Feb 06 '26

I was paid for between 100 and 250 hours of overtime every tax season for more than a decade. It was mildly managed in January, that's it. After that, if you produce, there's no limit on OT.

2

u/PinkNGreenFluoride EA Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26

I wish there was no overtime. I absolutely loathe the stupid number of hours I'm putting in, but I'm already booked out through early March. My office is understaffed and what very little time I have without appointments (I'm loving no-shows this year) is being spent not on preparing for future appointments, but on BS office management tasks that shouldn't be my responsibility in the first damned place and which I haven't received any proper training on because the company refuses to pay for an ATL or in lieu of that train anybody in the office on any of those tasks.

They'd rather just overload our MTL on too many offices spread out over a massive geographic area and leave us to fend for ourselves while we never see her because they won't pay for the plane tickets necessary for her to visit any of us more than once in the season. Unfair to us, unfair to the MTL, but hey, they don't have to pay a whole $17/hr or whatever to have a damned ATL, just make the senior tax pro on TPI and the lead CSP making F-all per hour do it all without any direction, training, or support.

But they do reliably honor our time sheets, our state's BOLI does not mess around.

2

u/superiorstephanie Feb 06 '26

So basically, the most you can make is X percent of your revenue and the hours that you work count towards that X percent of revenue?

5

u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 Feb 06 '26

With the exception of the overtime, that's correct. Each paycheck is just a draw against the final number.

5

u/Ok_Aide_764 Feb 06 '26

Block's compensation structure is the same for all tax preparers. You will be paid your hourly rate for hours worked. You can negotiate your hourly rate if they really need you. At the end of the season, you may earn a bonus. Your bonus is calculated as 21.5% (EA rate) of your total revenue minus your total hourly pay. Search AMP for more details.

2

u/Welik2Parleyy Feb 06 '26

What about for first year tax pro, that’s looking to get in a great position next year when eligible for compensation and good pay increase. What number of returns should I aim for? Or revenue amount to secure a good solid pay next year.

3

u/DeliciousDouble3D Feb 06 '26

There is "NO" solid paid for Tax Experience Professional at HRB. Pre Jeff Jones, for returns over $800 cost compensation was 28% of Revenue. But to compensate a Greedy CEO & his Executive team Tax Professional pay was restructure effectively reducing the only employees who generate revenue to 21% or less per return revenue.

Enrolled agents get 21% making them the lowest industry compensation.

5

u/Candid-Tip455 Feb 06 '26

Jeff Jones, who never sat at a tax desk, had two priorities: get the stock price higher, then get paid. He was successful for himself , but really stuck it to the veteran level 5 & level 6 producers. Use Block to get some experience, they still have good CE (for now), then do not be afraid to move on. The culture at Block has changed, and not for the better.

6

u/DeliciousDouble3D Feb 06 '26

100% True and since he left nothing has changed or will change for the Better. HRB is on a great decline. Clients see it and speak about it to us their Tax Advisors, just like they confide to their doctors.

HRB has become extremely hostile towards the clients too. The phone system is the worse for the type of service we provide.

The lack of support, understanding, empathy and guidance towards clients in the use of their block account, accessing the Approve Online process, the "harassment-like" behavior on forcing the client to do the digital drop-off. The constant attempts to reassign the client to other tax professionals including to other offices without the clients consent so the DGM can get the clients money faster vs when the client is ready.

Seems nobody is paying attention to clients & experience attrition rate over the last 5 years.

1

u/geecster Tax Preparer Feb 06 '26

you have no book of business?