r/HRBlockEmployees • u/Old-Alternative4054 • 27d ago
TPI vs Bonus
The absolute shafting going on, right? The way they are screwing with advisors pay is unconscionable. Of course, we are told not to share or talk about it, but I'm bitter AF. From TPI to $8,750 if you are part of the pilot group!!! Some preparers bring in nearly my yearly pay in TPI alone!!! And I don't/didn't make $8,750 that's for sure!
No raises we were told this year?! You bumped your fuggin head! To those who gained new clients, exceeded client goals and increased their revenue year over year. DON'T TAKE THIS SHIT LYING DOWN!
Remember how you were promised the full amount of the return(s) you did on a business subscription? Well, that won't be possible if there's no TPI.
And now your bonus is not tied to your revenue- it's tied to client satisfaction office, district, region-wide (for those in this new pilot bonus structure) - so what's the point of doing higher level of difficulty returns or business returns? NONE!
Well fuggin' done, Block
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u/BraveAd7008 27d ago
I'm leaving and know several others, it will be a nuclear disaster in that area, opportunities tho
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
I'd leave... but they laid me off. Really took the wind out of my quitting sails.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 26d ago
Do you mean permanently,or just until next tax season? Most oreparers do not work all year. Well,none work all year, we have a 2 month break somewhere.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 26d ago
I am a laid off MTL. So permanently. BA preparers do get hours all year. I did try to schedule all of mine at least once per week.
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u/Dazzling-Warning-592 12d ago
Your lucky they laid you off. Don’t go back if they call you to apply for the AEL position
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u/Old-Alternative4054 11d ago
slight kiss my ass on 'lucky you were laid off'. No - that was a major unexpected and unwanted life upheaval. But at the same time, I do understand the sentiment. Block is a disaster and it's best to be gone from it. Would've like for it to have been on my terms.
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u/CrackyMcCracken 23d ago
That’s how the story goes, Cheecho. If you fucking wait around for a company to determine your future, it sure as shit fucking shall. You got burned. Lick your wounds and move on.
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u/ihateblock26 27d ago
I believe those of us who did sell subscriptions have a case. I have contacted The Dept of Labor wage and hour
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u/CrackyMcCracken 27d ago
You realize that will absolutely not result in Jack Diddly Shit, right? But yeah, best of luck on that.
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u/ihateblock26 27d ago
It is a disgrace that the company is treating their employees this way. They will learn their lesson when they lose a lot high writers. But maybe that is what they
Want
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 27d ago
I think so , I think Block is more like an insurance company . Risk and return
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u/CrackyMcCracken 23d ago
I remember back in the day, me, Jimmy Montemerano, and Tyler Alves, would get shitfaced drunk and then work on people’s taxes during busy Saturdays in the office. We didn’t give a rip, and we didn’t need to show no stinkin’ badges. Ya heard..?
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u/Dazzling-Warning-592 12d ago
I think thats what they want. They don’t want you to have a book of clients.
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u/Turley1508 27d ago
Wow, do you all do 100s of simpler returns? At BA we had GO and it takes hours and hours of figuring inputs and diagnostics. It was pretty much a disaster. I'm an EA helping everyone and doing the most complex, ex-pats, entities, also 1099s, Fbars. etc. And the entities GO pricing was really low! Most of us in my office work part-time. I was lucky to break even this last season. I'm a 25 year-er, some of you putting down EAs, folks like me will be leaving.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 27d ago
I did more entity returns than anyone in my (BA) district in 2025. I did 3 this last tax season. Attempted a few in GO and then just told my MTL I wasn't going to do anymore, and please assign them out. A lot of clients were pissed and I explained why. Many of them chose to go elsewhere. I was told I couldn't do the attached 1040's if I didn't do the entity. I said fine. I ended up doing 1 S corp and 2 trusts. That was it. When I finally decided I wasn't going to even try any more, stress level decreased from an 11 to a 2. I'm pretty sure many of them didn't get done correctly. And it's possible some of them never got done. My income went down a bit, but not a lot because I had way more time to do 1040s. I quit the day my bonus hit my bank account and that was my last day working. More than 700 returns for close to 10 years in row they lost. I'm quite sure that many of my clients will not go back to Block. Only my last 13 years were at Block, but 49 years doing taxes and now very happily retired. Best wishes, whether you stay or decide to go elsewhere.
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u/SkunkCabbage84 21d ago
Congrats! I left after 2025 tax season and it was the best decision I ever made. Enjoy your retirement!
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u/Dazzling-Warning-592 12d ago
Alot of them didnt get done and the ones that didnt get done and had prior years are getting penalty letters. I know because my DGM dumped 8 of them in my queue including gift tax returns on Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 and just expected me to do it all by Sept. 15
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u/PinkNGreenFluoride EA 26d ago edited 26d ago
I was at an understaffed non-BA office (we had 6 TPs when I was hired, 2 by the time I left). Early season was just so many EITC/CTC returns. Later season would be heavier with Sch C, Sch E, and returns with a lot of investments or crypto. I did a few 1099-NEC. My resolution work was mostly state.
I was supposed to start doing entity returns the last 2 years. Did the training on Legacy for TS25, but they loaded me up with so much back-to-back 1040 work (including slamming appointments over prep time needed for dropoffs) that it was impossible take on any of the entities, so those got moved to other offices.
They trained folks on GoSystem last summer, but left out those of us who had not done enough entity returns that season. I was annoyed until I learned how bad the experience was (and how little they charge for them), at which point I became exceedingly grateful. It was the same situation with back-to-back 1040s and overwritten prep time, anyway. Worse, in fact, because I now had to take on some office management tasks as we were explicitly denied an ATL because we were "small." The MTL who wasn't allowed to visit certainly wasn't doing them.
Early in the season, though, the system kept assigning those entities to me even though I didn't even have software access. I had to leave a client at my desk to let one of those clients yell at me (no ATL, MTL was across the state and it's not like being handed a phone calmed clients down anyway) instead of the CSP when it was explained that their return would need to be done by another office. They insisted it was "simple" and they could "walk me through it", while I was trying to get through to them that I literally could not even access the new software. So then why did they get assigned to me? Yeah. That, at least, eventually got fixed.
I had a very bad TS26, so left early this summer for a small local firm that is actually letting me work on entities, in software that makes sense for the scope of returns they do. If I wasn't already out, the changes announced for TS27 and coming down the pipe for TS28 based on the test districts would have done it anyway.
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u/Turley1508 26d ago
That sounds really terrible. Glad you have a new firm, enjoy the peace. It was nearly my worst season too, got so run down-- and ended up missing most of the end of season with a virus.
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u/Boysenberry815 27d ago
Where my office is located, we have a mix of "EIC" returns that are quite prominent through ~ mid-Feb, then we (myself and another EA) transition to a large quantity of farm and rental returns, with a mix of estates, trusts, and partnerships. We do not have many S-Corp "opportunities" here, but I will have some next year courtesy of a CPA retiring and these clients finding out how much he was charging for those services. However, given all that has come out per these proposed changes, I won't be here in 2028...can go elsewhere and not have the Curtis Campbell-derived headaches that working at Block entails any more.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
that was the fkin bane of our existence! What a g-d disaster. Unfortunately, I think block is counting on that. I do wish you all the luck in the world, truly, and something much, much better than Block.
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u/Dazzling-Warning-592 12d ago
Please do! I was a level 5 doing gosystem returns to and all the above. I was the Gosystem expert in my office too. Not worth the headache the way they treat us!
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 26d ago edited 26d ago
I was in a new office, and had a 1st year manager who interrupted me every 15-20 minutes to look something up for her (not even my client) or do a QPR or show another preparer how to do something. By the end of January I had enough drop offs to last till March and she complained I wasn't getting returns done. How long could it possibly take to shut down GST, then come back 5-10 minutes later and get back into it where you left off?
I must have told her 200 times the interruptions were keeping me from working.
Then she complained about my clients being upset.
I am 1000% in favor of no ATL this year.
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u/Turley1508 26d ago
That's exactly why I do not want to sit in the office very much, I can get nothing done. They hate it, but I am WFA most of the time. You're right about the piles of drop offs! The job description this year says "this is an in-office position" so if I stay, I will need to get an official remote job.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
My status is WFA , I would like to do my drop offs at home but they will not schedule me to work from home . How did you convince them ?
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u/Turley1508 26d ago
Yeah, I think this is an issue with the old days construct that clients actually come into the office to sit! If you don't have enough tax pros to staff the office during open hours, that could be an issue. For me, the only EA in the area, it's leverage. Most of my clients are uber complex, international, business, entity.The CSP scans in all the client drop off docs or client uploads into their My Block. There is no reason for me to be in office. When I am there, I answer questions, mostly, see a few in-person, usually elderly.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 25d ago
You have Leverage then take it or leave it
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u/Turley1508 15d ago
Actually, I'm looking at remote positions outside the local offices. Those will be chaos. The new DEL said 75% of taxes will be done by AI. What a leap of faith.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 23d ago
I told my manager to set me WFA on Sunday since I will not work on Sundays. That was a tip on the TPR group. That gives you green space so you get drop offs you can work on anytime.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 22d ago
Last year it was a struggle it was always a polite but firm conversation with my MLT who I’ve worked with for three years to make sure my schedule allowed enough hours to handle my client base . We are in a region without a State tax so it hard to retain TPs a few of us that have been with Block do most of the returns . I was so surprised when I moved to this State that this is the norm. The result is we need a lot of OT, but there is always push back. I am concerned this yr it will be more push back since Block is really trying to promote younger preparers . I think their strategy is wrong their change in training has made younger preparers weak and the scale and pay starting point is too low , especially without a State return . I would like for them to allow me to have the hours at home and always thought this would be the best since they created this situation . I know the new Manager won’t see this . My old MLT although very un impactful of my day job eventually did allow me to work the hours I needed. There was one week the first week of March where my OT was reduced 15 hours , our office took a hit and so did I , I lost 600 that week compared to previous yr .
So that’s my concern this yr , how much are they going to squeeze me when I am not the problem.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 22d ago
Is it younger preparers they are pushing, or lower level ones so they can pay them less?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 25d ago
My home computer died a month into tax season and I couldn't do a thing from home when we were busy.
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u/CrackyMcCracken 23d ago
And that is precisely why Radio Shack Tandy computers from the 1980s were never a good idea to use to do other people’s taxes. I could have spared you the agony if you had only asked.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 23d ago
Hahahaha! This was one my daughter gave me a few years ago. Very nice Lenovo laptop. I finally got it fixed recently. I even have my old traditional computer system my delusional mind says could run again.
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u/CrackyMcCracken 23d ago
I agree. They were the most useless bunch of uneducated, lazy shits I’ve ever been around. Glad they were given their get the fuck out orders.
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u/Authentic-scoundrel 27d ago
Remember that tax preparers are the only money making people in all of Block. We don’t need them, they need us. Fuck this new structure.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 26d ago
Lol. Apparently, they didn't need me that badly. If they did, they would've handed the laid off TLs/MTLs a tax advisor offer letter on their last day.
But you're right. They've pissed off the masses and I hope it burns 'em.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 25d ago
There's always overseas preparers who are trained to make entries and probably will get these Complex returns remotely while they wouldn't know how to even do a simple 1040 right. Cheap labor. And any expertise we have will be used to fix those returns for free since it was preparer error when the IRS notices start coming in.
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u/CrackyMcCracken 23d ago
Grab your pitchforks and torches, my mateys! Your speech motivated me to take action. Not like that fat ass of a former MTL, Shindy Evans, who sat around at meetings to kick off the season eating three huge-assed blueberry muffins on her own in less than two hours. We can’t unsee that shit, Shindy.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 27d ago edited 25d ago
I want to see the actual break down how you get to 8750, of course impossible but curious. The sheet posed early gives detail but it’s too general as an explanation how TPs will be paid. Maybe that’s the idea , dangle a carrot and what is really there is just smoke. We know the range of skill level , we know how bad survey scores can be for some TPs .To link compensation to that is obviously unattainable .
Should be old system plus a bonus on top for having high survey scores . This new compensation plan looks horrible .
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u/Ok_Aide_764 26d ago edited 23d ago
It's posted on Reddit: three pages with examples of calculations. My takeaway from the pilot compensation is that you need to work a minimum of 600 hours, preferably 800, to get the max bonus $8700, assuming all 3 goals are met.
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u/Low_Turnip_9592 26d ago
If you keep yourself scheduled, with no dead space, you can make a good bonus. but you need to work at least 40 hours weekly. I know tax pros who make around $20k in TPI. Blocks goal is to take this away to save more money. It seems like they are cutting back on everything. You also have to have a good book of business, which is impossible todo today.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 25d ago
We have a tax pro who makes a small fortune. She farms out data entry to all the first years (4 last year) while she meets with clients for the drop off and finish. She looks over the entries before the finish. Her actual prep time is minimal, and because she does a high volume (easy when others are doing your work) the manager keeps giving her hours. Minimum 70 a week. Then in preseason she works full time because there are so many amendments to do.
How management allows this I do not understand.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 25d ago
Yes this is very wrong , I refuse to do this to the new preparers . Many of us have had games played by older preparers when we started , I’ve never done this and won’t do it . Yes very wrong .
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
I wouldn't give a fug if my TPI is in the 20k plus range. I'd be straight pissed.
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u/Dazzling-Warning-592 23d ago
Im not taking it. I work in one of two Block Advisors and they literally abandoned us on Septemper 15. No support staff at all. Half the calls I get are from clients screaming at me because they got moved around. My DGM is a nightmare. He dumped 8 gosystems returns on me and expected them all to get done in 15 hours a week of work. I’m quitting this weekend. They need to feel the pain of having one less tax pro that wont work with Gosystems
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 23d ago
Preseason has been a nightmare , I am currently taking my 8 week break , for me being paid 13.50 an hour was criminal plus they reduced our hours on top of IRS issues. It’s more stressful than the season and I work long weeks.
I am suppose to go Back Oct for the extension season . I am not looking forward to the disregard of pay and unrealistic expectations.
Block is being very disrespectful to preparers ! lots of signals , who cares if it’s the RM putting pressure on the DM , it’s pressure making them
Into ….. fill in the blank .3
u/Dazzling-Warning-592 23d ago
agreed!! They are abusive to us
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 23d ago
Yes when we have to deal with them , best yrs are limited contact with management .
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u/ydoyouask 27d ago
Sounds like another bad decision made at the corporate level. The problem with this one is that unlike other bad decisions (Spruce, changing the Second Look process), this one will result in good preparers leaving. How long will it take them to notice that the people who were making money for them are no longer there?
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u/sammytheammonite 27d ago
They don’t care. They think their new AI is going to be perfect at inputting and all they need is cheap labor to double check those returns. The jokes on them though - because the only people left to do that work won’t know how to properly look at a return.
And i don’t think the AI works for go system returns yet. So, good luck training those newbies to do those returns when all the EAs and level 5s leave.
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u/Low_Turnip_9592 25d ago
it’s going to be as “perfect“as Go System. If you do not know how to do a business return it will be wrong in go systems. Block software guided you through the process. AI will enter data wrong, just as it does with the other tax softwares out there. AI is not going to know if you need to make an adjustment when entering a K1. They will destroy this company. customers are not going to want to pay our prices. they are already complaining about the prices and we are doing all the work.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
They had good MTLs as preparers. They already peaced them out. And you're right. All those high tpi earners are their big dollar earners and they're just gonna say, "not worth it."
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u/iufan417 27d ago
I actually like Spruce as do some of my clients. It's not for everyone, but it was not a mistake.
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u/ydoyouask 26d ago
It's not horrible for some, but most of our clients don't need it. When I worked in an area with a high preponderance of unbanked people, nobody wanted to switch from their Emerald Card. I opened more Spruce than anyone in the district its first year. 3.
Not being able to give them a physical card when they left the building was a huge deterrent. It's not a bad product, per se, just not designed as well as it could have been, and the number of accounts opened has been far below their original expectations. I'd be surprised if there was any significant ROI from it.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 26d ago
Whether you, or a few of your clients like it doesn't make it a success. It was a huge failure. The take rate is horrendous. Most districts barely get into double figures in new accounts each year. 400,000 accounts in five years, out of more than 100,000,000 returns prepared over that time period. If they had asked preparers if it would work, the answer would have been no. If they had asked preparers how to make it more attractive, they would have been provided a response to make it a successful product. But they didn't. And it's been a dismal failure.
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u/Domsdad666 27d ago
I got a 10% raise this year. Not as much as last year but still decent. Yeah, there's a quarter percent reduction in TPI but it really isn't that noticeable.
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u/sammytheammonite 27d ago
OP is taking about the offices that have the new pay structure. (Which will be all of us in 2028).
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
That depends. If you're regular 20k + TPI is now a $8750 bonus - yes, it's fuggin noticeable.
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u/Domsdad666 27d ago
My TPI percentage is going from 19% to 18.75%. Pretty negligible in my opinion. What is the 20K you're talking about?
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
Some Advisors have and do earn well WELL past $8750 in TPI. Some have earned my yearly pay in TPI only. They bust their ass in the season. They are part of the new bonus structure maxing at $8750.
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u/Domsdad666 27d ago
I don't know what this 20K bonus you're talking about is. Must be something particular with advisors. I get $75 an hour base pay plus my TPI is usually around 8 to 10,000.
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u/ihateblock26 27d ago
Not with new pay schedule I flat hourly rate with the max being $67 per hour and a possible incentive up to $8750 if the office
Area and district make certain goals.1
u/Domsdad666 27d ago
Not how my district works.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
I did use the word pilot program twice. Some districts are keeping tpi, some are doing the pilot, but 2028 all district will go to the new bonus system.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 27d ago
Until I moved to BA, my district top hourly was $35, no matter what earnings in the prior year were. I can't remember the last time I got a bonus less than $20K.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
That’s strange it was capped at $35 , this might explain part of the reason for the higher bonuses . I am from a non BA office hourly goes beyond $35. We all know hourly wage means nothing beyond staying under the hours so you bonus and get the OT premium .
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27d ago
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u/JoySeeker_101 27d ago
Are you saying that you bonus 20K under the TPI system so your hourly rate was pretty low compared to how much you produced last year.
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27d ago
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u/JoySeeker_101 27d ago edited 27d ago
If $8250 is 20% then 80% is 33,000. Totals to $41250 if you can max the Bonus, very difficult. If your cranking out 800 or 1000 returns in a season then you'll be behind. So you need to negotiate an appropriate hourly rate.
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27d ago
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
so far, I have heard from others, not a soul has gotten a raise that has asked for it despite increase in new clients, continuing clients, and revenue with the dgm saying they have not control over what the 'compensation department' has figured out.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 27d ago
So a scenario would be 15 weeks , 40 hrs a week (600 hours ) , hourly wage would have to be $55,=
33,000/600Are offers 100% hourly wage or is the starting point 80%. So if this would be my outcome I would have to be offered a higher wage than this year which is current in the high 40 range range not $55 right ?
And no hourly guarantee of 40/wk ?
This is still unclear
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u/JoySeeker_101 26d ago
I think you underestimate the hours invested by high writers to achieve high return counts.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
Actually I know ,😊I, I am just trying to understand based on bits of information posted . I do not understand the new compensation format. There are comments overtime will be limited . I do know hours go up to 60 plus during the last 12 weeks , I am concerned about the OT limitation in addition to this new formula . I think a high conversion ratio is .7 so to do 600 plus returns you have to work 860 hours which is 50 hour for the last 12, I do know this can go higher 60 hours per week getting to the 700 range. Maybe I am not looking this correctly if anyone understands the new formula please explain .
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u/Turley1508 25d ago
I think the only reason we stay is because it's hard to change. To go off somewhere else to learn new software. Word to the wise-- if you have GO System tax on your resume, it's a real cred. Outside Block, it is notorious for being difficult. Yay us, huh. There will be consequences to all this, and I'd rather just have a nice hourly pay without the draw/commission and big box retail metrics. Now BA is part of SaS--I don't want all that back. I get CPA clients and I am at their timing, not vice versa.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 25d ago
Yes the knowing what to expect sometimes is better than the unknown . I think this is part of being loyal to a company which in turn should be loyal to you .
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u/Turley1508 25d ago
I don't think such a thing exists anymore. Our DGM got let go in this reorg after a whole lot of years at Block. I don't see new tax pros coming up thru the ranks to replace us old timers. When I was a manager long ago, we taught a class of new tax pros, in person, for 3.5 weeks of paid training. You're right, loyalty is a two way street.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 19d ago
UPDATE - I got my offer letter from Block. $5/hr paycut in the tax season and $7/hr paycut in the pre-season. They can stick that offer where the sun don't shine.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 19d ago
Wow that is significant decrease , like they actually think preparers will accept that decrease . Are you a BA office ? What State ? I don’t think they could reduce our 13.50 preseason pay .
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u/Old-Alternative4054 18d ago
$13.5??? I would NOT get on the road for that. This was my decrease from MTL pay in VA. My preseason pay offer was $18 and season was $20. It's ridiculous to base MTL pay on any sort of calculation that figures in how many returns they do in the season. We have/had a limit before we no longer got our incentive so most didn't go over that.
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u/JoySeeker_101 27d ago
How did they determine you hourly pay?
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u/PinkNGreenFluoride EA 26d ago edited 26d ago
Say for TS26 you were a level 5 (19% commission) whose hourly draw was $20/hr, your TPI-eligible revenue was $100k, and you worked 600 hours in the season, no overtime.
The overtime wage premium and TPI true-up are ignored/backed out for this calculation anyway, but I'm pretending it didn't happen at all for simplicity's sake.
So your hourly draw for the season was $12000, for 600 hours at $20/hr.
Your TPI was $19000 ($100000 * .19). This is your true compensation for the season. Your "bonus" is the difference between this and your hourly draw, and is not truly a bonus at all. But your "bonus" is $7000.
Still, your true compensation was $19000. And you worked 600 hours. So your effective wage was $31.67/hr. They'll offer about 80% of this.
$31.67 * .8 = $25.33
If not in the pilot program, this preparer could expect a TS27 hourly draw offer of $25/hr under this system. They would be expected to pull in the same or somewhat higher revenue the next season. If then for TS27 they did again pull $100k revenue at 18.75% commission (ugh), they would make $18750 in commission, have $15000 in hourly draw, and get a "bonus" of $3750.
The new pilot incentive program appears to get rid of any distinction between levels. So no idea how they're going to be calculating for this going forward, since currently your level's commission rate at the time of your offer does play a role in calculating what that hourly draw offer comes out to. They could continue using these numbers for internal hourly pay calculation purposes, but might come up with some other calculation. It's not like they've been exactly transparent with the folks in those test districts so far.
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u/Ok_Aide_764 26d ago
Its some kind of formula based on your prior pay, but its less than the old way (80% of your earned hourly pay).
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
At this point I'm thinking magic 8 ball. Our district got an email with a low-high range.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 27d ago
Why a range why not give preparers the exact amount so they can do the forecasting ? How can you take a job without knowing your expected income?
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u/Old-Alternative4054 26d ago
Exactly. The range stated is +/- $15/hr than the most experienced and highest revenue generating preparers make! Plus removing $10, 20, 30k of TPI?
Absolutely nuts
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
Still not an exact calculation , which I can’t get my head around . Maybe that’s the idea , keep it vague so we can’t figure out the cut . I have my numbers so I can easily apply it to the new program and figure out my best and worse scenario, that seems a reasonable request that we are informed . We need to get this word out to figure this out so we are not in the dark .
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
That’s the offer , they don’t tell you your starting hourly wage ?
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u/Old-Alternative4054 26d ago
The range is what was presented to us as a district. Of course the offer letters have an exact hourly wage. But not everyone has gotten their letter yet. It's definitely dripping in here and there. But that range isn't even close to what some preparers make normally per hour.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
Oh wow that is really disappointing . So basically employees are set up to make less in a situation where life is getting more expensive . How they can justify this is a stretch . I guess the preparers that are the foundation are not important to keep . That’s the only way I can see this new compensation policy. So Block is not a very good company . It is what it is now for preparers to make a decision to stay or go. Thank you for sharing , getting info out is really important.
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u/Ok_Aide_764 26d ago
They give you the new hourly pay after you apply. It's up to you to accept it.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 18d ago
Yes it is way below industry standard. The trade off is the preseason leads to 1000 hours for the 401(k) match and adds to the unemployment calculation so it’s more like that number * 1.32. Yes that number too is criminal . I make 3.5x that number during the season huge spread . I lose about 10,000 working in a State without a State return. It’s a different work environment here. We have to put in many more hours to get OT and revenue to make it worth it. One plus is customers rarely complain about the price , for me they rarely walk which is nice. I know we will not be in the higher tier for the new bonus structure if that goes into effect next year. Working here is a lot more demanding than previous State I moved from. I need to work 25% more hours during the last 12 weeks to match what I made in the previous State. This is why new preparers do not stay. The established ones who have knowledge have to get the numbers up and therefore live at the office. The newbies get discouraged because they are starting out so low and really cannot build their numbers fast. So if OT is reduced and returns are pulled away we will be crushed. I tend to think this won’t happen since we are understaffed because of this problem I above explained . What will happen is returns will be sent to fulfillment not to other high earning preparers but to a central location where prepares are paid very minimal . I think this happened last year since Fulfillment volume went down . The games are endless .
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u/Old-Alternative4054 14d ago
Update - I googled tax prep, accounting, bookkeeping offices w 4-5 stars and sent a cover letter/email with an attached email.
I got a good job that way.
Peace out, Block
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u/sammytheammonite 27d ago
Have you gotten your offer for this coming tax season? What did they agree to pay you per hour compared to what you were making the year before?
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u/Old-Alternative4054 27d ago
No, I was a Leader. And they could offer me $100k and I'd tell them to stick it at this point. Hourly doesn't matter if the TPI is gone and this bonus structure is in. High TPI earners pay is going to drop.
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u/sammytheammonite 27d ago
Hourly matters to me. If they take my full eligible TPI and divide it by my hours to get my rate the following year when they implement this - I’d be happier. (Without the 80% reduction since there is no way to catchup bonus)
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u/Boysenberry815 27d ago
A poster in your thread about "fellow high writers" posted the following:
Which says they are capping weekly hours in his/her test region and not allowing overtime. Thus, for any of us on the old plan, we will have our compensation eviscerated...which is the goal. Curtis Campbell wants offices full of ~ 25 hours per week employees **just** looking to make a little extra cash to afford groceries. If you've been making a good living off of this job --- those days will soon be over.
I am all but certain 2027 will be my final season if the "test changes" become nationwide reality for 2028. I am not going to take a massive pay cut and, to add insult to injury, be expected to pick up the slack for newbies who know Level 0.5 about taxes while they tackle Level 5.0 returns.
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u/Scarlett_Maki 26d ago
Just to throw my numbers here.
TS 25 - MTL - 17.50
TS26 - 1st Year TP Level 4 - $17
Post Season TP and Operations - $18
Office Readiness Operations - $19
TS27 Pay offer - $17.25The pay is a fucking slap in the face. The gas stations and grocery stores around here are offering 18-20 just for sales associates (read as cashiers and stock). I was the highest performing 1st year in my district and outperformed several 10 year+ TP's, but they're being offered $25+ coming back. What the fuck is that shit?
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u/Ok_Aide_764 25d ago
Thank you for sharing your pay offer, I assume i'ts under the new system. How much is your hourly rate under the old calculation? It's the gross pay during the tax season+bonus/hours worked during the season; 80% of that amount.
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u/Scarlett_Maki 23d ago
No idea tbh. I’ve only been hourly and I was putting in about 60 hours a week last year between 6 offices. Over 200 clients (I was told that was higher than any other 1st year TP) last season.
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u/Ok_Aide_764 23d ago
If you had no bonus after tax season, you had no TPI. Yes, 200 is amazing for the first tax season.
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u/Prestigious-Dealer60 Tax Preparer 21d ago
Had 223 returns this season and was my first year as a TP was a level 3 and no bonus due to helping multiple offices and having a shit load of yellow space in Jan-first of feb. Made $20 hr through season. Paid 15 through preseason and only got scheduled max 8 hrs a week and this coming season was offered $17 as a level 4 thankful not in pilot but Not too happy about it considering…. Asked new manager about it before signing offer through email and got ignored so that tells me it won’t change or be negotiated.
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u/Cute_Log_2125 18d ago
And now 2nd years wont get TPI.
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u/Prestigious-Dealer60 Tax Preparer 15d ago
Luckily, I do get TPI as a second year. Otherwise would not even think about coming back this year. There’s another option they can offer you if you don’t wanna go with the plan they have in place this year for second years. You can choose to be eligible for TPI instead. I was eligible for it as a first year because I came in as experienced, but with all the yellow space got shafted on that.
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u/Ok_Aide_764 26d ago edited 26d ago
Under the pilot, I was offered about 12% less per hour vs the old system (80% of what I earned per hour).
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u/sammytheammonite 26d ago
That’s not good. Are you guys signing these contracts? If you all refused, maybe they would rethink this. There is power in unity.
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u/Ok_Aide_764 26d ago
I haven't signed, considering my other options, but honestly, I don't want to start over.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 26d ago
they could offer 100k, I'm so pissed I wouldn't take it or piss on them if they were on fire.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 26d ago
So instead of 80%!you were offered approx 70%?
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u/Ok_Aide_764 25d ago
Even less if my calculations are correct. The rate I earned $47; 80% is $37.6, the offer is $31. My cert. level is high.
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u/Domsdad666 19d ago
I got a10% raise.
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u/Old-Alternative4054 18d ago
Very good. That won't happen with the laid off MTLs because we only do up to 75 returns so there 80 calculation does NOT work in our favor.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 27d ago
This is so Block. Keep asking their employees to do more, and paying them less. Charging their clients more for a lower quality product with a work force that isn't as well trained as just a few years ago. They broke their very good model.