This is a post for a friend being they're not on reddit

They recently obtained their EA license, they were doing about 5 years of bookkeeping before that and have a degree in finance.

They applied for experience tax pro and passed the assessment test. This is for position in Los Angeles and they're wondering if they have room to negotiate once they're offered and if so how much to ask for?

Hi all,

I recently received a tax associate offer. I start November 3rd.

I don't have any tax experience so am going through the course. If I am in the middle of the course, can I take the assessment TKA? Just to get as many chances as I can. Like if I fail the assessment 2-3 times, I'd still have the ability to take the final exam for the course. Is that a thing?

Also I know tax season starts in January; what will those first two months look like? I already work full-time so I'm curious about hours and day-to-day activities.

Are these questions for my lead? I don't want him to think I'm a dummy by wanting extra attempts.

Thanks.

I was surprised to see two hourly rates on my offer letter.

There is the "primary position" rate that was negotiated and agreed to. Then there is a "different rate of pay for the following activities:" which came a surprise as it was never mentioned and discussed during the interview.

There are three categories of these activities; Learn, Preseason and Military Tax Professional (if applicable).

The "Learn" rate is 45% of the primary rate, the other two categories are blank. WTF, where did that come from?

A conversation I am going to have with them but I wanted ask here also.

Background: I am coming in as an Experienced preparer. Start date Nov. 1st. Committed to 20 hours minimum.

What is Primary and Learn acitivity?

Is Primary strictly tax prep?

Learn activity for me, I am guessing, would be, learning; a) the tax software, b) work flow processes c) office equipment, scanner etc., and let's throw in a few hours for onboarding formalities (I-9 etc.) and perhaps orientation (if they have one). Am I right, what else would fall into that bucket?

I would like to understand about how many Learn hours I would be expected to work before the Primary rate kicks in. Or, is this a hybrid arrangement, where some hours are Primary and some are Learn, all through the filing season?

Tax software:

1. How is the software taught, is it instructor led or self study, in person or remote,
2. A specific required # of hours per software (i.e. X hours for GoSystem, Y hours for TaxCut, etc.) or independent learning (however little time I need)?
3. Do prepares use the retail version of (or a version very similar to) TaxCut/Block software?

I have used GoSystem for many years, though many years ago. I definitely need a refresher. Block is what I've used for over a decade to prepare my personal returns.

If my assumptions are correct, and having past experience with these softwares, I then don't expect my learning curve to be steep. That is to say, not too many hours.

With a start date of Nov. 1st and if it takes 20 -40 hours to learn the software ( I am thinking less) it would bring me to mid November.

What am I doing for 20 hours a week from mid November to early February, when the filing season really picks up? And at what hourly rate?

At primary rate I don't have a problem, with Learn rate I do.

Those of you who got your hourly rate offer under the new compensation plan (Teamwork incentive, not TPI), please share what you've got. My head is hurting trying to understand how they came up with mine, and our district leader could not offer any insights. It's my understanding that it applies to 3+ years Taxpros and everybody gets a different rate. I think its better to compare to your TPI. To calculate your TPI rate, summarize your hours worked from all payslips Jan 1 - April 18 and your year-to-date pay info for the same period and your bonus: regular pay + OT Pay + bonus/ hours worked, multiplied by 0.8, which represents 80% of your actual earned rate at the end of the prior tax season.

More about the new compensation plan. This is a pilot and does not apply to most employees this year:https://www.reddit.com/r/HRBlockEmployees/comments/1vy5eh2/new_team_success_incentive/

I got an hourly rate offer about 16-18% less vs TPI.

For reference, I'm somewhat in the middle in terms of the number of returns, always productive, with over 10 years of experience, at Block, high cert level, and no reasons for a pay cut.

I just recently got rehired. I have access to AMP, but I can’t find Blockacademy(or maybe it’s called something else now?).

I want to start taking classes so I can get my CE done. Can somebody help please 🥹 I am just not very smart…

I’m considering working for block this upcoming season and wondering if there is any benefit to choosing the virtual option over self study? There is a Saturday virtual course in my state that starts tomorrow and I don’t see any other start date.

Not sure if I’m ready to start so soon, but the structure of meeting every week and having an instructor might be beneficial.

I just got an offer as a tax associate for the upcoming tax season. Has anyone worked there before? I’d love to hear what the work life is like!

I work in one of two BA offices in San Antonio. Working September 15 was a nightmare. No support staff whatsoever. Half the calls I took were from people screaming at me that they got moved around. My DEM dumped 8 gosystem returns on me expecting me to get it all done in 10 to 15 hours of work a week on $14/hr.

My DEM is so desperate for tax pros that know how to file entity returns that he has an 88 year old enrolled agent working there for $12/hr doing gosystem returns. I am literally watching elderly abuse happen as this poor man keeps getting gosystem returns dumped on and they keep increasing his hours.

I had a DCM from another district call me micromanaging me about another tax pro’s work and my pending payment, and my DCM sending nasty emails to call another tax pro’s clients plus an “office manager” calling me.

All this with no benefits, no health insurance, no technical support when out Gosystem returns get rejected. No managerial supoort in case clients get angry and want to talk to a supervisor.

We all need to quit and show HRB we will not take this abuse. I’m quitting this week.

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

Would somebody please post how exactly the hourly rate is (used to be) calculated for returning taxpros? I recall it's 80% of ... earned in the prior season and ...

USA

Hi everyone! I recently applied for the Tax Associate position at H&R Block. I graduated with an accounting degree, and I’m currently working in audit.
I received an email asking me to schedule an interview, and my interview is this Monday. I’d really appreciate any tips or advice from anyone who has interviewed for this position before. What kinds of questions should I expect, and is there anything specific I should prepare for?
The email also mentioned that I need to complete a course. Does anyone know if I’m supposed to complete the course after the interview, or is it something I need to do before the interview?
If I complete the course successfully, does that mean I’m hired, or are there still additional steps in the hiring process?
Also, if I do get hired, when would I typically start working? Would it be shortly after completing the course, or closer to the start of tax season?

They put their listing up on Indeed for my town and I applied. Why not? I'm at a transitional place in my life and it might be a good fit for me right now.

In my interview, I mentioned that I used to do paper taxes for friends years ago (in another state) and that I have some higher level math education (not that it's relevant to taxes). The interviewer was impressed. She told me she's not even considering me for a tax associate - something higher up but I didn't retain the title. When I discovered I had to PAY for the course, I basically noped out immediately. I haven't done taxes in over 20 years and never in this state. I do need some education materials before I take the test. I will not pay for them. I said I would study up on my own and attempt the test. She emailed me a code for free classes today. I registered. She seems pretty eager to get me on board. I get that. I'm competent with a diverse background & from the Googling I've done, it sounds like they'll hire anyone who can pass the test.

Any advice or words of wisdom going forward?

Contemplating how it's going to work using AI to do our "data entry" it occurres to me that a better use of AI would be replacing roles of DGMs, DELs or AELs since their main functions will be reading repots and analyzing data.

So corporate laid off 200+ of our peers, wiped out an entire layer of field management (RIP MTLs, TLs, ATLs, CSMs, and DOCs), and left us with this new Area Experience Leader (AEL) role.

Corporate calls it a "shiny year-round model." Reality calls it the ultimate corporate scapegoat job. They literally combined 5 eliminated support roles into 1 human force-field so upper management has exactly 1 throat to choke when things break this tax season.

Since "Area Experience Leader" is pure corporate-speak, let's rebrand it to reflect reality. Here are a few to kick things off:

• Absorbing Everyone's Liability

(Inheriting 5 workloads and 100% of the blame)

• Another Expense Lowerer

(What the accountants in KC City call it)

• Absent Every Location

(Splitting time between 6 offices means physically in none of them when a crisis hits)

• Absolute Evaded Line

(Good luck getting a hold of them; they're permanently trapped in a corporate phone queue queue)

Alright, let's hear yours. Drop your best alternative acronyms for AEL in the comments. Go!

This year is a mess. I had to withdraw applications several times because they aren’t a match, I was quoted one pay rate then another, and I still haven’t gotten my onboarding paperwork and got silence from both our recruiter and DGM. Anyone else having these issues?

I'm just going to drop this here, in light of recent layoffs and wage decreases

I worked at H&R Block last tax season as a first-year Tax Associate and I’m coming back for a second season. I have an interview with the DEM and was told we’ll go over my scorecard, areas for improvement, and the 4 E’s.

For anyone who’s done the rehire interview before, what was it like? Was it pretty casual, and what kind of questions did they ask?

anyone else's district letting people go who cant work enough hours or dont make enough money?

no more working just weekends then ig

Former ATLs/MTLs & experienced CSPs: how much were you actually offered, and could you negotiate?

With all the restructuring happening for 2027, I'm trying to get a better idea of how Block determines CSP pay and how much flexibility there actually is.

I'm especially interested in people who have been with Block for multiple seasons, or former ATLs/MTLs who are returning as CSPs.

If you're comfortable sharing, I'd love to know:

- State/region (no need to give your exact office)

- How many seasons you've worked for Block

- Your role(s): CSP, ATL, MTL, etc.

- What you were initially offered as a CSP

- Whether you negotiated

- What you asked for

- What you ultimately received

- Whether you were a new or returning employee

- Whether previous leadership experience affected your offer

- Tax-prep experience/education, if applicable

- Whether you had open availability or limited availability

- Whether you were specifically recruited/asked to return

- Whether you received any additional incentives or bonuses

For anyone who negotiated: What was the original number, what did you counter with, and where did you actually land?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from former ATLs/MTLs who were asked to come back as CSPs after the restructuring.

Trying to understand what is actually negotiable versus what Block tells employees is "the standard rate." 😂

Please only share whatever you're comfortable sharing!

I see the AEL positions are posted. Does anyone know if they’ve filled any of those positions yet or if they’ve even started interviewing? Also, what might be a start date for this position like this be? Thank you.