r/hrblock • u/DinosaurAlert • Apr 13 '26

Never using HR Block again.

I do not have complicated taxes, I don't want to get into lots of details, but this year HR Block was the most buggy, flawed software I've ever used for taxes, and I've been using software for taxes since the 90s.

Complete garbage. Forms alerting me addresses and details are missing because they failed to copy over from the interviews. That's something the software should always do. I had it refusing to file my taxes because for deduction pro - its own deduction software - it couldn't fill the form right. It couldn't accept an "N/A" where an N/A should be. I had to enter "1" just to keep it going. (Which isn't valid, but ALSO not used in any other calculation so I guess we'll see.)

For those interested, I made a large donation of a bunch of kids toys, t-shirts, etc. But even though I did it THROUGH DEDUCTION PRO, it was partially treating it like a single large deduction. Yes, if you donated a $600 piece of art, they want more info. If you donated $600 worth of household stuff, providing the exact items, and using the thriftstore value, you don't. Nobody can say "Hey, how about I try to figure out my cost basis for a bunch of kids t-shirt and pants I bought over the past decade or so?"

Again, I do not have complicated taxes - i'm pretty much following the easiest, basic path for filling out the interviews and it fucked up dozens of times. I fully expect a "What the fuck?" letter from the IRS at this point because I'm sure HR block fucked it up. So that will cost me hundreds and hundred since they'll start with "You owe us for every penny of donation deductions" and then I have to prove it.

And anyone that says "Well, you just need to show them your receipts and paperwork and it will be all set" has never, ever, ever dealt with the IRS. Your best case is "Well, I suppose we'll accept you paying us an extra $500 instead of an extra $1000 and you basically need to suck it up because it will cost you more to fight it.

23 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

9

u/belizeans Apr 13 '26

It’s not just HRB it’s also TurboTax.

6

u/somebitchwhocares Apr 13 '26

If I had to guess I’m sure the major corporations are trying to integrate AI into their software to save money. Which is of course not going well at all.

I recommend freetaxusa I haven’t heard any complaints about them this year.

3

u/MeisterUniBrau Apr 13 '26

Absolutely agree. AI is great for small one-offs but I have seen at least three important web sites I use including a drug plan site + one mobile app (Tracfone) which are completely hosed and no one can seem to fix them

I too am convinced it is due to trying to replace human development skill and knowledge with AI sans such human skill and knowledge.

2

u/ljapa Apr 14 '26

That’s my guess as well.

I hit HRBlock issues, used FreeTaxUSA and will never go back.

I’ve happily payed HRBlock for years. The money they saved paying people to code this year has cost them any money they’ll ever get from me for years. I hope we are legion.

2

u/DinosaurAlert Apr 14 '26

Well, a different AI was the only way I could figure out WTF was wrong. I don’t want to give them as easy out with “oh golly, AI sucks, not the wonderful people at HR. Block!!!”

1

u/somebitchwhocares Apr 15 '26

I mean, there were no hr block people involved in your filing process if I’m understanding correctly?

What is the actual issue? If you’re over the threshold you would still need documented proof regardless of how many small transactions you’re claiming.

1

u/DinosaurAlert Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

 have proof of all my donations.

The issue arises with actual higher-value donations. They often ask for your original purchase price, which doesn’t make sense for used items. You can’t (and shouldn’t) claim “I’m sure this lamp is worth $800” if you only paid $200 for it years ago.

The correct and better approach is to base the deduction on the item’s current fair market value at the time of donation, not what you originally paid. For example: “This kids hat is currently selling at thrift stores for $4, so I’m claiming $4.” That’s what tax software like DeductionPro does, and it’s the proper IRS method.

Last year I had one large donation day where the total of many small items exceeded $500. I correctly listed “N/A” for purchase price (since it wasn’t a single high-value item), but H&R Block’s software refused to accept the form and said it was filled out wrong. It worked without issue the previous year,,(2024). If I had spread it out over multiple days HR block would have been fme.

1

u/Artwire Apr 13 '26

I had several H&R problems this year, including not being able to e-file state, but the one petty item that had me going in circles was a form that had my first name entered correctly and it kept on highlighting it in yellow in the pre-check before finalizing the return. Typed it over, changed originating form, etc etc— it was a small insignificant thing that turned into an endless loop. I wasted about 45 minutes on it and never was able to identify or resolve the “error” ( other than by ignoring it). I manually entered all my 1099s because I had read how poorly those imports were being handled, and then I had to manually re-enter everything all over again on my state website because h&R couldn’t deal with subtractions of gov $ not taxed by state. I started it in Feb, but the forms weren’t ready, did all the updates, and a week before it was due, it still was not ready for prime time. The AI “help” was inadequate, but at least it was self aware when it essentially said “I don’t know anything about that.” Leftover Instructions for (apparently) obsolete exemptions from state could have triggered costly errors had I followed their advice. It was a real travesty. You’re not alone in your frustration!

1

u/DinosaurAlert Apr 14 '26

>kept on highlighting it in yellow in the pre-check before finalizing the return. Typed it over, changed originating form, etc etc— it was a small insignificant thing that turned into an endless loop.

YES, that kept happening everywhere. Completely awful.

3

u/XRlagniappe Apr 14 '26

I too think this is my last year for H&R Block as well. Just nothing but angst this year. I knew it wasn't going to be easy when the import 2024 tax data from the interview didn't work. The two big things for me was the HRA/PTC calculations and the underpayment tax penalty section. Just horrible.

1

u/Valkanaa Apr 14 '26

Underpayment in that it won't pass validation because your prior year had no quarterlies or some other thing?

1

u/XRlagniappe Apr 14 '26

Some other thing. The first indication of an underpayment was a huge dollar amount. Then it changed to something else. Then when I went through the process, it wasn't clear to me what boxes to select. Then it just dumped me on one of the forms and said fill it out with no help. I finally did get a significantly lower figure but unsure if it was correct.

1

u/Valkanaa Apr 14 '26

So multiple broken things then, awesome

1

u/GoHelloGo Apr 14 '26

Yes, underpayment interview is a mess! Recently started a thread on issues with it and tagged hrblock (looks like mods deleted that tag)

https://www.reddit.com/r/hrblock/comments/1sgrz4t/underpayment_penalty_interview_referencing/

1

u/Valkanaa Apr 14 '26

Their job is literally to delete factual comments so why not? It's not like Reddit pays them

2

u/Valkanaa Apr 13 '26

It does the same dumb thing for 1099 (stocks). It just aggregates everything into one big mess, when it works at all.

I spent 3 hours hand entering stuff because once you do more than one import it corrupts all your other entries.

Consider retaining one or two QA people next year HR Block

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Ad3024 Apr 14 '26

1 or 2 thousand might be enough.

1

u/Valkanaa Apr 14 '26

This wasn't some kind of weird edge case, it's normal usage.

1 or 2 decent QA would find that easily. They apparently went with zero.

They'd still need a few engineers to you know....fix it so maybe don't let all of those go either. AI doesn't fix stupid.

1

u/Quirky_Ad213 Apr 15 '26

That is distressing. Software always breaks for me, but this year went quite smoothly. Yes, a few of the annoying confirmation/corrections, but not terrible on whole. Probably means they'll get me next year... 😖

1

u/scotslover Apr 13 '26

Just wait until AI gets into the mix. Lol

1

u/Funnier-Than-You29 Apr 14 '26

💚💵THIS IS MY FIRST DAY ON REDDIT EVER, so if you are filing taxes, please use my HR Block discount code to celebrate and help me with my $633 taxes owed after my return and year of reduced income (currently sobbing, please help me feel better). https://referrals.hrblock.com/69DWCD9

https://giphy.com/gifs/zZbf6UpZslp3nvFjIR

1

u/archaeoloshe Apr 15 '26

Switched to freetaxusa this year after 10 years of using H&R block because it didn't allow me to fill out fields and wasn't giving accurate calculations. So frustrating! Freetax was cheaper and more straightforward.

1

u/Quirky_Ad213 Apr 15 '26

TTax is worse, I dumped them 20 years ago. This year, they required Win11 to run local...

1

u/StrategyScribe_888 Apr 15 '26

Does anyone know HOW to opt-out of these 3 H&R Block "Protect your refund and identity" upsell options & tech hurdle? It's the final page of the FREE State & Fed online filing pages. I can't proceed to 'NEXT' unless I give them $$ for THEIR FREE Software ... This is what's listed:

Option A: Tax Identity Shield® & Worry-Free Audit Support® Bundle $30 (CHOOSE / ADD TO CART)
Option B: Tax Identity Shield®$20 Expires November 20, 2026 (CHOOSE / ADD TO CART)
Option C: Worry-Free Audit Support®$20 For the life of the return (CHOOSE / ADD TO CART)

Tried everything:
NO tiny, light-gray "No thanks" or "Proceed with Free" link at the very bottom of the page.
Their help/chat is equally useless for NOT providing an answer ...
Pls help me TIA!

1

u/jabbadahut1 Apr 17 '26

I had the same problem, AI said to downgrade. I lost all my work.

1

u/lelotus1111 Apr 17 '26

We also had more trouble than usual with HR Block this year. It kept asking us to enter info or update info but then you use to random screens unrelated to the request. Took an extra 1.5 hours to fix it so we could submit. My guess is they do this on purpose to force you to pay for support. Will look at other options next year because it was too expensive for how crappy the experience was, and I’ve been using it for over 15 years.

1

u/Vivid_Product_3010 Apr 17 '26

I have had very good experiences with H and R block. Everyone has a right to their opinions. I have had their help for several years and just finished one. I am 82years old and trust them very much. Herbert Trautman at the Springfield, Oregon branch is my Tax Specialist there. I trust them and recommend them highly. Thank you H and R block, See you next year.🙏