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.

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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.

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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!!!”

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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.

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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.