H&R Block Screws Up on Its Own Taxes, lol

[Mike]

[span class="articleDEK"]TaxCut software maker restates its results after discovering it miscalculated its state income taxes by $32 million.

[/span]Red Herring reports tax preparation giant H&R Block, manufacturer of  TaxCut and other tax software, [a href="http://www.redherring.com/article.aspx?a=15850"]goofed on its own taxes[/a]. The miscalculation on its state income taxes is expected to be around $32 million. This will reduce Block's fiscal year 2005 earnings by $0.02 per share and $0.02 per share in fiscal year 2004.

Besides the problems that Block had with its own tax prep needs, the company also experienced difficulties with the technology in its offices last month that hit its bottom line early in tax season.

'Technology problems across the H&R Block network in early January impacted our ability to serve clients in those crucial early weeks,' said Block Chairman Mark A. Ernst. He said the problems had been corrected, but they impacted the company's ability to serve 250,000 clients at that time of year.

[primefactor]

We used to pay those numbskulls about $150 to do our taxes, then discovered TurboTax. So simple. Even with our sort-of-involved return. We just go in on the software once a year with two other households and everyone uses it. Not to sound like an ad for software or anything, but I thought maybe if someone out there is getting ready to do taxes and is intimidated about doing it themselves (like we were -- we assumed H&R had some "special knowledge" to which we were not privy), I'd let people know that it's easy and cheap.

[Daly]

primefactor wrote:
We used to pay those numbskulls about $150 to do our taxes, then discovered TurboTax.

Is it that good? I've been toying with the idea of using Turbotax or something similar but to be honest I'm scared of messing it up and having the IRS freak on me. If it's that good I may give it a try.

[primefactor]

Daly wrote:
Is it that good? I've been toying with the idea of using Turbotax or something similar but to be honest I'm scared of messing it up and having the IRS freak on me.

Yes. It walks you thorough every step. It tells you EXACTLY what you need to do and won't let you get lost or painted into a corner. We get big refunds because it's really good at ferreting them out. Buy it with a friend and it's super cheap. Have a little tax-doin' party. Pizza and beer.


 

[TehBorken]

I have a guy that does my taxes every year. He's pretty affordable, does my personal and business taxes all together for 300 ~ 400 bucks. I could probably do it myself but it's worth it to me. Last year the IRS jacked me around for months and months over NOTHING, and he was there backing me up.

They finally ended up giving me my money, and they told me they had "no idea" why I'd been flagged or how it had gotten so far. They didn't even know why. (!!!)  The examiner took one look at the paperwork and said in the teleconference, "Never mind. I don't know why they even sent this to me."  That was after 9 months of supplying paperwork and documents to those incompetent shitheads.

That's what they said: "Never mind." That was it, and then it was 4 more months before I actually got my money from them.  So yeah, I'm not exactly a big fan of the IRS.

[49er]

TurboTax is great.  I've been using it as long as I could remember.  I too used to buy the software with several co-workers but in recent years and with store coupons one can pick it up for under $25, which include state tax preparation.  Very simple to use......just answer the question...the software does all the work