H&R Block Review 2024: Easy To File Your Own Taxes—But Watch For Fees

For DIYers, H&R Block makes tax preparation simple by walking a user through the process with interview-style questions, clear instructions and in-depth explanations for different income types, deductions, and tax credits.

Customers can prepare their tax returns online, have their DIY return reviewed by an expert, or turn their return over to a virtual tax pro to handle preparation and filing from start to finish.

This range of options makes H&R Block a good tax software tool for people who want to try filing on their own, but also want the option to call in professional help if they have questions or get stuck.

H&R Block offers four package tiers based on the type of tax forms you need. These prices reflect the list prices advertised as of November 21, 2022, without any discounts that H&R Block may offer to people who file during the tax season.

The pricing options are:

Package	Price	Include
Free Online	$0	Free filing of federal and state returns Covers W-2 income, unemployment benefits, the earned income credit, child tax credit, the standard deduction and student loan interest deduction
Deluxe	$54.99 Federal $44.99 Per State	Allows itemized deductions, health savings account contributions and withdrawals, and freelance or contract income (but not expenses)
Premium	$74.99 Federal $44.99 Per State	Allows reporting of capital gains and losses Allows reporting of income and expenses from rental properties and pass-through business
Self-Employed	$114.99 Federal $44.99 Per State	Allows reporting of self-employment income, business expenses, and depreciation

See MoreSee Less

If you’re not sure which package you need, you can always start with the free option. While preparing your return, if you try to add income, deductions or tax credits not allowed by the version you’re in, the software will prompt you to upgrade and tell you how much the more expensive package costs.

If you want to pay your filing fee out of your federal refund, H&R Block charges an extra $39 processing fee for the convenience.

Preparing your tax return online with H&R Block is similar to sitting down with a tax preparer. The software walks you through the tax preparation and filing process with a series of interview-style questions.

As part of my review, I went through the process of preparing three sample returns. Here’s how long it took me to get from start to filing for each one:

• Single taxpayer, no dependents, W-2 income and the student loan interest deduction: 23 minutes
• Married couple filing jointly, one dependent, two W-2s, child tax credit and child and dependent care credit: 30 minutes
• Single taxpayer, no dependents, self-employment income, federal and state estimated tax payments: 30 minutes

I did run into one stumbling block while preparing the sample return for a married couple filing jointly. On the Alabama state return, the software doubled their income, showing they had $260,000 of taxable income rather than $130,000 and owed taxes and an underpayment penalty. After spending several minutes going back through the interview forms, I couldn’t figure out how to fix the issue without deleting everything and starting over, so I gave up.

Such a problem could really derail an inexperienced DIYer and potentially even lead to significantly overpaying their tax return if they didn’t understand what was going on and reach out to tech support—or pay extra to get on-demand help from an H&R Block tax pro.

Despite this issue, I found H&R Block’s interface to be pretty user-friendly. A banner on the left-hand side of the screen keeps a running tally of the estimated federal and state refund or amount due throughout the process.

A banner on the left side of the screen keeps a running tally of the federal and state tax refund or balance due.

There are also plenty of FAQs sprinkled throughout, so if you aren’t sure how to answer a question or why it matters, clicking the embedded link brings up a helpful tip on the right side of the screen.

Users can click the embedded links to get tips for answering on-screen questions.

If you get stuck along the way, you can click the “Get expert help” button in the top right-hand corner — just keep in mind that extra help will cost you.

The company’s Online Assist provides unlimited on-demand help from a tax pro via chat or video and the ability to screen share with a tax pro. The service adds as much as $85 to the cost of a package.

Compared to TurboTax, which subjects users to near-constant urging to upgrade to a more expensive package or purchase add-on features, H&R Block’s upselling is relatively mild. If you try to add income or tax breaks not allowed by the version you’re in, the software will prompt you to upgrade. And after the accuracy review portion of the free online filing, H&R Block offers a chance to upgrade to “Plus” for an additional fee, which would:

• Store tax documents digitally on H&R Block’s servers for up to six years (otherwise, they’re only available online until November)
• Provide live, unlimited tech support from a product specialist via chat or phone (product support specialists help with login and technical issues you might have while filing — they typically don’t provide tax advice)
• Allow free e-filing of an amended return, if needed

You’re also offered the chance to upgrade to have a tax pro review and sign your return for an additional fee before filing. Those were the only offers to upgrade I encountered while preparing the sample returns.

H&R Block provides an easy-to-use platform, similar to meeting with a tax preparer. H&R Block walks you through an interview process, much like TurboTax, but it’s a little bit cheaper. TurboTax charges up to $119 for federal tax filing ($49 per state) for its highest “do-it-yourself tax” package, while H&R Block charges up to $114.99 for federal tax filing ($44.99 per state) for a similar package.

Similar to other online tax software programs such as TurboTax and TaxSlayer, if you need help along the way, you’ve to upgrade to another pricing tier or pay extra to get it. But what’s unique about H&R Block is that its options for expert help go beyond your computer screen. Starting at $80 for federal tax returns, and costing an extra $65 per state, you can work with a tax professional virtually, in an H&R Block office, or by dropping off your tax documents at an office.

And while H&R Block tries to upsell you while filing your taxes, it’s not overwhelming compared to TurboTax, which attempts to upsell you multiple times while using the software.