I usually do my taxes myself online. Simple 1040A. This year I wanted to be sure of my prepared taxes (via Self Employed QuickBooks Online), and in order to avoid high costs, I naively went with H&R Block. After reviewing my tax preparation with an accountant, I was advised it would make sense to file with H&R Block as they were a less expensive option.
When I showed up at my appointment with Catherine Cox, I provided her with a QBO Tax Summary and a P&L, along with additional details of my Schedule C deductions as I am an independent contractor and work from home. I asked her how much it would be up front and she told me it would be "by the form", but couldn't tell me how much each form would be until we were all done at the end.
As a former bookkeeper, I keep excellent records throughout the year and after performing a heavy audit (myself and with some advice) I had a very large loss and made minimal income, as this being my first year in business. Additionally, my state return was equal to $46.00 and my federal return was equal to $436.00.
I sat through 2 appointments with Catherine Cox (first consultation for 30 minutes, and second "filing" appointment for 1 hour), where she was on her cell phone for about 60% of the time. She also mentioned that she did not care about "clocking-in" like her other co-workers because she made most of her income on commission. This should have been a red flag.
As Catherine enters my information line to line, she decides to go ahead and add about 10+ forms to my tax return which I later find out were unnecessary. At the end of all of her "adjusting" and playing around with my numbers (subtracting office expenses that were feasible, etc.), she quickly presented me with my final taxes due along with filing fees.
Here is what I was presented with:
* $52.00 in total owed for both State and Federal taxes
* $726.00 for "filing fees"
As you can see the discrepancy in what was presented and the numbers were given were way off. In addition, I have never ever heard of $726.00 for filing fees with a business who had a loss, especially with the little work she performed. I gave Catherine accurate and definite numbers, which she manipulated to increase my number of forms, which "coincidently" increase her commission.
I was completely shocked and still am. I was so upset that I went back to my accountant, who was also shocked. Additionally, my accountant told me the maximum number of forms that should have been filed were THREE. A big difference from Ms. Cox's filing of EIGHT plus forms.
I have found 100s of reviews with similar complaints, and a review on the exact "Tax Expert" I dealt with, Catherine Cox (see "not recommended" review below).
This was in 2014, and I can only imagine the number of complaints since 3 years ago. I don't understand why this woman is still employed, but apparently, it is because of her high sales volume.
UPDATE: 10 days later and no response from any personnel at H&R Block read more