mrichman333 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 What can be more simple the a single person with one W-2 and who did not have health insurance. I looked at his return and HR Block prepared form 8867 but never calculated his EIC. Charged him $100 plus $35 for a advanced refund. His is due $120 from the Fed. and $24 From the State. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 (edited) What can be more simple the a single person with one W-2 and who did not have health insurance.Well, a single person with one W-2 who did have health insurance. Which is what you meant, I think. Agree with you on the fees. I get a lot of clients from them because of that. But they advertise enough to get new people every year. So it works for them, I suppose. Edited April 22, 2015 by RitaB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 I looked at his return and HR Block prepared form 8867 but never calculated his EIC.So, he was due EIC and they missed it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 So, he was due EIC and they missed it? Or you are assuming he is older than 25? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrichman333 Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Well, a single person with one W-2 who did have health insurance. Which is what you meant, I think. Agree with you on the fees. I get a lot of clients from them because of that. But they advertise enough to get new people every year. So it works for them, I suppose. lol, I need to start proofreading my post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrichman333 Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Or you are assuming he is older than 25? Nope, he'll be 26 this September. They filled out the Due Diligence which you only do when there is a EIC, so the program recognized he was eligible for the EIC. The TP told me the "lady" was very confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrichman333 Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 So, he was due EIC and they missed it? YEP, how do you miss something that simple, epically with software that generates a due diligence 8867. I think the preparer overrode the program. My thinking is, if she screwed up such a simple return, what did she do with more complex ones. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 lol, I need to start proofreading my post.I DO proofread mine. Make a couple of corrections. Try to make a third correction, and it's too late. That's why I posted back-to-back up there. Haha. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orygun Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 A few thoughts about the "incompetence" at HRBlock: First, a bit about me so you can see where I am coming from. I am a long-time HRB seasonal employee and have been an EA for about 10 years. There is certainly no excuse for such an error mentioned in the original post but I'd like to put it into perspective. I'm sure that many of you on this forum began your tax career at HRB and are well aware that they hire many novice preparers who make errors on what seems to be the simplest return to those of us who are experienced. However, that shouldn't give the whole company a "black eye." Also this year the company is using new software and the EIC questions are exhaustive but it is very easy to omit one and have the software disallow the credit. As serious and senior preparers, we all know that we need to check over what our software does and know what we are looking for. However, a newbie could easily overlook what should be obvious. I agree that the fees are sometimes out of line. However, I read that many of you won't even do returns with EIC because of the threat of fines if "due diligence" isn't shown by preparer. That is certainly one reason EIC returns are more expensive, given the small amount of work involved. Also, there is no such thing as an "advanced refund" at HRB as far as I know. The old RALs went out several years ago. However, clients can choose to pay $35 to have their fees deducted from their refund. That doesn't speed up things; in fact it can slow refunds up as the money needs to go from the IRS to HRB's bank and then to the client's bank or prepaid debit card. Incidentally, for a 1040EZ and state with only W-2 income, my office would charge $90 or $135 if taxpayer has EIC and no children. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTabbyKats Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I'm doing this 20+ years....and although I never worked for HRB....my initial training was there. And it was very good training. Most Block employees are "recent grads"....and recent grads don't know everything....don't know many things. In my first years...I knew just about nothing. Yes...they make mistakes. But, I'd like to point out that they've been in business forever...and are making money. So...although they may be doing some things wrong....they must be doing a lot of things right. Can anyone here say that they've never made a stupid mistake...especially during "the early years"? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I also got my training from HR block (after VITA) and it was excellent. I always refer my PITA clients to HR block because of two things: 1.- They will charge them more than me 2.- They might make a mistake but they will never prepare a fraudulent return as many preparers do in my area. HR has good and knowledgeable people working for them but if your return preparation doesn't cost more than $300, your return will not be prepared by those experienced people. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 "Can anyone here say that they've never made a stupid mistake...especially during "the early years"? Perfect line. I bet you no one will stone us because we all make mistake at all levels. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaB Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) They might make a mistake but they will never prepare a fraudulent return as many preparers do in my area.Well, a client once told me that an HRB preparer here pulled out an EIC table and coached him as to where the "sweet spot" was. He mighta been lying, but I don't know why he would tell me that if it wasn't true. And I think other preparers do that, too.Got a client years ago from a well known CPA here, CPA holds a public office (his day job), does returns on paper and claimed 100% of household utilities as business expense for the wife, who sold Avon. Stored it in a closet. Didn't even complete the Form 8829. I'm sure he didn't have time for that crap.I just want to stone everybody, equal opportunity critic here. Edited April 23, 2015 by RitaB 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gail in Virginia Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Some of the HRB offices are company stores, but many are franchises. And just like ALL preparers, they have all kinds of people running the stores and preparing the returns. I started out working for HRB, at a franchise owned by my mother, a long, long time ago. She sold the franchise and then later went back into business and i am back to working for her. While she owned it, the local franchise was (IMO) very well run and the preparers were excellent. Many of them have gone on to go into business for themselves. I don't have as much experience with HRB now, and I have heard from others in different areas that it is not the company to work for that it used to be, and that they therefore don't attract the same level of employee that they used to. It is still one of the most common places for preparers to get their start. And we all had to start somewhere. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 They have to make sure the BILLIONS all get distributed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrichman333 Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I didn't mean to insult anyone, and I am sure there are many very competent HR Block employees. However I still think they OVERcharge. In my area they charge more than the most expensive CPA firms do, and in all likelihood the person preparing the return has a fraction of the tax knowledge that the best CPA in the area does. Point $90 to $135 for 1040EZ no children and EIC. What does that come to? about $270 an hour charge to someone with such little income they qualify for the EIC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTabbyKats Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 I didn't mean to insult anyone, and I am sure there are many very competent HR Block employees. However I still think they OVERcharge. In my area they charge more than the most expensive CPA firms do, and in all likelihood the person preparing the return has a fraction of the tax knowledge that the best CPA in the area does. Point $90 to $135 for 1040EZ no children and EIC. What does that come to? about $270 an hour charge to someone with such little income they qualify for the EIC Kudos to the advertising agency that handles H&R. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Jani Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 Still people go there for tax preparation. I believe that you should charge enough for your hard work and training. I do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 My business plan is to charge more than when I worked at HRB but still less than CPA firms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrichman333 Posted April 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 Pricing has always been my problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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