Consumerist
followups
Posts Tagged “
H&R Block
”
followups
If you're on SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) and used Taxcut Online from 
e-filing
I-Can! E-File Not Quite Ready For Primetime
Last week we wrote about I-Can! E-File, a free electronic filing service for your federal income taxes. It's a great idea, and we're thankful to the Legal Aid Society of Orange County for doing something like this—but you might want to find an alternative this year and give them some time to work out the kinks. Today a reader emailed us to point out that icanefile.org's password system can be easily cracked, because instead of letting you choose an original password, it requires you to use your name and social security number to set up an account. More »
taxes
I-CAN! is a web-based tax preparation tool that will file your tax return completely free of charge. I-CAN has no eligibility criteria or income restrictions and will eFile your state return for free if you live in California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania or Montana. It almost sounds too good to be true. So why isn't I-CAN! a member of the IRS' Free File Alliance?
More »
I-CAN! Files Your State And Federal Tax Returns For Free
I-CAN! is a web-based tax preparation tool that will file your tax return completely free of charge. I-CAN has no eligibility criteria or income restrictions and will eFile your state return for free if you live in California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania or Montana. It almost sounds too good to be true. So why isn't I-CAN! a member of the IRS' Free File Alliance?
More »
yuck
Worst Tax Product Ever: The Refund Anticipation Loan Debit Card
Refund anticipation loans are bad enough, but H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt want you to get a RAL, and then put it on a fee-riddled pre-paid debit card. What a great idea! More »
advertising
Kevin sent in this ad for H&R Block trying to market to college kids by giving them $10 in "pizza cash" if you file through H&R Block. This sounds tasty, except that due to their low income, most college kids won't have to pay any taxes and it's pretty easy to do with FreeFile through the IRS.gov website, for free, natch. But file through H&R Block and you'll probably be paying at least $60. So, you could buy yourself $10 of pizza, or pay $50+ for H&R Block pizza. They still teach math in college, right?
H&R Block Lures College Students With $10 In "Pizza Cash"
Kevin sent in this ad for H&R Block trying to market to college kids by giving them $10 in "pizza cash" if you file through H&R Block. This sounds tasty, except that due to their low income, most college kids won't have to pay any taxes and it's pretty easy to do with FreeFile through the IRS.gov website, for free, natch. But file through H&R Block and you'll probably be paying at least $60. So, you could buy yourself $10 of pizza, or pay $50+ for H&R Block pizza. They still teach math in college, right?
subprime meldown
H&R Block Subprime Lending Division Loses $676.8 Million
H&R Block's subprime mortgage lending arm has reported a quarterly loss of $676.8 million, dragging down the entire company. In all, all of H&R Block lost $85.5 million in Q1. From BusinessWeek:The company reported losing $85.5 million, or 26 cents per share, during the February-April period, which is when the nation's largest tax preparer sees the majority of its revenue. By comparison, the company earned $587.5 million, or $1.79, during the same period a year ago.H&R Block says it will sell its subprime lending operation to a private equity firm. More »
taxes
Avoid Big Name Tax Places
We haven't been getting many complaints about tax places this year but as far as we know, they still suck. They're known for messing some people's returns up pretty bad, or encouraging people to take questionable deductions. Like making up a child, for instance. Here's a walk down memory lane, a lane that's definitely shady... More »
refund anticipation loans
Tax Advance Loans On The Retreat
The number of refund anticipation loans declined 22.5% last year as consumers took advantage of cheaper and only slightly slower alternatives, NYT reports. More »
secondlife
Update: H&R Block In SecondLife To Push Its Online Tax Prep Service, "Tango"
Peter Klaus, with Fleishman-Hillard Digital, apparently worked with H&R Block on its SecondLife branch I blogged about yesterday morning. According to Klaus, the SecondLife version of H&R Block gives pretty good deals on services (for whatever those are worth), plus tax advisors available on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give free advice. More »
h&r block
H&R Block Opens Branch In SecondLife; Virtual Freakshows Line Up To Get Tax Advice
AllFinancialMatters reports that H&R Block is opening up H&R Block Island in SecondLife, where, according to the press release, there will be "digital tax professionals sharing free advice, providing access to the latest tax preparation products, and hosting tax-related events, tax time may never be the same." More »
taxcut
Free No-Frills Tax Prep Software From H&R Block
H&R Block is offering Tax Cut Basic federal tax preparation software to directly compete with TurboTax. It's free, for a price. More »
rfa
Avoid Tax Refund Anticipation Loans
The National Consumer Law Center and the Consumer Federation of America have issued a press release warning you to steer clear of Tax Refund Anticipation Loans (PDF):- Some of America's most cash-strapped taxpayers - those from low- and moderate-income families - spent nearly $1 billion in the latest year recorded for what is almost always an unnecessary product: the so-called "refund anticipation loan" at income tax time. With another tax season gearing up, consumer advocates at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and Consumer Federation of America (CFA) are warning taxpayers to steer clear of refund anticipation loans (RALs), one of the most avoidable tax-time expenses. New figures reveal that RALs drained about $960 million in loan fees, plus over $100 million in other fees, from the wallets of nearly 9.6 million American taxpayers in 2005. "Taxpayers can save themselves over a billion dollars by just saying 'no' to quick tax refund loans," says NCLC staff attorney Chi Chi Wu. "These loans take a chunk out of your hard earned tax refund, and they expose you to the risk of unmanageable debt if your refund doesn't arrive as expected."
h&r block
H&R Block's Freudian Slip
The Consumerist has its fair share of typos, but at least we don't make them in a fixed medium. More »
taxes
Two Free Tax Tools: DeductionPro and OrganizIT
Thanks to H&R Block, today is National Tax Advice day, and they're offering two free tax prep tools. More »
h&r block
H&R Block Leaves Guy With $3100 Bill
Travis used H&R Block's On-Line Tax Help last year, and due to an error on H&R Block's part...he's been hit with a $3100 tax bill for a deduction he took but was not qualified for. Travis didn't pay the extra $29 bucks for the "Peace of Mind guarantee", so Travis will be responsible for the bill. Whoops. H&R Block's included "Accurate Calculations Guarantee" covers "penalties and interest caused by such error." More »
taxes
Oxymoronically, H&R Block Teaches Tax Classes
With $174 and 11 weeks, H&R Block will teach you to fuck up tax returns like the pros. More »
california
