H&R Block
Contents6
⚠️ Article status notice: This article has been marked as incomplete
This article needs additional work for its sourcing and verifiability to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. In particular:
- needs more references
This notice will be removed once the issue/s highlighted above have been addressed and sufficient documentation has been added to establish the systemic nature of these issues. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, please visit the Moderator's noticeboard, or the discord and post to the #appeals channel.
Learn more ▼
This article has been flagged due to verification concerns. While the topic might have merit, the claims presented lack citations that live up to our standards, or rely on sources that are questionable or unverifiable by our standards. Articles must meet the Moderator Guidelines and Mission statement; factual accuracy and systemic relevance are required for inclusion here!
Articles in this wiki are required to:
- Provide verifiable & credible evidence to substantiate claims.
- Avoid relying on anecdotal, unsourced, or suspicious citations that lack legitimacy.
- Make sure that all claims are backed by reliable documentation or reporting from reputable sources.
Examples of issues that trigger this notice:
- A topic that heavily relies on forum posts, personal blogs, or other unverifiable sources.
- Unsupported claims with no evidence or citations to back them up.
- Citations to disreputable sources, like non-expert blogs or sites known for spreading misinformation.
To address verification concerns:
- Replace or supplement weak citations with credible, verifiable sources.
- Make sure that claims are backed by reputable reporting or independent documentation.
- Provide additional evidence to demonstrate systemic relevance and factual accuracy. For example:
- Avoid: Claims based entirely on personal anecdotes or hearsay without supporting documentation.
- Include: Corporate policies, internal communications, receipts, repair logs, verifiable video evidence, or credible investigative reports.
If you believe this notice has been placed in error, or once the article has been updated to address these concerns, please visit the Moderator's noticeboard, or the #appeals channel on our Discord server: Join here.
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1955-01-25 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Financial services, Financial Technology |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.hrblock.com/ |
H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch.
As of 2018, H&R Block operates approximately 12,000 retail tax offices staffed by tax professionals worldwide. The company offers payroll, and business consulting services, consumer tax software, and online tax preparation/electronic filing from their website.
Consumer-impact summary
H&R Block was founded in 1955, in Kansas City, Missouri. The company went public in 1962 and expanded into online services and digital tax preparation software. It competes with other financial services and tax preparation companies such as Intuit. These tax preparation service companies lobby congress to promote tax filing complexity and reduce tax code simplicity to create a market for filing services.[1]
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the H&R Block category.
Fined for unfair conduct by the FTC
- Main article: link to the main CR Wiki article
In February 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an administrative complaint against H&R Block, alleging that the company engaged in deceptive marketing and unfair practices. The complaint centered on the company's advertisements for "free" online tax filing, which the FTC stated were misleading to consumers. The FTC alleged that H&R Block marketed its products as "free" when, in reality, they were not free for many consumers. The advertisements often contained language in fine print limiting the offer to "simple returns," a term the FTC noted was not clearly defined and whose definition changed multiple times in recent years.[2]
The Commission alleged that H&R Block designed its online products to present an "obstacle course" to consumers, pressuring them into overpaying for services. The upgrade process to more expensive products was seamless and automated, but the downgrade process to less expensive or free versions was manually obstructed. Users who wished to downgrade were required to contact customer support via chat or phone to process the request. The FTC noted that this created a significant time burden and disincentive for users attempting to avoid unnecessary fees. Furthermore, when a user successfully downgraded their service, H&R Block's system would delete all the tax data the consumer had previously entered. This forced the user to restart their tax return from scratch, a practice the FTC described as unfair and coercive.[2]
In January 2025, the FTC finalized a settlement order requiring H&R Block to pay $7 million to compensate harmed consumers. The settlement imposed several requirements on the company's future operations:
- Data Retention The company must stop deleting consumers' entered data when they downgrade to a cheaper product.
- Automated Downgrades By February 15, 2025, H&R Block must provide a simple, automated method (such as a chatbot or online tool) for consumers to downgrade without contacting live support.
- Advertising Disclosures The company must clearly disclose the percentage of taxpayers who qualify for "free" filing services in its advertisements, or state that a majority of taxpayers do not qualify.[2]
Products
Tax Preparation
- H&R Block Free Online (2008): A web-based filing service marketed for simple returns.
- H&R Block Deluxe (2008): Paid software marketed to homeowners and those with itemized deductions.
- H&R Block Premium (2008): Paid software marketed for investors and rental property owners.
- Tax Pro Review / Tax Pro Go (2019): Virtual services where a tax professional reviews or prepares the return remotely.
Financial Services
- Spruce (2022): A mobile banking platform and debit card introduced by H&R block including savings and debit services.
- Identity Shield (2015): A subscription service for tax identity theft protection and assistance.
See also
References
- ↑ Popken, Ben (23 Mar 2017). "TurboTax, H&R Block Spend Big Bucks Lobbying for Us to Keep Doing Our Own Taxes". NBC News. Archived from the original on 4 Jul 2025. Retrieved 5 Feb 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "H&R Block, In the Matter of". Federal Trade Commission. 2025-01-08. Archived from the original on 7 Nov 2025. Retrieved 2025-02-05.