H&R Block

This is my 2^nd year that my husband and I have done our taxes with Yvonne at H&R block. Both years she was incredibly patient and accommodating. She answered any questions we had which made us feel absolutely comfortable doing our taxes with her. We have had no problems thus far.

Great experience! Tony was very helpful and was actually able to find some things that have been missed in previous tax returns. He was very professional and great at explaining things, making it very understandable in layman’s terms.
I highly recommend Tony as he will make your experience less cumbersome and leave you feeling more comfortable with the tax return process.

DO NOT USE H&R BLOCK. This is a long read, but a very important one about their standards and practices.
Mariam Abdel Massih prepared my tax return in February 2015. Because of her blatant mistake reviewing a Roth IRA rollover form, I had to pay back the IRS and the State of California a total of $ 2,000. Because I did not purchase their Peace of Mind plan, H&R Block did not provide me a reimbursement of $ 2,000 for this mistake.
Mariam showed me what my tax refund was going to be before submitting the return. I expected it to be more because of other deductions and expressed this concern to her. She goes back to the Roth IRA form and immediately states that the taxable amount was wrong. She alters the deductions and my income amounts on the return. This resulted in a MUCH bigger tax refund. I asked her repeatedly if she was certain that the form was wrong. She called over her supervisor, Tyrone Parker to reconfirm.
Tyrone looks at the form for two seconds, then says that the form is wrong. Mariam proceeds with the altered tax return, and high-​fives me for getting a bigger refund. She is beaming with joy at this point as she is CONVINCED that the Roth IRA form was wrong.
Mariam tells me to call the company in charge of my Roth IRA the following business day to let them know that their form was wrong. When I called that company, they corrected me and let me know that the form was CORRECT. Imagine my anger and embarrassment when the representative explained how a Roth IRA rollover is a taxable event (I pre-​pay the taxes on the Roth IRA rollover, which resulted in the rollover counting as income, and thus the smaller tax refund.)
I seriously question the competency of the tax advisors at this particular H&R Block. After a five-​minute explanation from the IRA specialist on the phone, I completely understood why my true tax refund was much lower and why I would have to pay the government back in the amount of $ 2,000. What I do not understand is how two supposed tax specialists at this H&R Block did not take a moment to reflect on what they believed was an error on a form to properly trouble-​shoot the matter. This was not a new, complicated tax code that went into effect for 2015. This was not an extremely complex return. If this H&R Block looks through the original paperwork that I provided them, they will find the form that lists the IRA rollover as a Roth IRA.
I called H&R Block back and notified Tyrone of the Roth IRA rollover error. His response? «We had issues with other rollover forms because they were wrong.» After this ordeal was over, I realized that there may be other customers whose tax returns were also altered because of the string of «incorrect» rollover forms. If this isn’t the biggest red flag ever for a tax preparation company, then I don’t know what is.
I went back to H&R Block the night I called the IRA company and met with a different tax specialist. Sidney Nelson handled my case in a very professional manner and admitted repeatedly throughout the appointment that what Mariam did was a terrible mistake. I cancelled next year’s appointment with her and decided NOT to follow up directly with Tyrone Parker, the supervisor, as directed since he was part of the problem.
I filed a complaint with H&R Block over the phone. I asked for a refund on the tax preparation fee and $ 2,000 in compensation for Mariam’s negligent mistake of altering dollar amounts on my tax return. I called every Monday for an update. I finally heard back during the 3^rd week. Because I did not pay extra for their Peace of Mind coverage, H&R Block refunded only the tax preparation fee that I paid.
This led me to question H&R Block’s business practices. It’s as though Peace of Mind gives their tax advisors the green light to be sloppy with their customers’ tax returns; without that coverage, they are not liable for such mistakes. I didn’t purchase it because these are tax professionals. I understand that I should have purchased it, but it’s very shady. For a company that prides itself on accuracy, they sure burned the hell out of me.
Recommendations for honest, competent tax preparation services in Long Beach are welcomed. Thanks for reading this. Please be careful with your tax return or it will cost you money in the end. :-(