Comments on: H&R Block Catering to Younger Taxpayers

By: Corinne

Corinne — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:39:39 +0000

I dont know about anyone else but I have used HR Block for 6 years and never had a problem until I used Tango. What a joke. You guys should put this through more UI Testing and usability before you make this available. The interface was confusing, the live chat slow, and very buggy. I will never use Tango again and think I might even move away from HRBlock now after I was charged $70 for the bad experience.

By: Rita Arens

Rita Arens — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:16:39 +0000

Hi there. I wrote the post about being done having all the babies, and I’m the editor for Tango. I’m glad you’re going to give it a shot. While younger is of course good, we’re really looking for people who want a more entertaining tax preparation experience. Taxes – usually not so entertaining.

Let us know what you think!

By: owner

owner — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:24:08 +0000

Why is it that HR block has law suite’ in 50 state from Attorney generals? Perhaps because they are ripping people off? oh yeah and what about their mortgage company that went belly up? C’mon. I really dont blame them like i do the people that walk in there. Some of them know better.

By: matt

matt — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:03:22 +0000

Do not just walk into an H & R block. They charge you way more than you might think. VA + DC Tax Returns + a form to deduct student interested ended up being $230. Never again.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:20:12 +0000

you inspired me to check out the site. In their effort to be cute, they’re factually in accurate in the first video I watched: if you’re filing a 1040EZ, you don’t need any receipts as they suggest. Truthfully, you don’t need them or a tax preparer if you filing an EZ. I turned down a client like that yesterday – no one can make it worth it to do your EZ. Double-check your SSN and your math (if doing it by hand) and you’re eliminated the most common mistakes. Don’t be intimidated.

Sure, H&R is going after young people (as well as anyone else who can use a computer.) But if you can use a computer and want to do it yourself, you can do it for a lot less than $80 (like free.)

To me, their Tango product falls in the middle: much too expensive considering you do all the work and it’s not reviewed by a professional. Keep in mind, they’re not going to find the mistakes you might make or the deductions you might miss. Rather, they’re only going to answer the questions you ask. If you put garbage in, you’ll get garbage out.

Either do it yourself and save the money (if your return is simple), or save the temptation to believe you’re getting something you’re not and higher an affordable CPA. They’re out there – especially if you find one who is targeting young people.