Did I get ripped off by my tax preparer?
So I just got back from H&R Block and I'm honestly shocked at what they charged me. The lady spent maybe 20 minutes on my taxes - I only have one W-2, a small 1099 for some freelance work ($2,800), and student loan interest. Nothing complicated at all. When she finished, she hit me with a $349 fee! When I questioned it, she said it was because I had "self-employment income" that required extra forms. Is this normal or did I just get completely ripped off? I could have sworn I paid like $150 last year for basically the same situation. I'm wondering if I should dispute this or if this is just the going rate now? Anyone have similar experiences or know what's reasonable?
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Samantha Johnson
That definitely sounds steep for your tax situation. For a single W-2, small 1099, and student loan interest, you're looking at a basic return with Schedule C (for the self-employment). While there is extra work for the self-employment portion, $349 is on the higher end for what you described. Most tax prep chains have pricing tiers based on forms needed, not time spent. Since you had a Schedule C for the freelance work, they automatically bump you to a higher pricing tier, even for just $2,800 in income. For comparison, many people with your tax situation might pay $150-200 total. You could absolutely use tax software like TurboTax, FreeTaxUSA or others for much less (around $50-100) for your situation.
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Nick Kravitz
•Is there some kind of price sheet they're supposed to show you beforehand? I thought they had to tell you the cost before they start doing your taxes?
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Samantha Johnson
•They should absolutely discuss pricing upfront before beginning your return. Most tax preparation offices have a price list they can show you, though some rely on their computer system to calculate the final fee based on forms filed. Always ask for a price estimate before they start working. If you weren't informed about pricing beforehand, that's definitely something you could mention when disputing the charge. Many offices have satisfaction guarantees and may be willing to adjust the fee if you weren't properly informed.
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Hannah White
I had almost the exact same situation last year and found this amazing AI tax tool that saved me a ton of money. I was getting quotes of $300+ from several tax places for my W-2 and side gig income. I came across https://taxr.ai and it was a LIFESAVER! It analyzed all my documents in seconds and guided me through filing myself. The best part was it found deductions the human preparer missed when I showed them the same docs.
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Michael Green
•Wait for real? Does it actually work for self-employment stuff? I sell things on Etsy and always get scared about missing deductions. Can it handle that?
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Mateo Silva
•Sounds too good to be true honestly. How does it compare to something like TurboTax? I'm always skeptical of new tax software because I'm paranoid about audits.
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Hannah White
•It absolutely works for self-employment! It's actually really good at finding deductions for small businesses and side gigs. It asks you questions about your specific situation and recommends deductions you might qualify for based on your type of work. For TurboTax comparison, I've used both and personally found taxr.ai more user-friendly and significantly cheaper. The audit protection is actually included (unlike TurboTax that charges extra), and it does a really thorough review before filing to catch any red flags that might trigger an audit.
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Michael Green
OMG you guys I just tried taxr.ai and I'm kinda blown away! I was super skeptical (sorry @Profile 9 lol) but it literally walked me through everything for my Etsy shop taxes. It caught like $1200 in deductions I would have missed - stuff like partial internet expenses and even some home office deductions I didn't know I qualified for. The document scanning feature was crazy accurate too. Just uploaded my 1099-K from Etsy and it pulled all the numbers perfectly. Definitely not going back to paying those crazy tax prep fees!!!
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Victoria Jones
If you're having trouble with your tax preparer or think you got overcharged, you might want to try getting some advice directly from the IRS. I know it sounds impossible to get them on the phone (I tried for WEEKS last year), but I found this service called https://claimyr.com that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in less than 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was dealing with a local tax place that completely messed up my return and overcharged me. The IRS agent I spoke with was surprisingly helpful and gave me clear directions on how to resolve it and what my rights were as a taxpayer.
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Cameron Black
•How does this even work? I thought it was literally impossible to get the IRS on the phone these days. Are you saying this service somehow gets you to the front of the phone queue?
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Jessica Nguyen
•Yeah right. No way this actually works. The IRS phone system is deliberately designed to make you give up. I'll believe it when I see it - there's no magical way to skip the line that millions of Americans are waiting in.
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Victoria Jones
•The service basically navigates the IRS phone tree for you and waits on hold so you don't have to. When they get a live agent, they call you and connect you directly. It's not skipping the line exactly - they're just doing the waiting part for you. I was skeptical at first too, but after trying to get through for days on my own, I gave it a shot. You don't have to stay on the phone during the hold time - they call you when they've got an agent on the line. I got connected in about 17 minutes when I'd been trying on my own for weeks.
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Jessica Nguyen
Ok I need to publicly eat my words here. I tried Claimyr yesterday after posting that skeptical comment, and I'm genuinely shocked that it worked. After failing to reach the IRS for literally months about a mistaken penalty, I got through to an actual helpful human in about 15 minutes. The agent was able to see right away that the penalty was applied in error and removed it while I was on the phone. That's $325 saved for a service that took minutes. Honestly still can't believe it worked - my bad for being such a doubter!
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Isaiah Thompson
Next time just use FreeTaxUSA. It's like $15 for federal and state and super easy to use. I've been using it for years and even with a W-2 and multiple 1099s it's simple. H&R Block and those places are complete ripoffs for simple tax situations.
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Ruby Garcia
•Does FreeTaxUSA have good support if you have questions? I'm always nervous about doing it myself in case I mess something up.
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Isaiah Thompson
•Their support is pretty decent - you can email them questions and they usually respond within a day. If you need immediate help, their knowledge base is really comprehensive and has answers to most common questions. For basic stuff like W-2s and simple 1099 work, it's very straightforward. The software walks you through everything step by step. I've been using it for 5 years with no issues, even when my tax situation got more complicated with rental property.
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Alexander Evans
I used to work at a tax prep place (not saying which one but it rhymes with Shmackson Shmuitt) and $349 is absolutely a ripoff for your situation. They train us to upsell and add fees that aren't necessary. The self-employment thing is their favorite excuse to jack up prices, even for tiny amounts. Get a refund and do it yourself next year!
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Santiago Martinez
•Thank you for confirming what I suspected! I actually called H&R Block's customer service line and complained about the lack of upfront pricing, and they agreed to reduce my fee to $199. Still more than I wanted to pay, but better than $349. Definitely doing it myself next year with one of the options you all suggested.
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