Experience with H&R Block's Tax Pro Go - anyone tried the questionnaire/upload service?

Do you think their "upfront pricing" is actually accurate? Or do they tend to find reasons to increase the price once they see your documents? Also wondering if their pros are actually experienced with small business deductions or mostly trained for basic W-2 stuff?

Their upfront pricing is generally accurate as long as you're honest in the questionnaire. If you indicate you have a simple return but then upload small business documents, then yes, the price will increase. The algorithm matches complexity with pricing. The tax pros at H&R Block do have varying levels of experience and specialization. Some focus primarily on W-2 employees while others specialize in small businesses or investment properties. The questionnaire helps match you with someone who has experience in your specific tax situation. That's why being thorough about mentioning your side business and home purchase is crucial - it ensures you get someone with relevant expertise.

Does it actually prepare your taxes or just analyze your documents? I'm confused about how this is different from TurboTax or other tax software.

I'm a bit skeptical. How accurate is this AI thing compared to an actual tax professional? Especially for business deductions which can be pretty nuanced. Did you have any issues with the IRS after using it?

It doesn't prepare your taxes like TurboTax - it analyzes your documents before you start preparing. Think of it like having a tax pro look over your forms and tell you what you're working with, what to watch for, and what you might miss. Then you can use that info in whatever tax software you prefer. The AI has been trained on thousands of tax documents and IRS guidelines, so it's pretty accurate for identifying deductions and credits. I was skeptical too, but I double-checked everything with IRS publications and it was spot on. No issues with the IRS - actually got a bigger refund than the previous year when I paid a preparer. The business deduction recommendations were all legitimate expenses I had forgotten about during the year.

How does this actually work? The IRS phone lines are notoriously jammed... are you saying this somehow puts you ahead in the queue? That seems impossible.

Yeah right. Nobody gets through to the IRS. I literally called 23 times last year and never spoke to a human. This sounds like a scam that charges you and then just puts you in the same hold queue as everyone else.

It uses a technology that navigates the IRS phone system automatically and waits on hold for you. When an agent finally picks up, it calls your phone and connects you. You don't skip the line - the service just waits in it for you so you don't have to listen to the hold music for hours. It's definitely not a scam. I was super skeptical too when I first heard about it. But what happens is they have a system that handles the waiting part, then when a real IRS agent comes on the line, it immediately calls your phone and connects you. I've used it three times now - shortest wait was 7 minutes, longest was around 45 minutes (which still beats the 2+ hours I spent last year trying to get through).

Was the process of uploading documents easy? And did they contact you with questions or just handle everything behind the scenes? Thanks for sharing your experience!

The document upload process was pretty straightforward - they have a secure portal where you can drag and drop files or take pictures with your phone. They categorize everything for you. My tax pro did contact me twice with questions. Once about some business expenses that needed clarification and another time about my home office deduction. The communication was all through their messaging system in the portal. After I answered those questions, they completed everything within about 3 days. Then they sent a draft for me to review before filing. I appreciated that they didn't just make assumptions and actually took the time to verify things they were unsure about.

I've used both. TurboTax Live Full Service was slightly more expensive ($229 vs $199 for H&R Block) but I found their interface more user-friendly. The tax pros seemed about the same level of expertise at both places. Main difference was TurboTax had more available time slots for video reviews where you could actually see/talk to your preparer.