Why has H&R Block become so sketchy with their pricing and services?

I honestly thought the "Peace of Mind" was the whole reason to go to professionals! Isn't standing behind your work the bare minimum? And the refund transfer fee just feels like a gotcha charge - they never mentioned it clearly before. Do you think there's any way to report the inconsistent advice I was getting about the retirement withdrawal? It's pretty concerning that they can't agree on something that significant.

The "Peace of Mind" is primarily about representation if you're audited, not just accuracy (though accuracy should be expected regardless). It's definitely a service that used to be bundled and is now separated to increase revenue. You could report the inconsistent advice to the office manager or district manager. All tax professionals should be applying the same tax laws consistently. Retirement distributions have specific rules about early withdrawal penalties, and if they're giving contradictory information, that's a legitimate concern that higher-ups should address. You can also request your client file which contains all documentation from previous years.

Does it actually handle complex situations though? I have rental property income, some stock options, and did a Roth conversion last year. Can taxr.ai deal with all that or is it just for basic W-2 situations?

I'm skeptical of these online services. Who's actually looking at your tax documents? Are they actual CPAs or just some algorithm? And what happens if the IRS does question something?

It actually handles pretty complex returns - I have 1099 contracting income, investment accounts, and a home office deduction. The system has specific modules for different income types including rental properties and Roth conversions. You upload your documents and it identifies and categorizes everything automatically. The system uses both AI technology and human review by tax professionals. When you submit documents, they're analyzed by their system but there's actual tax pros reviewing anything complex or unusual. If the IRS questions something, they provide audit assistance as part of their service (not an extra charge like H&R Block now does).

How does this actually work? Do they have some special connection to the IRS or something? I'm confused about how they can get through when nobody else can.

This sounds like a scam. There's no way anyone can magically get through to the IRS faster. They probably just keep you on hold the same amount of time and charge you for it. Has anyone actually verified this works? I'm super doubtful.

They don't have a special connection to the IRS - they use technology that automatically navigates through the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. Their system constantly calls and monitors the best times to get through, then when they reach an agent, they connect you directly to that person. They don't keep you on hold at all - that's the point. You go about your day and they call you when they've reached a human. I was skeptical too, but after trying to call the IRS myself multiple times and never getting through, I was desperate. I literally got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes after using their service, compared to the hours I wasted trying on my own.

Can freetaxusa handle retirement stuff well? I've got some 401k questions that H&R Block gave me weird answers for too.

Yes, freetaxusa handles retirement accounts really well. I rolled over an old 401k and had questions about how to report it, and their guidance was clear and straightforward. They have really good explanations built in for different retirement scenarios. For basic situations, they're super easy to use, but they also handle more complex stuff like investments, rental properties, etc. Their interface isn't as flashy as TurboTax, but it's clear and straightforward.

I had the same EXACT experience with Jackson Hewitt this year. Walked in, got quoted one price, then by the end they had added like $89 in random fees. Left and did it myself with TaxAct.

It's unfortunately the standard business model now. They advertise one rate to get you in the door, then hit you with document fees, processing fees, e-file fees, and "protection" services. The refund transfer fee is particularly sneaky because they present it as a convenience rather than an extra charge. Tax preparation has become a massive upselling operation rather than a professional service. If you're comfortable with software, it's almost always cheaper and often more accurate. The big chains are mostly focused on volume and squeezing extra revenue from each customer.