H&R Block complaint: Over Charged

Last year (2019 tax year) we received a discount for using a 1040-SR (for seniors), both of us are retired with no W-2’s, little income (AGI $25K) and zero tax rate. Total charge last year for Federal and State was $160, all of which I mentioned to them this year before they started.

This year, same 1040-SR, AGI increased only $200 and everything else was pretty much the same. Took them less than an hour and the charge went from $160 to over $525. No explanation why the 325% increase and they refused to provide an itemized list of charges because they didn’t want that info to get in the hands of their competition.

According to their ads, no surprises, “Upfront, transparent pricing – With us, you’ll know the price before you start. You can count on it.”

Before they started, I told them what I was charged last year and that the return should be pretty much the same. So much for no surprises! If that’s how they treat their repeat customers, I won’t be repeating next year. Way over priced!

BTW, reviewing my Schedule B, I see two Interest entries for $1 each and another one for just $4. Does this really need to be reported or are they just padding the billing by charging for each 1099-INT?