Asking which tax software is right for you is a little like choosing between Coca-Cola or Pepsi. They’re both cola drink giants and extremely well known, but it boils down to your personal preference on taste (and sometimes price).
To compare these two tax giants though is not quite as easy as a drink choice but we’ll break it down into three categories: Price Differences, User Experience, and General Support & Audits for both TurboTax vs H&R Block.
Price Differences
TurboTax
Free Edition: Lets you file a 1040 and a state return. Schedules 1-6 are not included making this better for people who don’t claim deductions besides the standard deduction like earned income tax credit or child tax credit.
Paid Self-Serve Editions: There are 3 (Deluxe, Premier, and Self-Employed) that range from $59.99 to $119.99 which will have you complete the form yourself and caters to those that don’t have a simple W2. You can save your progress at any time and come back to it to pick up where you left off.
CPA Paid Editions: Real CPAs can Assist & Review your return or users can choose Full-Service mode where the tax return will be completed for you. A live person helps you with this. Price ranges from $79.99 to $289.99 with $39.99 per state.
State Returns: $0 for the free edition and $44.99 per state for Deluxe, Premier, and Self-Employed versions.
H&R Block
Free Edition: Lets you file a 1040 form along with Schedules 1-6 if you need to itemize.
Paid Self-Serve Editions: There are 3 (Deluxe, Premium, and Self-Employed) that range from $49.99 to $104.99 and you can save your progress whenever you want.
Tax Pro Review: Choose this service if you want one of their tax pros to personally review, sign, and file your return for $144.99 federal filing + $39.99 per state filing.
State Returns: $29.99 per state for the free edition and $39.99 per state for Deluxe, Premium, and Self-Employed.
In a nutshell
For comparing the free editions, Turbo Tax is great for those that have simple W-2s and won’t need to itemize deductions that require Schedules 1-6. The state return for the free edition is also free.
For H&R Block, their free edition offers more forms than TurboTax for itemization but the cost of the state return is $29.99. It really depends on what you personally need and if the extra $30 is worth it for more forms.
For comparing the paid editions, TurboTax has a lot more options under the sun than H&R Block which could get overwhelming but their clear plan breakdowns make it very easy to understand.
User Experience
Regardless of which tax software you use, there’s only one entity that calls the shots on how the calculations work on a tax return – the IRS.
So you’ll typically get the same numerical “answer” unless there’s some major technical error. However, since there are a lot of different ways to feed information into the system, we’ll take a look at the user experience for each software.
TurboTax
TurboTax is considered THE most user-friendly software on the current market which makes them a popular choice. Their interface is like an interview Q&A and they ask questions in the simplest way possible that makes it less stressful. You’re also allowed to answer questions in other sections too giving you the flexibility to move around.
H&R Block
H&R Blocks interface is fairly straightforward as well but the process moves in a step by step method. If you’re the type to like being able to skip around in the forms, you might feel confined in their linear process.
In a nutshell
Both provide the ability to import photos etc for W-2s to help complete your forms faster.
TurboTax’s self serve paid editions (Deluxe, Premier, and Self-Employed) offer ItsDeductible, which lets you quickly find deduction values of donated items like clothes, household, etc. The Self-Employed plan lets you keep tabs on expenses via Quickbooks, giving you the ability to store receipt photos and mileage tracking on your phone.
H&R Block’s Self-Employed plan will let you import Uber driver tax info and uses StrideTax to keep track of expenses.
General Support & Audits
In addition to the user experience, you want to know how much support you’ll get during the tax filing process. After all, people are commonly afraid of filling in the wrong number, field or getting audited when doing their taxes.
TurboTax
There is a huge knowledge database on the TurboTax website where you can easily search for tips, video tutorials and ask the community online if you’re comfortable with research.
For even more personalized service, there is TurboTax Live included in the Assist & Review and Full-Service paid plans. This gives a 1-on-1 review with a CPA or enrolled agent (trained agents) along with unlimited tax advice. The support is all live, so you’ll be able to see the person but your side will be protected as they only see your screen.
They also have an “offline” version where you can get answers via email. With TurboTax Live, you’ll get access to tax advice year-round (it doesn’t just end on April 15) as well.
TurboTax also gives every user free audit guidance from a tax pro but if you need to be represented for the IRS, then their audit defense product, Max Defend & Restore is an additional $39.99.
H&R Block
H&R Block also has a live service called “Ask a Pro” that gives unlimited chat or phone support with a tax pro. For free and Deluxe users, this service is an additional $39.99 and for Premium and Self-Employed, it’s $49.99.
There is also a Tax Pro Review add-on, which is their version of a 1-on-1 service but doesn’t include tax advice year-round nor will you be able to see the person as it’s via a message center or a phone call. It’s an additional $49.99 for free users, $79.99 for Deluxe, and $89.99 for Premium and Self-Employed plans.
If you want to purchase it as its own plan, then it’ll set you back $119.99 and $36.99 for each state return.
For potential audits, H&R Block offers something called the Worry-Free Audit Support which includes guidance, audit prep, and in-person representation for $19.99
In a nutshell
The main difference between the two is based on if you’re comfortable with getting advice and help online, with the option of getting live help on-screen or via email with year-round tax advice with TurboTax or if you like being able to physically go into a brick&mortar store for in-person support if something goes wrong at H&R Block.
See Also: Updated Tax Brackets for 2020 Released By the IRS
With the breakdown of the price, user experience, and general support, we hope this helps narrow down your choice between the two tax software giants!
- Easy-to-use tax filing software
- Extremely large database of searchable knowledge, video tutorials, and community access for help
- Intuitive Q&A style makes filling out forms very user-friendly
- Option for live help from their tax pros
- No brick & mortar locations if you prefer to walk into a branch
