H&R Block At Home 2009 Premium Federal + State + eFile [Formerly TaxCut]

I have both the Windows and the Mac platform. H&R has been producing an excellent Tax product that work smoothly on both platforms. I use my H&R on my Windows at my business and then bring it home and load on my Mac and continue without a problem. Mac users know that Intuit, the producer of Turbo Tax, has brought us many years of the disfunctional Quicken products and false promises of new products for years. And Window users know Intuit (producers of Turbo Tax) users are forced to pay and update to products that don't perform as well because Intiut discontinues the ability of the programs to fully function after a few years. This company has a lot of cash but prefers to spend its time figuring how to ring an extra buck out of the user rather than fulfilling the users needs.
I use my H&R Tax product to assist family and friends in the preparing their taxes. If you want to use Turbo Tax on more than a couple of computers. The Turbo Tax program won't by design load on another computer without purchasing another copy. Too bad for you if you have a computer crash. You still have to pay them when you file based on how many files you pay for in the package. Turbo Tax costs more than the H&R.
H&R is user friendly. You can load your last year tax information from other tax preparations programs without a problem. If you a first time user just take your last years file and fill in the information using your new data. It's not that hard. If you have a question give them a call. There is a lot of support on line as well.
The H&R program is performing smoothly again this year. I file personally a tax return of at least 27 pages. I had a high end tax accountant do my taxes years ago. It was expensive. They made mistakes. That meant not only was my federal return messed up but then the state started sending me letters for years. The last straw was when they called me up on Easter and said they said they couldn't finish my taxes on time to file tomorrow even though they had my well organized data 8 weeks ago.
My sister was blind and a tax service prepared her taxes with a written guarantee that they would pay if they made a mistake. When I went over her return they had given the IRS an extra $100 (in case they made a mistake) in such a way that the IRS would not be returning the $100 as an error. H&R tax program picked it up and we filed again.
When you fill out your Taxes with the H&R you have an audit program which can pick up errors and as you go through the questions so you might see ideas on how you can qualify for deduction for this or next years. It sure has helped me.
I don't work or am not related to anyone that works for or own company stock. I have never gone to a H&R Block preparer.
H&R block tax programs are reasonable priced and well written with the customer needs their first concern.

I have used H&R Blocks tax program for many years and have always been happy with it. This year is no exception. It works great on my mac. My taxes are complicated because I have rental properties (and in the past my own business as well)--but it makes preparing my taxes a breeze---and way cheaper than hiring someone.

You can choose to import data or enter all data manually. I actually enter mine in manually as that is my preference. (actually, to clarify, i import previous years taxes but manually enter w-2s, charitable contribution, rental income and expenses, etc)

This includes 5 free federal efiles (which isn't as good, in my opinion, as when it included 1 state and 1 federal). The state program is included with this but if you want to efile you have to pay for that.

For anyone that has to pay state taxes in addition to federal, it is great to have the two programs. Essentially, the state taxes are filled out by the time you get done with the federal--with the exception of a few questions that you have to answer. You can always purchase the state later rather than getting them together, however, i have found that it is more expensive to do it that way.

If you haven't used tax software before or are new to this brand---it is super duper easy to use. They have questions and you fill in the blanks. You can get more information and help with any topic you need. You can also get the actual publication information from the IRS. Tax preparation may sound intimidating, but with a program like this it is very simple.

With H&R block you also get access to a tax advisor for free (for 1 issue)--which can be helpful and is an advantage of this vs. other brands.

In addition you get audit assistance with this if you efile--although hopefully you will never need it.

Even if you have difficult taxes, don't be scared to try this product before going to a professional. You will most likely find that it is much easier than you think. And H&R block offers a money back guarantee so you really have nothing to lose.

Updates are free and essentially automatic--it does ask you permission to update--but that is pretty much the extent of it.

For safety purposes I always back up my taxes to a CD AND load the tax software and my taxes on a second computer--perhaps a bit neurotic but i'd rather be safe. It is extremely easy to do back ups. Also, I have several years of taxes loaded onto my computer and when i switched from primarily PC's to primarily MACs i was able to transfer all of my taxes over without a problem or hassle.

Because you get 5 free efiles, you can do your friends taxes if you want to be nice. I always register the product in my name but usually do 4 different returns. You can also choose to print and file returns if you would like also.

Another feature I like is that i can do "what if" scenarios--i will go in and change numbers to see how it effects my taxes so i can better estimate for future years.

H&R Block also will give you tips/warnings/suggestions if there are any red flags or errors on your return.

UPDATE: as of 2/22 I have successfully efiled 3 federal and state returns. i did not have any issues with efiling at all. although, i realized i made an error earlier in this review because when i went to file, i realized you get audit support if you efile or paper file--as long as you used the program to help you on your taxes.

Went from Turbo Tax to this. Extremely easy. And if you need asssitance, you can actually speak to someone who speaks the English language. Also, no extra fee for e file.

I used Turbotax for Home and Business for years. This year after reading some negative reviews decided to give H&R Block Premium a go (we need Schedule C). It was cheaper and frankly I thought it a bit easier to use (in comparison with prior years of TT). The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is, much like prior versions of Turbo Tax, the information for the State Form wasn't as helpful/detailed. I can understand why that might be, but for the non-accountant a little more guidance there would be nice, especially because I find our state's form to be a little less clear than federal forms so if anything more help is needed there. I move through everything fairly quickly which is nice. And unlike previous versions of TT I don't have to pay extra for audit support.

I think going forward I'll likely stick with H&R software.

I have used H&R Block's TaxCut for years, so I purchased this program again this year, but needed the Premium version since I started a daycare in early 2009. This was the first time I purchased it from Amazon, but I couldn't pass up the free shipping, plus it was $5 less than in stores! I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do my own taxes because of the daycare, but it was so easy to use and asked me all the right questions. I highly recommend this product. It was easy, fun, a lot cheaper than going to an accountant, and I am confident that I am getting the best return I can get.

I have used Tax Cut for years, but will soon be looking for a new tax program. This year's version of H&R Block At Home appears to have been rushed to market, as I have experienced a number of bugs, including an inability to eFile. What is worse, my attempts to solve these issues with the customer service arm of H&R Block have been both time consuming and profoundly frustrating. My suggestion: give this product a wide berth, find another program, and save yourself the money and the grief. Taxes are stressful enough without having to deal with a shoddy product and a company that does not seem to care about its clientele.

There are two bugs that affect H&R Block At Home 2009 for some Apple Mac users. Since both problems prevent customers from updating the program from the H&R Block web servers, customers must correct both problems manually before any updates from H&R Block are possible.

Who it affects: Mac customers who both: 1) have multiple login accounts on the Mac and 2) attempt to run H&R Block At Home 2009 from a non-admin account.

Problem #1: During the installation process the initial update fails due to file permissions. Error message is: "1008:5,-5000 Access denied error. You do not have enough access privileges for this installation"

Resolution: 1) Stop the program installation and log in under the admin account, 2) open a Finder window, 3) open the Applications folder, 4) uninstall the H&R Block 2009 program by dragging the icon to the Trash, 5) in the Finder window open the Utilities folder, 6) run the Disk Utility program, 7) select your hard drive as the disk upon which to operate, 8) click on the "Repair Disk Permissions" button and wait for that process to complete, 9) reinstall the H&R Block 2009 program under the admin account.

Problem #2: When running H&R Block 2009 using a non-admin login account, the program crashes immediately upon launch due to file permissions. Error message is: "Initialization Failed. Exception thrown during initialization: File open failed. File = /Users/Shared/H&R Block/2009/update.tim in open:MacFileWriterImpl"

Resolution: 1) Exit the program and log in under the admin account, 2) open a Finder window, 3) open the Macintosh HD icon, 4) open the Users folder, then the Shared folder, then the H&R Block folder, 5) right-click on the 2009 folder, 6) select "Get Info" on the menu, 7) on the pop-up window in the "Sharing & Permissions" section set ALL permissions that say "Read Only" to instead say "Read & Write", 8) return to the Finder window and open the 2009 folder, 9) right-click on the update.tim file, 10) select "Get Info" on the menu, 11) on the pop-up window in the "Sharing & Permissions" section set ALL permissions that say "Read Only" to instead say "Read & Write".

Upon successful resolution of both of these problems the customer will be able to run H&R Block 2009 from a non-admin account to do their taxes. As of the date of this note however (1/22/2010) all program updates must still be made using the admin account.

I discovered and diagnosed this on my own machine. Fortunately I'm a geek and so was able to figure out the problem & share it with others. Obviously H&R Block did not test this scenario before they shipped the program. Dunno if a similar problems exists on Windows machines. Also dunno if there will be further problems when I download & install the State program. I haven't gotten that far yet.

UPDATE Problem #3: I installed the Maryland state program tonight (1/27) when it became available for download. Given the problems above I used the admin account to do the install and then switched back to my normal account. Ran the program: no Maryland state tax program installed! And you're only allowed to download it one time without paying again! Turns out the state program downloads into the directory ~/Library/Application Support/H&RBlock/2009/ (for non-techies ~ means starting at your home directory) and a non-shared plugin is created. This thwarts other accounts from using the state program.

Resolution: Using a Finder window in the admin account copy the file ~/Library/Application Support/H&RBlock/2009/Completed Updates/md.dmg (for other states replace md.dmg with your state's abbreviation e.g. va.dmg for Virginia.) Paste this into a shared directory such as Macintosh HD/Users/Shared. Go back into your normal account and copy that same file from the Shared directory into your own ~/Library/Application Support/H&RBlock/2009/Completed Updates/ directory. Double click on that file (md.dmg in my case.) A new window will pop up and you'll see a new file which starts with your state's two-letter abbreviation. In my case it was called MD.TCstate09. Double click on that file. Another window will pop up which says it is installing the state plug-in. After that, you'll be able to use the state program under your normal user account as you intended.

Don't ask me how to update all of this mess at this point when H&R Block is ready to push out new program updates. Do you use the admin account? The user account? Who knows? It might even depend upon whether you are updating the Federal or the State return. What a mess!

H&R Block really blew it this year on multi-user account support, at least on the Macs. I tried relaying this to their Customer Service (3 phone calls and 2 online Chat sessions) but they had no one who understood the Macs and no way for me to email to them my diagnosis and solutions. They were nice and tried to be helpful but I'm not sure they got exactly what I was saying. I hope so though.

I have liked H&R Block in the past and they are cheaper than TurboTax. This year, however, makes it difficult to remain a loyal customer. We'll see what I do in tax year 2010.

Anyway, I hope my pain is able to help other Mac users get up and running.

After two hours on the telephone with customer support this software could not be successfully installed. The customer service rep was GREAT! Clear English, located in Kansas City, technically VERY knowledgeable and extremely patient and understanding. It's a shame he did not have a better product to support. I have returned this software to Amazon for a refund.

I've been a TurboTax (Deluxe) user for years, and have been overall satisfied with it. Having said that, it is expensive, and this year I was considering upgrading to the TurboTax Premier version or a similar product. Before doing so, I decided to explore other options, with the goal being to get the simplest and cheapest package that would do what I needed, was reliable, and accurate. First, I downloaded the free version of TaxACT, and found it to be a reasonable package, but lacked confidence in its ability to handle the state, so didn't go ahead with it by buying the Deluxe version and State addon. In reading reviews on the various products (TurboTax, TaxACT, and H&R Block), it seeemed the H&R Block package got the overall best reviews, so I decided to buy it and give it a try... For me, that was a mistake.

The good: THe H&R Block package installed without problems, and was fairly easy to adapt to. Entering information for the Federal return was relatively straightforward, and it produced the expected results. I bought the Premium package because in addition to filing 'long form', itemized deductions, and investment income, this year I will be reporting rental income and expenses and associated depreciation. Had it not been an out of state property and I was reporting only Federal, I'd have stopped here, and given the H&R software a slightly better review...

The bad: Because of the rental property being out of state, I must report to California as a nonresident, with only the rental income and expenses subject to CA taxes. This is where the disappointments began. The H&R Block software offered #in my opinion# limited guidance, and one reporting error. I think I could have overridden the error, but chose not to, and instead will go back to TurboTax. I also found the H&R Block software more cumbersome to navigate, particularly when restarting or going back to check or edit prior entries.

Overall, I'd rate them:

1) TaxACT - for Federal, Simple, inexpensive, accurate. #I did not try the State version...# Interesting note: I ran the returns (Federal portion) with TaxACT (Free) and H&R Block (Premium), and compared them. Results were identical, except that the H&R Block program included an additional form. Some digging into the IRS instructions showed that the form was not required in my situation. For this, I give TaxACT an additional *plus* for keeping the return simple. Maybe H&R Block includes it to make the return seem more complex than it really is.

2) TurboTax - Tried and true, easy to navigate. I am using the Deluxe version (vs. Premier) again this year, and even with rental property, find it completely adequate.

3) H&R Block #Premium# - Worked OK for Federal. Included unnecessary Federal form. Inaccuracies and lack of guidance for State allocation #as Non Resident#. Difficult to navigate, even for Fed #going back to update previous entries#. Overall, a disappointment. I'll just chalk up the cost of the package to a learning experience. The "two stars" rating is based only in its ability to handle simpler returns. As I was using the Premium version, even that rating is generous.

I now wish I had tried the TaxACT instead of H&R Block - it might have done the trick! But after the failings of H&R Block, I didn't want to risk another disappointment, and went back to what works. Maybe next year, I'll give it a try...

Very decent product. Needs improved integration with State tax forms. Does not include free e-file for State tax.