If you encounter issues with display, such as not seeing selection boxes, check your screen resolution. Both Windows and Mac minimum requirement for the screen resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels or higher. At a lower resolution H&R Block software will have problem with display such as not properly displaying selection boxes. Screen resolution can be changed on your control panel by change PC's display settings.
I just finished a preliminary tax return and below are my observations. Note: the forms are not final until January 10, 2013.
1. H&R Block starts the interview process with an annoying up-sell pitch, recommending an upgrade from Deluxe to Premium even when it is not necessary.
It would have better if they waited until the financial information is entered and offered the Premium version only to those for whom it might make sense.
What is the difference between Premium and Deluxe? The Premium version offers advanced tools for self-employed and rental property owners: cost basis of home sales, dividents, gifts, and inheritance assets. It has advanced schedule C guidance to maximize deductions for self-employment income. And finally it has guidance for rental property income and expenses. The rest of the Premium package is the same as Deluxe.
Note that the Deluxe package has support for self-employed income as well as stock sale cost basis calculations. This year I had to do both, and I found the guidance to be sufficient to complete the forms.
2. As of 11/19/2012 videos for tax law changes were not available yet (the prompt said coming soon).
3. Minor pet peeve: Help is not context sensitive. For example, when you click on "learn more" about a particular topic the general help window opens but it does not show help topics for the specific topic that you were working on. Instead you need to search and know which words to use locate the relevant topics.
4. Good news: DeductionPro 2012 is now integrated into H&R Block, you no longer need to go to H&R web site.
5. H&R Block provides you some guidance for completing Form 1116 (foreign tax credit, for example from mutual funds). However, you need to keep switching between whole-form view to enter data and then back to interview to read the instructions. Even though the form where you can enter data is visible at the same time as instructions you cannot enter data into it until you switch into whole-form view. This is cumbersome, but at least there is some guidance for this form.
6. Copy and Paste from Interview screens is not possible. Sometimes I wish to do it for some issue as a reminder to myself. My solution is to do PrintScreen (holding ctl key, shift key, and PrintScreen key at the same time). This generates an image of the screen, which I paste into paint or photo editing software which I can print or save for later.
7. I don't use the default location for the tax returns due to how I set up my backup software. The H&R Block software does not initially remember this new location on the second start of the application, it told me I have no returns. I needed to pick the return manually from the File menu, as it did remember recently used files. The third time I started the software, it finally knew the location of the tax return file.
8. I use large font option on my monitor display and in the past had display issues (some things were displayed on top of each other). This year all forms displayed properly with this option. Nice!
9. I purchased H&R Block Deluxe plus State. This version entitles you to 5 free federal state e-files. There is no free e-file for the state return. If you want to e-file you will need to pay a fee of $19.95 to e-file each state return. This charge can be avoided by printing the forms and mailing them in via post office.
SPECIAL NOTE for NY state residents: NY state residents can e-file state returns for free.
10. The price on this package changes day to day. I found a nice tools that shows history of Amazon prices. If you enter "price history alert" in Google it will come up at the top, it has the word camel in the name. I find this tool very helpful. I just looked up that the price last year fluctuate between $20 and the list price of $44.99. During the tax preparation season it hit the $20 mark on three different dates. You can set up an alert tool to email you when your desired price has been reached.
11. For folks trying to download State Forms -- they are not yet available. Last year state forms became available on January 16.
If you go to the Software Update Center on H&R website you will see a section called State Updates. Under there you there is a link called "Forms Available". If you click on that, it will show a table that shows availability of forms for each State.
When the state forms will become available they can be downloaded by selecting the State Tab and then clicking on the button labeled "Buy" (a little scary since we already paid for it) but then "buy" will turn into "update" and the forms will be downloaded to your computer.
A note for those who use the digital download rather than the boxed edition
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This year I am using a boxed edition of the software. Last year I used a digital download and run into a glitch a solution to which I want to include again for those who might run into the same issue this year.
After I installed the software and started it for the first time it prompted me to enter a key-code. The prompt said that I should have received in the email after purchasing the software, however the email I received from Amazon did not contained a key-code. I had to call Amazon support and they told me that this information can be found following these steps
1) Log into Amazon
2) Select Your Account at the top right of the page
3) Select Games and Software downloads which is towards the bottom of the long page you see when you log in
4) Then under H&R software entry you will see the key-code that you need to enter to unlock the software
I have been a H&R Block/TaxCut user for many years. The interview process is helpful in reminding you things you might have forgotten. 2012 H&R Block package addressed a couple of my old pet peeves (for example, integration with DeductionPro). So I am quite pleased with it and recommend it!
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★★
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