The job is sales, not tax prep - Tax Professional H&R Block Employee Review

2.0
Nov 29, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great coworkers, local and district management. Lots of training for little money after the first year. The nicest clients you could hope for.

Cons

You get hired as a tax professional and then find out you are really a salesperson. First, Block does not believe in hiring a marketing team so they have us deliver flyers. They want us to call every client the first couple of weeks and make them all set up appointments. If they don't, we have to keep calling them back until they do. If that's not bad enough, Block runs a call center in some foreign country that calls the clients more than we do, sets up appointments in the wrong office or when someone isn't working, which means we have an irate client on our hands and we get blamed for it. When we finally get to do taxes, the push is to sell extras, not just do taxes. Block used to say we wanted to help our clients meet their financial goals by helping them hold on to their refund. Now we want to get every dime out of that refund by letting them have fees come out of it - for an extra price, and sell audit protection that pays their taxes - which rarely does since most mistakes are on their part for not bringing documents in or being honest about dependents. But wait, there's more! Every year they make preparers do free 1040EZ returns and Second Looks reviews to get clients in the door, and not only do preparers not get paid to do these things, it takes time away from working with paying clients. Since it is a full commission job and time is money, it costs us money to do these things for free. Do it if you love doing taxes and helping people. Otherwise there are a lot better employers out there.

Explore other reviews about H&R Block

5.0
May 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great coworkers in the office

Cons

Low volume of tax returns

4.0
Jul 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

H&R Block provides thorough training, and employees should expect to study continuously throughout the season. The training is valuable and helps build a strong understanding of tax preparation. There are opportunities to "level up," and advancing through the certification levels can lead to higher pay over time. Management is approachable and readily available when assistance is needed.

Cons

The position is seasonal, and the starting pay is $12 per hour. During peak tax season, employees may work very long hours—sometimes up to 10 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week—which can be physically and mentally exhausting. In my first month, I also found that some of the staff were not especially welcoming, which made the initial adjustment more challenging.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All