Deal of the Day again 4/4/18. The benefit of “old-school” desktop tax software is that it doesn’t require your Social Security Number and financial details to be stored in the cloud (third-party server where it can be sold or hacked). Here’s a limited-time deal on H&R Block Tax Software 2017 (PC/Mac download or physical CD).
Amazon has H&R Block Deluxe Federal + State for $17.99, the lowest price of the year per CamelCamelCamel. There is also a discount on Premium & Business at $39.99. It looks like the rest are not on sale as Federal only is $20, and Premium is $50. This is a 24-hour “Deal of of the Day” (sorry I don’t get advance notice) and close to the lowest prices ever from last year. If it is out of stock, you can still buy it and lock in the price.
H&R Block Deluxe includes guidance for stock gains and losses, home mortgage interest deduction, and other itemized deductions. Compare that against TurboTax Deluxe Download which makes you upgrade to TurboTax Premier to get guidance for stock sales and dividends. H&R Block Premium includes rental properties and self-employment. All flavors include “Refund Bonus” where you can a 5% bonus if you take your refund in the form of an Amazon gift card.
Keep in mind that for these products 5 Federal e-Files are included but State e-File is extra ($19.95 per state). I would personally just print the (usually shorter) state return out and snail mail it in if you don’t have a free State e-File option.
This might be the last flash sale for this tax year, as the April 15th deadline (17th this year) is nearing.
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Thanks so much for sharing this today, Jonathan!
Glad you found it useful!
Thank you, I bought it for the last tax season via your link and this time shared it with my friends and family too. It certainly saves money and time.
Ugh, got your email today so missed this deal. Looking to move away from the other people as I feel they have lost their way. Oh well, I will keep an eye out for other deals.
Good deal, but not for Mac.
What’s your take Turbo tax vs H&R Block Desktop Tax Software? By the way, i missed the deal, hopefully it will come back?
Both will work similarly in terms of accuracy and guidance. H&R Block is usually unique in offering free in-person audit protection. TurboTax usually offers more auto-download partners of 1099-B and 1099-INT forms if you have a lot of 1099s and/or trades that you don’t want to input manually.
Jonathan,
Which one do you find the most useful? I don’t have a rental and just started a side self employment and have some in IRA.
I usually pay extra for TurboTax so I can sync my 1099s electronically instead of having to type them in. I think the time saved is worth the extra money, but other folks may not have as many things to type in as I do. I think H&R Block and TaxACT are fine alternatives.
Do you find TurboTax Deluxe be sufficient for someone who just started a small business or the Small Business (costly) be more appropriate? I looked at comparison Deluxe vs Premier and it seems Premier doesn’t really add any value. I do trading, but within my retirement account. Do you use Deluxe?
It all depends on your complexity. The online version of TurboTax will bump you up to Premier if you start inputing tax lots and ask for help with capital gains, etc.
Indiana offers free federal and state tax preparation and e-filing. I qualify for the OLT on-line vendor. However, to e-file my state return, I have to first prepare and e-file my federal return. There is no way to file state without filing federal first through the program. Consequently I buy H&R Block software deluxe, file federal return for free, and print and mail the state return. Otherwise, i would have to pay $19.95 to e-file state. What do you think about this? It seems that by using Indiana Free-File my returns would be filed in the cloud.
I think if I qualified for the free Federal version of whatever online vendor Indiana works with to get free online state tax e-file, I might use that. But otherwise, I would personally rather pay the $20 for H&R Block Desktop and print out the state tax returns.
American Express also has a $10 rebate on a $30 purchase of H&RBlock services. You might want to check your Amex page and see if you have the offer. Its good until 4/31