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A class action lawsuit has been filed against H&R Block by a customer who alleges that the company redirects low-income taxpayers who are entitled to a free tax program to their fee-based tax filing products.
Plaintiff Aaricka Swanson says she paid for H&R Block’s online tax filing software in order to file her tax returns, despite the fact that she was qualified for the IRS Free File Program.
The plaintiff states that she was charged $64.94 to file her taxes though H&R Block’s software.
Specifically, Swanson says she was charged $29.99 for a “federal return” and $34.95 for a “Refund Transfer Fee.” The plaintiff alleges that H&R Block should not have charged her anything because her adjusted gross income was under $66,000.
“Had H&R Block not misrepresented the nature of its tax preparation and e-filing services and informed Plaintiff Swanson of the existence of and her eligibility to use the Free File software, she would not have agreed to purchase H&R Block’s software,” the H&R Block class action lawsuit claims.
The plaintiff also states that she believed her only option was to use the paid software and that if H&R Block made the free tax filing program accessible, she would have opted to use it over the paid version.
The H&R Block class action lawsuit claims that, under an agreement with Free File Inc. and the IRS, H&R Block and other tax companies must offer 70 percent of United States taxpayers (currently, those with an Adjusted Gross Income of $66,000 or less) the chance to file their taxes at no cost.
The plaintiff alleges that H&R Block and other online-tax preparation companies created the entity Free File Inc., which was formed to work with the IRS to provide free electronic filing services for those who qualify.
The H&R Block class action lawsuit states that the agreement between the IRS and Free File was created so that the IRS would not have to start their own free-filing software.
“H&R Block, however, has been luring customers into paying for a service that it promised the government and consumers it would give away for free,” the plaintiff claims.
Swanson notes that H&R Block breached its contract with the IRS by hiding access to the Free File Program and redirecting taxpayers who qualify to the fee-based products. The plaintiff claims that H&R Block advertised one of its products under the name “Free Online” which led many taxpayers into believing that they were filing their taxes under the Free File Program.
The plaintiff alleges that she was then hit with charges after spending a long time entering information and preparing to file her tax return.
“After luring lower-income consumers to begin preparing their returns with the ‘Free Online’ software (which is not actually free for most taxpayers), H&R Block then manipulates consumers into paying for product upgrades and upsells,” the H&R Block class action lawsuit claims.
The plaintiff says that because of their conduct, H&R Block has made millions of dollars in “ill-gotten gains from persons who can least afford it.”
Did you qualify for H&R Block’s Free File Program only to be charged for preparing your tax return? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Eric D. Barton and Sarah A. Ruane of Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP and Yitzchak Kopel and Andrew Obergfell of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The H&R Block Free Filing Class Action Lawsuit is Swanson v. H&R Block Inc., et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-00788, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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728 thoughts onH&R Block Class Action Says Free Tax Filing Option Hidden
I filed taxes with H and R block in 2021, my case went under audit and my taxe were finally released on March 15 2023 a very large amount to account that H and R created. However the account closed due to inactivity, in which i knew nothing of the account and now my very large refund can not be found is what H and R states however they where using Metabank now is call Pathwrd bank. I just want what belongs to me and my children. H and R block is such a joke and do not stand by the clients.
Can confirm this was done to me as well. Took me about an hour of trying to file for free to realize that they weren’t actually going to let me file for free. Honestly unbelievable. They charged me $70+ on what they swore at every turn would have no charge.
They got me she listed my EITC on 1049 and 540 but she did not fill out forms to get it for me. And then out of the 714 (which was incorrect) they sent me a flipping emerald card with 2 DOLLARS AND 47 CENTS ON IT
Help! They just did this to me! Refund amount was $569, there fee was $225 for preparation although I already did everything online. Including the extra form for healthcare payments. I was so upset that they didn’t tell me about any fees prior to closing. If I could’ve stopped right then I would have. I will never use them again! Should’ve gone with TurboTax. They are free.
I THINK IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER LAWSUIT! I LITERALLY DONT GET THE 500 FOR MY DEPENDENT PLUS BEING CHARGED 219 FOR A 370 DOLLAR REFUND! I’LL BE CALLING THE NEWS AND EVERYONE I CAN!
They just did this to me! Refund amount was $569, there fee was $225 for preparation although I already did everything online. Including the extra form for healthcare payments. I was so upset that they didn’t tell me about any fees prior to closing. If I could’ve stopped right then I would have. I will never use them again! Should’ve gone with TurboTax. They are free.
I have recently filed my taxes at HR block and they charged me over 300 dollars. That would be 1/3 or more out of my total refund.
Been charging my boyfriend 100$ to file. Last 3 yrs in a row. When he had low income state health insurance and was a simple file making less that 40,ooo . A year.
.
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Charged me to do “deluxe” version another 30-40$ add on to “auto fill ONE Box about health insurance” told me i would receive a large kicker rebate, got sent a letter in mail months later saying there was a error and they had to adjust something and then it got cut in half? And the rest got taken for my traffic tickets…. always misleading online..ive used them for years and it use to be a one time pay 35$ and get both done.. now its got more tricky and scammy to get a basic file, or if you do need more services they still charge too much…
Please add us. My husband and i file our taxes with H&R Block every year, and every year they charge us several hundred dollars to file our state and federal taxes. We didn’t even know there was a free filing option for those making less than $70k a year, and we go go the same tax guy year after year. They’ve told us it would be free and we make WELLLLLL under $70k a year combined, yet we still are charged. Not to mention, the last 3-4 years, we haven’t seen our state return because they say we missed sending certain documents, and the one year we even elected to pay the extra money to guarantee our tax return. We’ve explained this to our H&R Block guy and he told us he was too busy to take care of it, we would need to come back several months later. Unfortunately, last year, we did not make enough to file so we’re not getting return this year. We could really use the money owed to us.
I used them this year big mistake they charged me 3494 plus 40$ more. For what I don’t know and they were going to charge me 50$ after I told them I didn’t want to file with them
They have charged me 3 years in a row almost $200 every time because they kept making me add on or I couldn’t get past the screen. I even called them and told them I was low income and they still wouldn’t change my fee