H&R Block Premium & Business Review

Is It The Right Software For You?

H & R Block Premium Business Review

Do you need business tax software to file your company’s returns, but you’re not sure whether to go with H&R Block Premium & Business or one of their competitors?

There are several different options for business tax software these days, and it’s important to choose the one that best fits your business.

In this H&R Block Premium & Business review, you’ll find breakdowns of their pros and cons, pricing and features, customer reviews and more.

Pros & Cons of H&R Block Premium & Business

Pros of H&R Block Premium & Business

  • My favorite part of H&R Block Premium & Business software is the reasonable pricing. Their $79.95 price point for federal returns is quite affordable, and they only charge $19.95 for your state return, which is easily the lowest price I’ve seen in this industry.
  • Do you need to file returns for multiple businesses? H&R Block Premium & Business has you covered. Your one-time purchase of this software includes up to 5 federal e-files, and you can do returns for several businesses, even if they’re all different entity types!
  • If you end up getting stuck, H&R Block Premium & Business has options for in-store help. While this feature obviously costs extra if you end up needing it, it can be really reassuring to know you have the option.
  • All H&R Block Premium & Business customers receive in-person audit support. In the unlikely scenario that you are audited, they’ll have your back through the entire process. Many of their competitors leave you more or less to fend for yourself in case of an audit.

Cons of H&R Block Premium & Business

  • H&R Block Premium & Business doesn’t get great customer reviews. Most of the negative reviews seem to focus on glitches in the software itself. Hopefully these problems are ironed out in current editions of the software, but it’s a bit troublesome to know people were having these issues as recently as the 2016 tax season.
  • There is no Mac edition of this program. H&R Block Premium & Business is solely for Windows users.

H&R Block Premium Business Alternative

We really like how TurboTax allows you to file taxes for multiple businesses with one software purchase, and their customer feedback is quite strong for this industry. Read Review

TurboTax

H&R Block Premium & Business Pricing & Features

H&R Block Premium & Business costs $79.95, which gives you access to federal return filings. You can file a state return for just $19.95, although if you need to file for more than one state there’s a $39.95 charge for each additional state.

Check out how they advertise this product on their own website, then we’ll get down to the details.

H&R Block Premium & Business Pricing & Features

For entrepreneurs who own one business, H&R Block Premium & Business software is really handy, but for serial entrepreneurs it’s even better. One purchase of this software allows you to file taxes for multiple businesses, even if each entity is a different business structure. Let’s see what else they have to offer their customers.

  • Up to 5 federal e-files included
  • In-person audit support if necessary
  • Import previous year’s return, with support for H&R Block and TurboTax users
  • Import accounting records in CSV format
  • In-store assistance available at H&R Block locations (extra fee applies)
  • Unlimited real-time assistance via webchat
  • 3 guarantees cover their services
    • 100% satisfaction guarantee
    • Maximum refund guarantee
    • Accuracy guarantee

All told, H&R Block Premium & Business is a remarkably full-featured business tax software product. The combination of features and pricing appeals to a wide variety of entrepreneurs, and their offering really doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses.

Customer Reviews

In my experience, I’ve noticed that business tax software typically doesn’t get great reviews, and that’s the case with H&R Block Premium & Business.

Most of the unsatisfied customers who bought this software in 2016 cite glitches in the software itself as their main issue, and one would hope those problems are ironed out from edition to edition.

As for their positive reviewers, they frequently comment on the strong support they receive from H&R Block, as well as discussing the product’s ease of use.

Customer Reviews Section Last Updated 11-21-17

Conclusion: Customer reviews are a bit of a mixed bag for H&R Block Premium & Business. While they do have quite a few happy customers, there are also plenty of customers on the other side of the fence. In my opinion, customer feedback is neither a pro nor a con for H&R Block.

How H&R Block Premium & Business Compares

I’ve spent so much time poring over the details of different business tax software solutions that I’ve naturally developed some favorites.

Of course, I’m not here to convince you to use my personal favorite, but rather to figure out if H&R Block Premium & Business is the right pick for you.

H&R Block Premium & Business is a good business tax software product, but it’s not going to be the perfect solution for every business. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how this software compares to TurboTax Business, a competing product.

Pricing: With TurboTax Business, you’ll pay $159.99 for federal returns, and $49.99 to file state returns. You can save some money with H&R Block Premium & Business, as federal returns cost $79.95 and state returns are priced at $19.95.

Features: There are very few differences between these products in the way of features. The main one in my eyes is the fact that TurboTax Business is made by Intuit, the same company that makes QuickBooks. Because of this, TurboTax can automatically import your income and expense data from QuickBooks, saving you time and hassle.

Customer Support: TurboTax Business offers more options (phone, email, online forum) for free support than H&R Block Premium & Business (web chat), but both companies have strong reputations in this area. It is worth noting that H&R Block offers in-store assistance, although that is obviously an extra cost.

Experience: TurboTax Business has plenty of experience, as they’ve been offering business tax software since the mid-1980s. On the other hand, H&R Block has been around since well before the internet age, as they opened way back in 1955.

Here's A Quick Visual

H&R Block

Pricing Starts at $79.95

In Business Since 1955

Perfect for: Anyone looking for experience & in-store tax help with great features

TurboTax

Pricing Starts at $159.99

In Business Since 1980s

Perfect for: Anyone looking for a business tax software ideal for multiple businesses

Frequently Asked Questions

Do They Provide Audit Support?

They certainly do, and it’s one of the key selling points of this software. H&R Block Premium & Business includes in-person audit support if necessary, and that’s not a feature you commonly see in this industry.

How Secure is Their Service?

H&R Block takes your security very seriously. They use bank-level encryption technology to safeguard your private data when they transfer it to the IRS, they have multi-layer authentication on their website, they have dedicated security staff — long story short, you can use H&R Block Premium & Business with confidence.

Can I Import Data from Previous Returns or Accounting Programs?

H&R Block Premium & Business allows you to import your previous returns, whether you filed them with H&R Block or a competitor like TurboTax. In addition, you can import data from accounting software by transferring the data via CSV files.

Should You Use H&R Block?

Personally, I think H&R Block Premium & Business is worth a score of 4.6/5. They offer comprehensive audit support, and their pricing is impressive as well. That being said, if this doesn’t sound like your perfect fit, check out our Best Tax Software for Small Business review. Cheers!