H&R Block

I hate to go to a tax service like H&R block because I think it is a colossal waste of money. However my husband is in the military and his state of record is Louisiana and they have a special exemption that can be kind of tricky. Well it’s so tricky that their tax preparers have a hard time figuring it out as well. Apparently these people are data entry professionals, not tax experts.
The woman who prepared our federal taxes was polite and courteous, She however didn’t know anything about Louisiana state taxes, (which I told them on the phone when I made the appointment «I need someone that can prepare our Louisiana state taxes») Apparently only one office does all state taxes. Wish the guy on the phone informed me of this!
This woman entered the information into the computer and assured us that some sort of «All State Tax specialist» would pick up the paperwork physically from her office in 2 – 3 days and then file it. This seemed extremely odd to me. I told them I wanted a call before it is filed just to make sure everything checks out due to the tax exemption we get. We received no call, so we called them.
Apparently no one «picks up» the returns. I am not even sure what the process is, these people are so confusing. We were not sure who was supposed to file these taxes and when… The manager finally had an «All State Specialist» call us. She said she was going to prepare our taxes first thing in the morning and call us. Well later at night the next day I get another call from the woman saying that Louisiana isn’t accepting tax returns right now and she will file it by paper whenever they can accept them.
Now this is strange because I checked the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s website. There is NO indication that they are not excepting returns. You can even electronically file them on their website! I wish I realized this in the first place. I would have dealt with the tricky exemption myself and saved myself the headache of trying to understand the backwards procedures of H&R block!!!
So to anyone who serves in the military and has a different state of record BEWARE of them. They haven’t a clue, AND they file by paper rather than electronically. It is easier to figure it out and do it yourself! I know I will next year. AND I paid them $ 200 in fees to figure it out!!! Not sure what the fees are for (They don’t give you a break down) but the 1040 ez was supposed to be free.