Q: H&R Block missed an entire page of my retirement income on my tax return. The IRS slapped me with a $14,000 deficiency notice.
H&R Block admits the error but keeps rejecting my claim under its 100% Accuracy Guarantee. How do I get it to honor the guarantee?
— Lance Croft, Vero Beach, Fla.
A: H&R Block’s 100% Accuracy Guarantee promises to reimburse you for any tax preparation errors made by the company. It also covers any penalties and interest if H&R Block made a mistake. If H&R admits to making a mistake, this should be a slam-dunk.
You created a paper trail that made your case much easier to resolve. You saved every email, forwarded the IRS notice the moment it arrived and kept the preparer’s own mea culpa.
Paper trails are always a good idea, but especially when you’re dealing with a government agency, and especially the IRS. So, for example, if the tax preparer had verbally told you that she’d made an error, then you would want to also get that in writing — which, fortunately, you did.
You could have also taken this directly to a manager at H&R Block. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the relevant executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
In H&R’s defense, the U.S. tax code is highly complex and often illogical. It’s easy to make a mistake. I have, and I’ve gotten audited. It was no fun, we had to file an appeal and it took almost four years to resolve. But in the end, I didn’t have to pay any penalties.
What puzzles me about your case is that H&R Block admitted that it goofed but still wouldn’t help you. To me, that suggests there’s a bureaucracy at H&R Block that rivals the federal government.
I asked the company what went wrong.
“We can confirm that the client has connected with their tax pro who guided them through the process of contacting the IRS,” a representative told me. “The client’s claim was denied as they failed to provide all necessary documentation at the time of filing.”
That wasn’t correct. The tax advisor missed an entire page of a document, which caused the error, and you furnished H&R Block with written proof. Apparently, H&R Block had missed another page in the file — the one where its tax professional admitted to her error.
I asked H&R Block to check again. This time, it had the correct answer.
“We can confirm that Lance will receive the maximum refund amount under H&R Block’s Peace of Mind guarantee for additional tax owed,” a company representative told me.
The lesson for everyone else is clear, as tax time nears: Keep every scrap of paper. Demand written confirmation of errors. And don’t take the first “no” for an answer. Death and taxes may be inevitable, but a tax penalty isn’t.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help
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