OK, this is strictly my opinion. I am not being sponsored by TurboTax. I wanted you to know that. I am frankly blown away by what just happened when I redid my taxes before filing them. I am so very happy that I took the time to do them online with TurboTax after what I found out when I did them online with H.R. Block. You have to see the difference. I don't mind shouting it from the rooftops because what happened to me is more than likely happening to a lot of other unsuspecting people.
I did my taxes online two weeks ago with H.R. Block after using them last year and getting good results. I didn't worry about last year, but now, after what happened this year, I may want to consider going back over my 2024 taxes to see if TurboTax would have been a better choice. It may just be water under the bridge, but I will look into it to see if there is as much of a difference as there was now with my 2025 taxes. I mean HUGE differences...I hope you'll be able to relate.
When I did the online thing with H.R. Block, it was fairly easy, but I didn't like how they left my Social Security Administration contribution almost as an afterthought, while TurboTax asks you straight up if you received anything from SSA. I had finished my tax upload online with HRB when I realized I had forgotten to add my SSA. I went back in, and since I had not had any money taken out for the 12 monthly payments, I owed more. I expected that, but I didn't expect it to be as much as it was! It was over $3800.
Then, on a whim, before agreeing to pay monthly through my bank account online with HRB (to the IRS of course) I decided to check with TurboTax to see if there could possibly be any difference. There shouldn't be. They should be the same. I'm filing the same 1040-X form with both. Well, there was a difference, a massive difference. Instead of owing $3800, I am getting a refund and -- yes, they asked me straight up if I had SSA contributions, and what, if anything, I had withheld for taxes. I answered honestly, and wow -- a refund vs. having to pay a monthly payment to the IRS!
When you think about it logically, there should not be a difference. It's not right to have one site configure things one way, and another site configure the same (very same) information so vastly different. One thing I did see with TurboTax was that I was able to enter my Employer ID, and it connected to PayCom. It used the numbers PayCom put into my file to configure, rather than having me do it manually, as I did with HRB, but I used the numbers on my W2, so it really doesn't make sense. I'm glad it's different, but it makes no sense.
All the way through, TurboTax kept saying I was getting a refund, and I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. When it didn't drop, I caught myself breathing loudly, pushing out a sigh that was welcomed. I'm grateful and thankful, and I will never use HRB again. I will tell the world not to use them. I can't believe there could be that big a difference. Now, if the IRS comes back and says I actually do owe them, I'll give TurboTax an earful, but I don't think it's going to happen.
Just an FYI to anyone who wants to think about doing their online taxes. I was able to file online, too. To file online, I had to verify my 2024 income from my tax papers, and it had to match the numbers they had on their end. They matched, and it was filed online -- cost? NOTHING. It didn't cost me anything to file for Federal or State. That too was a first. I don't understand it, but you know what -- I'll take that too. TurboTax made it simple, and I was done in 30 minutes. I love it.
Photo Credit: CNET
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