H&R Block Side Hustle?

[cj25]

Has anyone done taxes for H&R Block to earn money on the side?  Is it worth the $150 investment?  Not sure how much you realistically make when you're also working a full time job.  Just trying to think of ways to make extra cash. 

[Livingthedream55]

I'm interested also. My understanding is you have to pass their exam and then you "may" get hired for seasonal work and will make probably $10 an hour to start but with successive years of experience and the ability to do more complex returns (and more courses you pay for), the rate increases.

• Is that true?
  Does H & r Block allow for someone to work only on the weekends?

[mcneally]

They make you pay now? I worked at Liberty Tax one year when I was in college (9 years ago I think) and there was a time commitment in attending their classes but you didn't have to pay anything. I'm pretty sure H&R Block was the same way. I was paid in part on commission and averaged $12/hr. Commission in the sense that I got a percentage of fees from returns I did. I certainly wasn't expected to bring my own clients in. They're really busy in late January/ early February because the vast majority of their clients are poor and need their refund ASAP. Then things pick up again in April for the last minute folks. Kind of slow in March so expect fewer hours.

I think it's a good thing to do if you're going to school for accounting and haven't been able to get other relevant work experience for your resume. Otherwise, meh, it's alright I guess if you want a temporary part time job and don't mind that it pays a fairly low wage. Business owners who aren't clueless don't go to H&R Block for their taxes, so I wouldn't expect to progress there, but you might be able to use the experience to get a job as a seasonal preparer in a reputable CPA office in future years. 

[mcneally]

You may or may not care, but places like H&R Block are a bit ethically dubious. They claim to set fees "by the form" and claim that EITC requires a bunch of extra forms so they charge something like $300 for a return that takes a relatively unskilled person 15 minutes to prepare. The clients don't care because they're getting a big refund. Then they pay an extra $50 or whatever for a "refund anticipation loan" to get their money a week or two faster. For the most part these people all qualify to have their taxes done for free at a Vita sitehttp://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/, though that may require going at a certain time and waiting in line for an hour.

[Gimesalot]

I did the H&R Block class a few years back.  Here are my thoughts:

First, don't pay full price fore the class.  There always discounts available, just search for a coupon code. 

The classes are tough in that they take a lot of time, and attendance is required.  It will be more difficult since you are starting late.  After the class you will be offered a part-time job.  I was offered $9/hour which was higher than the $8.50/hour minimum because I speak Spanish.  In your second year, you earn an hourly wage plus commission.  The schedule is very flexible, but there are not very many hours available.  Also, I have heard that people will fight over clients if the office is slow.  Overall, I was glad I took the class because I learned a lot about how taxes work, but I wouldn't recommend it as a side hustle. 


If you really want to do taxes as a side hustle, I recommend that you study for the Enrolled Agent exam and develop your own clients.


On more thing, you sign a non-compete form at the beginning of the class.  You are not allowed to work anywhere else beside H&R block for the following tax season.

[mousebandit]

I am doing this now.  I didn't go through the HRB classes.   I am in Oregon and had to have an 80-hour class by a licensed provider to meet state requirements. Then I had to sit for a state exam and pass that.  I went through an online provider for the initial course, who was very cheap, but was terrible, lol.  I do not recommend Platinum.  I did the state exam and passed. 

Then I went to my local HRB which is a franchise (they have both corporate offices and franchises.  There's a few differences but not much.). I was hired on the spot at my local franchise.  I've been doing their online training since then, and it's good. 

The pay works like this:  you are guaranteed a minimum hourly wage, a little over minimum wage.  You also get a separate tracking of your commission earnings.  They are paid on a few different criteria.  You get paid per return a set amount based on the amount of fees the client paid.  Then you get another commission per return based in your certification level, which is determined by how many certification tests you have passed prior to the start of that tax season.  Then there are commissions paid for extra services you sell, like the extra guarantees or the refund loans, etc.  there are also commissions paid for return customers and such, if you are a returning tax pro. 

Then, if you earned more in commissions than you did based on hourly, you get paid the difference at the end of the tax season as a bonus.  If you made less, then you don't get invited back next season, lol. 

I was able to basically set my own hours, although they asked very pointedly if I would work full time during the peak weeks, and I agreed.  Our office is open from 9-7 during the season.  In a bigger city, I imagine you'd be able to work like a 3-7 shift and saturdays, if you couldn't work full time.

I'm hugely impressed with the volume and quality of free training available online to employees.  I will be starting with a good certification level, since I am passing my certification tests now, and anticipate making $14-$17/hr during peak times, when I'm just doing back-to-back clients.

After two tax seasons with HRB, I will be able to prepare taxes on my own in Oregon, and will do that. 

In my situation, I have not been required by the franchise owner to sign the non compete contract, and we already discussed that even if I had, it would be him personally who would have to initiate a lawsuit against me for breach of comtract, which he won't do.  If you are concerned about not being able to venture out on your own right away, look at working for a franchise, and talk to the franchise owner candidly about it.  They may not care at all. 

All in all, if you're bent towards taxes, I think this is an awesome side gig.  Especially if you can work full time for a big preparer for the first season. 

[coppertop]

I formerly worked as a paralegal in an estates and trusts practice and prepared personal income tax returns for both living and deceased clients, as well as state inheritance tax returns and Form 706 and 709, and 1041 plus the corresponding state form.  Would that be enough to qualify me to train for H&R Block to do seasonal work after retiring, or do you have to be an accountant?  My present job is as the firm's controller, but I don't have a degree - I was hired from within. 

[mousebandit]

HRB has an online exam that you take to demonstrate basic proficiency.  I'll find the link later today and post it.  I don't think you have to go through their tax school if you can pass the exam. 

I tallied up my anticipated hours for this season, and assuming I only earn the base wage, and don't do better on commissions, I will still gross over $5500.  My expected schedule starts at 2 days per week in Jan and moves up to 5 days for the 3 peak weeks in February, then tapers back down to 1 day per week in April.  This also doesn't include any Saturday hours for friends and family appointments, which I know I will have at least a handful of, and I could very well stay busy full time through April, which would add to that.  I'm thinking commissions earnings could go up to $7500 or more gross, especially if I pass another couple certification exams before December 30. 

For us, this will be a good side gig for the SAHM. 

[HPstache]

Cool... I may want to look into this.  I'm really interested by taxes and I'm one of those people who "looks forward" to filling out his taxes every year because of the interest and challenge factor.

[dogboyslim]

For the most part these people all qualify to have their taxes done for free at a Vita sitehttp://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/, though that may require going at a certain time and waiting in line for an hour.

Mrs. DBS volunteers for Vita.  She has to self-study the prep materials at one of two levels.  The lower level is qualified for the more simple returns.  She's done that one for two years and is thinking about the more complex one this year.  The exams are free and it takes her maybe 20-30 hours of self study.  Her uncle worked for hrb.  The materials are nearly identical but HRB required him to go to a class while Mrs. DBS just showed up for the exam.

[mousebandit]

For those wanting to jump in with HR BLock this tax season:

Here's the link I was looking for:  https://www.hrblock.com/corporate/career-opportunities/

Over on the right, it has a link to Complete The Tax Knowledge Assessment.

That's what you want to try.  It's open book, gives you 2 hours, I think to do it.  Have your reference materials handy, and be prepared to pop over to other windows to look things up online, too. 

Be aware, that if you want to bump up your bonus pay, you'll want to take and pass the Certification Exams before Dec 30th.  To do that, you'll need to do the Assessment exam, then get yourself into an office to get hired, and then once they get you in the system (which seems like it takes a few days), you'll be able to start on the certification exams.  The first one can be done at home, but the others need to be done in an office, so be prepared for that.  Whatever your certification level is on December 31st, that's the level you will be paid on for bonuses for all of tax season 2017 (TS17).  And if you can pass those, it makes a BIG difference on the bonus pay.  BIG difference. 

MB

[gimp]

I find it hard to recommend working for someone who makes you pay for training.

[kpd905]

I'm hugely impressed with the volume and quality of free training available online to employees.  I will be starting with a good certification level, since I am passing my certification tests now, and anticipate making $14-$17/hr during peak times, when I'm just doing back-to-back clients.

Is it just one certification test that gets you to this level of $14-17/hr, or are there multiple levels you can qualify for?

[mousebandit]

@gimp - to my understanding, they don't make you pay for HRB-specific training.  If you need to take the beginner classes for tax preparation, you can do that through them or anyone, but yeah, you would need to fund your own education, just like any other profession or specialty.  Once you're hired, they actually offer a TON of online training for free (well, there is a $20 annual fee, but you get CE credits for it all, so that is a no-brainer), and all the HRB-specific training, you do online at home, and get paid for it.  I see nothing wrong with that.  I have had plenty of issues with HRB as a client, but from an employee perspective, thus far it seems like a sweet gig to me.

KPD - there are 6 certification levels, and I am shooting for level 4, and estimating it will get me to that $/hr range.  The way the compensation works, is that you're getting paid per return, based on the fees collected from the client, your certification level, your years of service, and on additional products you sell to the client.  So, even if you're at the highest certification level, if you aren't working steady, but just sitting at your desk waiting for clients to walk through the door, you're not making the bigger money.  On the other hand, if you have back-to-back clients from January through April, and your doing more complex returns at a higher certification level, you're probably making bank. 

And again, this is my first season, so this is what I'm seeing so far!  I'll keep updating as the season rolls out and I actually get in the game. 

MB

[kpd905]

Do you have an estimate of how many hours it takes for each level?  And is all of this paid for by HRB like the online training that you mentioned?

[mousebandit]

The certification exams aren't on-the-clock for pay, but they're free for you take at your convenience through the HRB intranet website (with the caveat that after Dec 30, they won't change your pay rate for the 2017 tax season).  The time allowed for taking each exam so far seems to vary from 2-3 hours.  If you need to go through and learn the material / laws first, before taking the exam, that would depend very much on how much prior tax experience you have, what method or route you take to learn the material, and your natural aptitude for learning and taxes in general.  If you need to take tax prep courses, I would HIGHLY recommend GLEIM's EA course.  I'm going through that one, and it has been excellent content, and excellent value. 

So far, I've taken almost the entire time allotted for each exam, and looked pretty much every single answer up to verify, even if I already knew it cold.  There have been quite a few topics I wasn't super familiar with, but I am very familiar with my reference materials, so it hasn't been too hard to find the answers.  My next exam will start taking me a little past my experience zone, into trusts and estates, which I haven't dealt with before, and which aren't as fully covered in the reference books I'm most familiar with.  I will have the applicable IRS publications at hand when I do the exam, and I will also have the IRS website loaded up, and another tax reference website.  But, even if you know the material, I would allow the full time for each exam. 

I would totally recommend going to the HRB website and attempting the basic assessment exam.  There's nothing to lose, and it will give you a good feel for if you like this sort of thing, and where you stand on your present knowledge base.  :-)

MB