Not to sound whiney but... do I have a “Kick Me” sign attached? Normally I get somewhat stressed around tax season and this year is no exception. Not only did I make more money last year than I anticipated and made quarterly payments for, but with an upcoming inheritance I’m somewhat concerned about how much I will owe this year. So Monday I go into H&R block and offer that they can pretty much name a price to my taxes if they can help me to both determine what I need to pay the IRS with my extention, an in quarterlies for this year.

Both the H&R rep who is handling my deceased mother’s taxes and the ditzy woman I was assigned to insisted I did not need an extention and that they could do it before the 15th. Trusting them, I agreed to let them do so. I was informed they’d phone me regarding the payment issue. That call never came. Then yesterday the 15th, I finally call them and learn they were unable to finish my taxes because my taxes were “contained too many figures”.

Well NO DUH! I told them AND SHOWED THEM this in the in office interview. They knew this and told me they’d need to charge me about $1000 to do my taxes because of it. I was totally ready to file the extention right then and there and in hindsight I wish I had insisted on it, but instead I took her at her word that she could do my taxes before the 15th.

The ditz then tells me at 5pm after a VERY stressful day of arguing with the AMISH, that I need to file for an extention and advise me to drive to their office between then and 7pm so they can help me fill out the extention forms.

Call me selfish but the reason I agree to hire H&R block in the first place was so that I could avoid stress and last-minute rushing around. I am REALLY DISSAPPOINTED WITH THEM. I told agent DITZY that I was far too tired and stressed by other (incompetent) people to even consider facing rush hour traffic to come out and file for my extention. I asked her if she knew the IRS has an online service for filing both quarterlies and for extentions and takes credit cards. She admitted she knew of that, which surprises me considering she’d have me brave DC metro area rush hour traffic instead.

I asked her if she could estimate how much money to throw at the government and after she threw some numbers at me, I decided that she really had no idea what she was talking about and hadn’t even researched my taxes enough to have any idea. So I ended up guessing and sending the gov’t about $7000 which will at least save me from penalties.

I am hoping this ditz managed to at least not lose my 1099’s. I am planning to file a complaint about her and request that the agent doing my mom’s taxes either do mine himself or if he must turn me over to another agent yet, at least refund me the $175 in “convenience fees” it cost me to file my extention online due to the ditz’s incompetence.

Current Mood: frustrated