Price
TurboTax and H&R Block used to be further apart in price, but that’s no longer the case. Both offer a free version for federal and state filing. H&R Block’s free tier supports more tax situations than TurboTax Free Edition*, but both allow you to report W-2 and limited 1099-INT/1099-DIV/1099-OID income (no Schedule B). You can’t itemize, but these versions support the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), student loan interest deduction, and taxable qualified retirement plan distributions.
We reviewed the top-end versions for both, which you must use if you’re self-employed and need to file a Schedule C. The companies still list their early filing prices as of this writing, but these will increase later in the tax season to the prices in parentheses. TurboTax Premium goes for $89 ($129) for federal returns and $39 ($64) per state. H&R Block Self-Employed costs a bit less at $85 ($125) for federal returns and $37 per state.
No matter which version you use, you don’t pay until you file your return, which means you can always try out tax prep software before you enter any payment details. It doesn’t matter when you start your return, though. TurboTax and H&R Block charge the current price at the time you actually pay (except in cases of a limited price lock). If you have to file in more than one state, remember that you have to pay a fee for each one.
Winner: H&R Block
User Experience
Because a site’s user experience can make or break your tax filing journey, we weigh this factor heavily in our reviews. We evaluate the quality of a tax website based on more than just the attractiveness of its fonts, graphics, and layout, though those aspects certainly contribute. The user experience for tax websites also comprises aspects such as navigation, overall functionality, and usability.
Type of work options in TurboTax (Credit: Intuit/PCMag)
TurboTax is conversant, using casual and understandable language. When we were working our way through the 1040, we were rarely at a loss about what came next, thanks to the software’s conspicuous navigation cues on every page. TurboTax flows more easily and transparently from one topic to the next than H&R Block and can sometimes even help you forget that you’re doing your income taxes (with all the pain that usually implies).
Work scenario options in H&R Block (Credit: H&R Block/PCMag)
H&R Block’s tone is more matter-of-fact. It’s friendly without bordering on cloying (TurboTax is sometimes guilty of this). Otherwise, it’s visually attractive and provides good navigation cues for the most part. Still, TurboTax’s design is more aesthetically pleasing, livelier, and fresher.
Winner: TurboTax
Interview and Walk-Throughs
TurboTax and H&R Block use wizards and topic lists (or landing pages) to walk you through Form 1040 and its assorted forms and schedules, asking questions and moving your answers to official IRS forms in the background. You simply click navigation icons to advance or go back. Neither, unfortunately, has a comprehensive navigation menu like FreeTaxUSA, but you can do some navigation from the toolbars and section landing pages.
TurboTax doesn’t make you click around and scroll as much as H&R Block. For example, it advances you automatically when you answer a question on some pages, which saves time and clicks. TurboTax’s landing pages are better as well; they list every possible topic area regardless of whether you indicated earlier that they apply to you. H&R Block shows the topic areas you selected, but it’s more likely that you’ll miss something because you have to click a link to see additional ones. TurboTax also offers more in terms of topic explanations. Both sites have some unbalanced pages (just one question or an abundance of them).
Winner: TurboTax
Tax Coverage
Both applications cover tax topics in at least as much depth as any service we’ve tested, doing what they can to ensure that you understand exactly what applies to you and what you need to provide. That said, TurboTax digs deeper in places, especially advanced topic areas.
Business expense page in H&R Block (Credit: H&R Block/PCMag)
When you’re entering office expenses on Schedule C, for example, H&R Block just gives you one blank field for a total. TurboTax lets you add multiple lines so you can list the specific expenses that make up that total. It also breaks down medical expenses and charitable donations in more detail.
Office expense entry page in TurboTax (Credit: Intuit/PCMag)
TurboTax is also better overall at reporting investment sales related to stocks and cryptocurrency. Both sites allow you to import transactions from your broker(s) and exchange(s), but TurboTax supports more options. In terms of imports, TurboTax allows you to upload CSV files, while H&R Block supports PDFs. H&R Block joins TurboTax in allowing direct imports from CoinTracker and Coinbase. Each displays comprehensive fill-in-the-blank pages for each sale if you plan to enter them manually, though we don’t recommend doing so if you have more than around 10 transactions.
Winner: TurboTax
Help Resources
Both applications are exceptionally skilled at offering all kinds of help. TurboTax is a little better at providing extra assistance within the Q&A pages, so you don’t have to access the site’s help tools. It embeds tons of hyperlinks within those pages that open context-sensitive help files in a side pane. H&R Block does this, too, but not as frequently. TurboTax’s writing is more conversational and easier to understand than H&R Block’s, and it does a better job of error-trapping. For example, it caught two Form 1099-NECs from different companies that used the same Employer Identification Number.
Both TurboTax and H&R Block have massive, searchable databases of tax information. They offer two ways to find resources. First, you can manually search via a word, phrase, or form number and get a list of brief articles that answer your question and provide links to related pages. Neither site seems to prioritize these so that the most general articles appear first, and they sometimes display numerous answers that aren’t very helpful. TaxAct does a better job here. Then again, your experience will depend on the search; some results are more targeted than others.
Alternatively, both offer interactive help tools. These are automated AI chatbots that respond to you as if they were a real person. You can enter a question or phrase, and the bots respond directly to your query. These seemed gimmicky to me when I first tried them a few years ago, but they’ve improved a lot over the years and now provide clear, focused responses. I consulted the bots first this year sometimes, rather than trying the traditional search tool. Here again, the more specific the question, the better the answer.
TurboTax’s AI-assisted help (Credit: Intuit/PCMag)
Both apps offer product help: TurboTax by phone and H&R Block by chat. Agents on the other end can’t offer assistance with questions about tax law, though.
Recommended by Our Editors
H&R Block does offer professional help for tax questions via chat for free with all of its paid products. To get unlimited tax guidance from a pro with TurboTax (phone, chat, or video chat), you must pay $169 ($219 later in the tax season) for federal returns and $49 per state ($69 later in the tax season). With this Assisted offering, your expert does a final review of your return and is available for tax help year-round.
H&R Block’s AI-assisted help (Credit: H&R Block/PCMag)
If you prepare your taxes online using H&R Block, you can have a tax professional review your return, ask any questions, and sign and e-file your return. Pricing for that service depends on the complexity of your return.
Winner: Tie
Mobile Apps
TurboTax and H&R Block offer exceptional and comprehensive mobile tax apps for Android and iOS. They replicate the desktop versions’ experience as much as possible, just for a smaller display.
According to Intuit, 38.7% of TurboTax customers “touched” mobile (app and web) at some point in the tax prep process for the 2023 tax year. Further, TurboTax customers snapped pictures of 5.4 million tax forms (4.7 million W-2s, 1.4 million 109X forms) with mobile devices.
Both TurboTax and H&R Block make it possible to prepare even a complex return on mobile. I didn’t notice any critical tools, data, or navigation cues missing in my time with the apps.
TurboTax’s mobile app (Credit: Intuit/PCMag)
The TurboTax apps cover the same tax topics as the browser-based version and incorporate the same sleek look and personality. Intuit offers two other mobile apps: TaxCaster and ItsDeductible (Apple only). You can enter a few details about your life to get an estimate of your tax refund via TaxCaster, while ItsDeductible lets you record your charitable donations throughout the year. At tax time, you can sync that data with TurboTax.
H&R Block’s mobile app (Credit: H&R Block/PCMag)
The H&R Block Tax Prep apps do a beautiful job of replicating the desktop experience, too. They’re simple to navigate, include a capable help system, and provide comprehensive coverage of tax topics. H&R Block also has a companion app called MyBlock that helps you organize and access your tax-related documents throughout the year.
Winner: Tie
