Throughout, there’s a Virtual Assistant chatbot if you need to ask questions or get help, which gives me extra peace of mind. Plus, it’s included with the DIY service, which saves me a bunch of money, rather than going with one of the options that includes a real tax expert to look over things.
H&R Block’s service asks lots of questions related to potential tax breaks, looking for savings that can come, for example, from cash and noncash charitable donations, and H&R Block was able to find more tax breaks to maximize my refund.
Health-y Questions
The biggest difference I noticed was in a section about health care, which was filled with helpful information about coverage and its effect on taxes. Most of the other tax services I’ve tested didn’t include health care questions, and didn’t explain this clearly with helpful FAQs.
I had to answer questions about household health insurance statuses in 2025. H&R Block is very thorough in asking questions and providing information about the types of insurance that qualify for tax benefits, and even whether Medicaid coverage for Covid-19 testing and services counts as health insurance. If health-related expenses play a prominent role in your personal finances, I’d opt for H&R Block’s tax service over competitors.
Pro tip: The early bird gets the worm, and it’s the same with taxes. Generally speaking, the earlier you file, the better price you’ll get for these online filing services. Like H&R Block, most services have a tier system with different plans, and the same goes for when you choose to file. The end of January is the cheapest time to file, and early February is the second cheapest, with prices increasing the closer you get to that April 15 deadline. Oftentimes, H&R Block holds a Presidents’ Day Sale for a week or so, so if you’re planning to go with this already super-affordable service, I’d keep an eye out for sales during that period.
Overall, I found H&R Block’s DIY online self-service to be easy and pretty seamless. The supplemental information helped me understand the process, and the file upload options saved me tons of time. Plus, I loved having the Al Tax Assist for extra help with questions, and Live Tax Pro Support on the ready to give my forms a second look.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Other Services Available
As mentioned, there are several different options available for filing, as well as expert support provided (if you opt in to this service) tailored to unique tax situations to ensure you’re getting the most money back. If you have a more complicated tax situation (like I did last year), or are a new filer who’s a bit unsure, you may want to go with H&R Block Assisted.
With this service, you can get done with filing in as little as one hour. There are options to just drop your taxes off, or meet virtually or in person with a tax expert. H&R Block has more than 60,000 tax professionals and 9,000 offices, with locations in every state, within 5 miles of most Americans.
