As April 15 approaches, be on the lookout for tricks to get you to pay more money as you prepare your taxes.
The Federal Trade Commission ordered H&R Block on Wednesday to make changes for the 2025 tax filing season in addition to longer-term changes. The settlement also requires the company to pay $7 million to compensate consumers harmed by the company’s unlawful practices.
In a lawsuit last year, the FTC charged that H&R Block required consumers who wanted to downgrade to a cheaper product to contact customer service, deleted users’ previously entered data, and made deceptive claims about “free” tax filing.
The settlement requires H&R Block to make it easier for consumers to downgrade products and to eliminate its practice of deleting consumers’ previously entered data when they want a downgrade.
By Feb. 15, the company is required to allow consumers to downgrade products using a chatbot or other automated means, instead of requiring them to call customer service or chat with a live customer service agent.
For the 2026 tax season, H&R Block will also be required to end the practice of erasing consumers’ previously entered information when downgrading. Instead, the company is required to ensure that users can return to the same point in their tax filing process as before the upgrade, saving them time and effort.
The settlement also requires H&R Block to disclose in its “free” advertising either the percentage of taxpayers who are eligible to use any “free” products or that the majority of taxpayers don’t qualify.
As the 2025 tax season approaches, consumers need to be aware of these upcoming changes and their rights when using tax filing services.
