TurboTax Vs HR Block

Question

Hello, Quicken / TurboTax brothers & sisters:

I've been using Quicken and TurboTax for years.  This year I decided to do by TurboTax for 2024 and as a check, pay HR Block to run my tax return also.  I simply wanted to know if I'm doing everything right in Turbo. Well, for some unknown reason, HR Block came up with amount due as $665 less than Turbo.  I did a side-by-side comparison of both returns - every single line was identical. Every checkbox was equal on both returns.  The only thing different is that HR Block used Form 1040-RS whereas Turbo used Form 1040.  My understanding is 1040-RS is tailored for seniors so they can read the form easier but both should calculate Refund and Amount Due the same.

Anyone out there able to explain why these programs gave different results?  I have not contacted HR Block yet to ask the same question; hoping someone here can answer it.

Thank you!!!

jacobs · Answer

All lines on both 1040RS's are IDENTICAL… These two forms are mirror images with respect to data entered. The only figure different is the Amount Due.

Something is still fishy here; $600 can't be "saved" just out of the blue.  And it could just as well be that H&R Block's bottom line is the one which is wrong!

Could you answer the questions I asked above? Specifically…

• Line 15 (taxable income): you're saying this is the same on both returns, correct?

• Line 16 (Tax): is this different (by the $600) on the two returns?

— If not, which line is the first one where the numbers are different between the two returns?

— If yes, in TurboTax, go to Forms and open the Form 1040/1040SR Worksheet. Scroll down to page 3 of the worksheet, just after line 15, where you'll find a "Tax Smart Worksheet". What boxes or lines are filled in on that worksheet? This spells out the method TurboTax used to calculate your tax.

Now I wonder if a paid too much using Turbo in previous years.

For what it's worth, I've used TT for many years. Starting last year, our financial adviser includes having a CPA firm prepare tax returns, but I still bought TT (a) to compare on my own, and (b) because I do my parents taxes and needed to buy it for that anyway. I can tell you the TT return and the professional CPA's returns are in full agreement.

So I think there's something you haven't unearthed yet which accounts for the difference. And it's worth hunting down because you don't know which return is wrong! That's why I'm trying to help you dig in to see where the discrepancy comes from.

robsquick · Answer

It turns out that Turbo did generate a 1040SR.  The program displays a 1040 on the screen but when you print it, it prints out on 1040SR.  However, that should have nothing to do with the discrepancy in the Amout Due,

All lines on both 1040RS's are IDENTICAL.  I checked again from top to bottom, then again from bottom to top. Then I gave both to my wife and asked her to check.  Again, ALL amounts and checked boxes art identical. These two forms are mirror images with respect to data entered. The only figure different is the Amount Due.

I cannot explain it, but HR Block saved me over $600 (minis their fee). My return is very simple - no deductions, trades, dependents. No foreign investment or ownerships. Standard Deduction every year. No small business, very simple.  Only Savings and CDs. Basically, very boring.

H&R Block has offered to check my 2023 year's return (which is very similar to 2024) to see if I can get money back.  That will be really interesting.   For the first time in 20 years, I'm filing with another vender's tax software.  Now I wonder if a paid too much using Turbo in previous years.

jacobs · Answer

From TurboTax: "Form 1040-SR is an alternative version of the 1040 form that features a larger print and an easy-to-read standard deduction table. Form 1040-SR can be used by seniors 65 and older filing a paper return. Other than these accommodations, it functions the same as the standard 1040 form." There should be no difference in amounts or line numbers; just font size and spacing to spread things out over more pages for legibility.

So there has to be some other difference between the two returns. You said every line is the same, but the amount due is different — so clearly somewhere before the end of the 1040, the numbers diverged. Compare Taxable Income: Line 15 at the bottom of page 1 on a standard 1040, Line 15 on Page 2 of a Form 1040-SR. Are they the same? Then check the next line, Line 16, which is your calculated Tax. Same or different? If Line 15 is the same and Line 16 is different, then they calculated your tax differently, which shouldn't be possible. In Turbotax, open the Form 1040/1040SR Worksheet. Scroll down to page 3 of the worksheet, just after line 15, where you'll find a "Tax Smart Worksheet". What boxes or lines are filled in in that worksheet to explain how TurboTax calculated your tax. (For instance,  mine says the tax computation came from #4, the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.)