My wife and I have been using H&R Block to prepare our annual returns for years. We had a steady preparer who was knowledgeable and efficient. She retired recently. Our tax situation is very simple normally but this year we had an unusual issue with a gift tax and wanted advice before we made a substantial gift to our son. We scheduled and appointment to discuss the issue in our local office back in July. When we showed up, the office was closed and no one answered the phone. We called Customer Service and got no help whatsoever. We made the gift and another appointment to file our returns early in March. The preparer we were assigned had no idea what forms needed to be filed to report the gift. She told us we would need to speak with a "Level 2" preparer. We made another appointment but soon received an e-mail on March 3rd from the Level 2 person who said she was "looking up for us" about the gift tax and would contact us when she had the answer. Now, as of April 14, we have heard nothing. Fortunately we hired a local CPA for about the same cost as H&R Block. We will NEVER go back to them. They deserve a zero review.