This is a follow up to the important poll post and I apologize for it being so long and detailed. I just don't want anyone to get scammed like my husband and I did. I usually use TaxAct, but for various reasons, we used Jackson Hewitt this year. We went in at the beginning of January with my husband's December LES and started our interview and got a small advance to help with an unexpected expense, and I asked the agent what they charged. Each Jackson Hewitt office charges different prices, and since we didn't have our W-2 yet, she couldn't give me an exact price. I told her that we didn't have any itemized deductions, charitable donations, etc, so the only info we would be providing would be my husband's income and then of course claiming our 2 boys. I made sure to tell her that I didn't have any income from '09, and the only thing different about his income from last year was going to be his reenlistment bonus. She said the fee was based on the complexity of the return, so I told her again the information on his December LES was the same that his W-2 was going to be. To the best of my knowledge, the only thing they would have to do is plug in numbers from his W-2 and get our bank account information for the direct deposit, unless they had any other questions. She said the basic fee for federal returns were about $200 and we would get a military discount as well. When we went in with our W-2, she wasn't there, so another agent finished filing, and I told him the estimate she gave us, and he said he would have an exact amount when he was finished filing. We signed the formal IRS papers that said our information was accurate, and I told him I wanted to know what the fee was before I signed that particular paper. He said he already had me sign that one but I figured it owuldn't be that big of a deal (I figured ours was the easiest so it couldn't be that much more than she quoted) and when he handed us our packet, we saw that they charged us $359 for federal, $75 for state (Georgia is our home of record) $30 for the "optional" Gold guarantee (which I had told him we DID NOT want) and $60 "bank fee" whatever that is supposed to be. The wonderful military discount they gave us was a whopping $25. So, for about 20 minutes worth of work, we were scammed out of $499. I called corporate, who were not too happy and filed a formal case to have headquarters review. We kind of figured that it being Jackson Hewitt, it would be a legitimate company and competitive with other companies. When I asked her what the fee would be when we got the advance the first week in January, she told me it would be about $200 and we would also get a discount for being military. That's about the same fee that all the other local companies estimated, so I didn't foresee a problem. The only reason I went back to let her office file them was because our paperwork from the advance said we HAD to come back to that particular office when we decided to file. When we went back, she wasn't in the office at the time, so some guy (he looked about college age) finished our paperwork, but he was unable to answer any questions we had. I suppose he was only "trained" to find what numbers to look at on the W-2 and type them onto the proper screen. On top of all this BS, the amount he officially came up with as our refund was almost $900 less than what she had told us at our first appointment. I asked him how that could be, because she told me if the numbers she got from his December LES were the same as the info on his W-2, the refund she estimated would be right on with our actual refund. He couldn't give me an answer why, but, according to him, that "wasn't that much money". He then proceeded to tell me that its not unusual for the actual refund to be a couple thousand less than the estimated amount (but your actual amount is never more than the estimate....go figure). There was nothing we could do about it at this point, so we went on with the process. After we finished and he dropped the bomb on the fee, I told him I wanted to speak with the woman who handled our first appointment, but since she wasn't there, I left a message for her to call (she never did of course.) Then we had the ice storm, and we all know what that did to everybody's homes and most of the businesses... Since yesterday was the first day most places were open, we decided to stop by and talk to her. I thought maybe this guy overcharged us or something, and didn't know if anything could be done. When I sat down with her, I started refreshing her memory on her quoting us the approximate $200 minus the discount and what we were actually charged. She proceeded to tell me that the figure was just an estimate. I asked her how she came up with the $200 estimate, and she said it was the basic and lowest fee. I asked her how ours was considered anything more than basic, because I knew it was a standard 1040EZ. She pulled our file and said we got charged so much more because we qualified for Earned Income Credit!!!! I told her she knew the night we were given the estimate we would get the EIC because I know for a fact that you can determine if you qualify for EIC by looking using our total income for the year (and it was a single income family), the amount of taxes paid, and we had two kids as well. I told her that she should have told me when she gave me the estimate that it would be more because of EIC. I reminded her that the night we came in, I told her that I had always done our taxes myself, and the only reason I was using a "professional" was because, in addition to needing a small advance ($400) we were told that a lot of new tax laws had taken effect this year, and since we should get a bigger refund this year, I wanted someone to do them who knew all the new laws and would help us get everything we could. I then told her I felt like she took advantage of us by using the word "estimate" and she thought she was covered by saying it wasn't a definite price on the fee. I never got rude with her or used any foul language (which took a lot of self control). I was crying (not hysterically) from frustration and trying to plead my case with her. I couldn't understand how a person could knowingly screw someone. I suppose that since I can't imagine doing that to someone, I was having a hard time grasping what she did. I wanted her to feel guilty for what she did. I took note of the people sitting in the office waiting to get their taxes done, and made sure that I was audible enough, without yelling. I wanted those people to know that we felt like she scammed us out of a large amount of money, and I tried to make sure they knew how much she estimated and how much we were actually charged. When she realized I called her out in front of potential customers, she stood up and gave me the dirtiest look and told me to leave the store immediately I told her that I wasn't going to spend another minute there anyway, and I was going to make sure that everyone I know would be informed of what she (the office manager!) had done. She said "You do that and I'll file a slander lawsuit against you!" I do know what you can and can't say in the media/general public.... I didn't call her any names or use any foul language. I just told her I felt like she took advantage of us and scammed us out of a large amount of money. Then I proceeded to explain why. I told some of my family and friends and every single person who has commented is floored as well. My dad and older cousin told me to talk to the local news and newspapers as well, which I fully intend to do, and see what else we can do. I may not be able to recoop any of that insane fee, but I can help other people looking for a tax service avoid being charged an insane price. So, there is the whole story. Now you can see why I said I would need a little time to type it all out and whatnot. If you made it through my novel and have any advice for us, we would gladly appreciate that advice. 

I wish I could say I was shocked but im not in the least. It is common practice to "scam" people as you call it. It is the american way the Wealth of one is built on the sorrows of the many. My only advice is do your own taxes next year 

Here is right. Is not common for these "proffessional" tax centers to scam people. They probably saw you as an easy target too since you needed an advance. I have never used a tax service to do my taxes; I do them on my own and the old school way by hand and on paper. I refuse to let anyone take my money for something I'm perfectly capable of doing. $200 for tax preparation is just crazy; you could have bought the TurboTax or H&R block software for under $40 and done your taxes or even do them online and you would have gotten your refund in less than 2 weeks. 

i had a similar thing happen when i lived in washington state. my husband was in iraq and i had to file our taxes on my own...it was the first year that i had ever done them, since my dad had always done them in the past. i decided to go to a tax agency and they completely screwed us. the advice your dad and cousin gave you is 100% correct. my dad ended up flying up to wa to help me with everything, the tax agency refunded the money that they screwed me out of, and all because i contacted a couple local news stations and newspapers. yeah, its only a couple hundred dollars, but if you can't afford to throw away a dollar bill, you sure as hell can't afford to throw away 200!!! i believe the manager can only sue you for slander if you mention her by name. when you do contact the news stations, refer to her as the manager, nothing else. that alone will do the damage. more than likely, jackson hewitt will not like being cast in such a bad light and will try to pay you off, as happened with me. good luck!!!! 

I went through Jackson Hewitt and we qualified for EIC, as well as the new truck we purchased last year, and the energy saver central AC last year and earned for the first time home buyers. We are receiving a good amount back and we were charged the lowest basic fee. Im sorry to hear that you were taken advantage of. Also she can only sue you for slander if what your saying is not true and its your story it happened to you and it is true. People just throw those words around to try to scare people. Don't be scared go ahead with your story. As far as doing the taxes yourself some people just don't have the time, or don't even care to do them (like me..lol). I know I can probably do them if I wanted to but I don't want to bother with it. $200 fee is not really allot when your getting back thousands. At Least that's my opinion. As for you precious since you know how t o do them and have the soft ware maybe you can help people with there taxes and charge like $50. That would be a good hobby for you and you will be helping others allot., I just honestly don't have the patients..lol.. I am impressed by the wives that do there own taxes though. you guys rock! Here-- you are right about people getting scammed its depressing how people are constantly trying to take advantage of others. I mean the local guys here and there prices for tree and limb removal is just ridiculous.. seriously it is. Who has that kind of money. just mt opinion. 

I do most of my friends and family for free. Is just practice for me as I'm working on my degree in Business Accoutning. I would be glad to help a few people if they need it and feel confortable letting me help them. No charge. I just think taxes are important and everyone should care about them, you rally wouldn't want to be audited by the IRS or anything like that. Ashley, really sorry to hear that happened to you. Hope you are able to get some of your money back from them. 

I do most of my friends and family for free. Is just practice for me as I'm working on my degree in Business Accoutning. I would be glad to help a few people if they need it and feel confortable letting me help them. No charge. I just think taxes are important and everyone should care about them, you rally wouldn't want to be audited by the IRS or anything like that. Ashley, really sorry to hear that happened to you. Hope you are able to get some of your money back from them. 

Jackson Hewitt is and always has been a rip off. 

Jackson Hewitt are independently owned by people who just represent the name so smiley your comment is not actually true. It depends on the one you go to. I went to mine and she did my taxes and two days later I realized I needed a injured spouse form for a debt I owe and I Went back up there and to do an amendment it cost $150 up front but they did mine for free and took care of me and the lady was very nice and helpful. I liked my experience there so it depends on the individual as well as the owner of the tax office. It really does depend who you go to because I think H&R block are thieves and rip people off but then again it could just be that office I went to. I had a $20 off coupon for them and the guy told me they don't accept them there. how funny when the coupon said H&R block and so did the door to his office. No offense to your opinion as you are entitled to your own but JH are independently owned just like all state insurance offices. the JH I Went to the ladies were both very nice and helpful and I was charged $225 total and I think that's a good price for having the convenience of not having to do them. On post they do them for free but when we went to get the amount they told us we were getting back $2500.... bullpoop I said I know we were entitled more we have two kids and Im a student..HELLO! so i went to JH and were getting 4 times that amount and JH backs there paperwork if you owe the IRS and if they did something wrong they will pay the debt for you no worries and its free for that service at H*R block that service cost like $30. AGAIN just my opinion 

Precious that is really nice of you, i wish we would have started this conversation a few days ago..lol.. Smiley I figure you have been screwed over by a Jackson Hewlett office. If you do not mind me asking why you think they are a rip-off. Diane_ what officer did you go to because I was charged the exact same amount for my taxes and there were all ladies there and they were really nice to us as well. 

I filed my own taxes this year, I got tired of paying Liberty taxes to do mine. The charged me 550.00 last year. This year I used tax act, cost me 22.50 to do my state return, federal was free and I got my return back in 5 days!!! Only took me 15 min. 

Diane, you are right, however I have been to 6 of them and have had bad luck and been charged mad amounts to file. I guess I am just bitter. The one on Cache next to the Quiznos was the last one I went to. I ended up walking out because of the rude people that were there on the day I went. Of course that being said I didn't have to be the dummy and keep going back, so I guess I shouldn't be too harsh in my statement. I did mine using turbo tax online. It was easy and it was verifed before being sent to the IRS. Diane, that nice coverage may be why I kept going back! 

Ladies! Why are you all paying so much for your taxes?! Taxslayer will file both your federal and state for free if you are in the military. The only thing is that it might be a bit confusing for some. The easiest software is Turbotax, it has a free edition for the federal but you have to pay $27.95 for your state refund plust a $29.50 return processing fee. Military one source is also free and powered by H&R block. The issue with filing taxes on post is that they are lazy! The really don't do much to get you all the money you should be getting back. My best advice to all of you is to get acquainted with tax preparation; read about deductions and credits you may qualify for (especially for military) new tax laws and keep an eye on goverment rebates and things of that sort. Two years back my husband insisted on having our taxes done on post because he thought they would get us a bigger refund. Long story short, I ended up having to ammend our return. Maybe before there was tax preparation software, it was hard to do taxes by hand, but these softwares now take you step by step. Or if you are like me you can download your forms, get the 800+ pages book, scientific calculator and a big eraser and do your taxes by hand. And if you do decide to use a tax prep service, don't sign anything untill they have finish filing out the forms. You don't have to sign any contract unless you are satisfied with the service. They can not charge you in advance. They can only charge you after your refund has been calculated and the fee is based upon the type of return you are filing, NOT the amount you are receiving. I wish I had logged in here days ago, maybe could have helped you ladies :( Sorry... neways...I hope this info helps someone 

I worked at JH last year and will never step foot in any one of their offices again. I spent over $1200 to make $400 in wages, they did not have work all of a sudden for me but I still had a contract with the daycare. Good thing it was at tax time so I could pay them what I had to. As for their fees, she is right the fees are 200 basic but that is for a single person and the preparers do not know the fees. Only the really experienced ones know from seeing it so much. In my 2 1/2 weeks there i saw fees at 200 and I saw them as high as 700. I was floored and really felt bad as it really is not alot of work. The longest prepare I did(700 fee) was an hour really??? I hated it and will never do it again. by the way it was the office on cache next to quiznos. I had people that would come in and later they would send in their friends. I always informed them of things(even tho instructed not to). The gold guarantee does cost you, you just are not told about it until you see your receipt. I also had a couple people come in and would look at their w-2 adn know they would not get much and told them to go do them on their own. I did not want to rip them off. The worst one was a single soldier, who ended up owing in to the IRS(he was one of my first customers) he had to write me a check for 132 to cover his prep fees that day and he still owed in like 400. I almost cried seriously watching him walk out. I sent him over to the tax place on post and then with all them stimulus checks last year it goofed up some peoples taxes. JH automatically assumed you got the check even tho some didnt so his return was wrong on our end because it added it to his amount owed in. In the long run I ended up working with the tax place on post from my cell phone because I so very much disagreed with what we had done. Also, I didn't think military was supposed to be able to get the advance loans or the same day loans because the interest rate was so high. Military has a cap on how high you interest fees can be(same reason you cant do loans from most of the quick loan places around town). It is not discrimination, it is in place to protect you from places like this charging a whole body for fees instead of the usual arm and a leg. If anyone has tax questions, I would be happy to help as well. I have done several returns this year as favors to friends and fellow soldiers of my husband. I do not charge, but do also not make any guarantees. I am not responsible for errors, but also I use the online programs and all I do is input numbers and go through all the options of questions which if you take the time you can do as well. There are plenty of instructions!!!