H&R Block Announces Agreement with Yahoo!
Yahoo! Finance Consumers Now Have
Access to Tax Support Anytime, Anywhere
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb 26, 2001 - H&R Block, a world
leader in tax preparation, today announced an agreement with
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), a leading global Internet communications,
commerce and media company, to provide content and services on
the Yahoo!® Tax Center (http://taxes.yahoo.com).
Under the agreement, Yahoo! consumers have access to H&R
Block's comprehensive range of Internet tax tools - from tax
advice to do-it-yourself online tax filing to complete professional
tax preparation - all from the comfort of their own home.
"Over the next five years, the number of people doing
their returns via the computer is going to nearly double to 40
million," said Mark A. Ernst, president and chief executive
officer of H&R Block. "We're pleased to supply tax
content and services on the Yahoo! Tax Center, a key destination
for tax information and filing on the Web. This agreement supports
our goal to deliver tax expertise where you want it, when you
want it and how you want it."
"The Yahoo! Tax Center builds on the complete marketplace
of online personal financial services that Yahoo! Finance provides
its millions of consumers," said Tim Sheehan, director of
production, Yahoo! Finance. "Our agreement with H&R
Block helps to give Yahoo! consumers year-round access to comprehensive
tax planning, preparation, and educational resources - all of
the tools necessary to complete their taxes."
H&R Block's new online tax services provide innovative,
comprehensive choices for taxpayers, eliminating all of the guesswork
and stress from tax preparation no matter how taxpayers do their
taxes or how complex their individual tax situations. And when
H&R Block provides online assistance - whether users prepare
and file their taxes themselves or they use an H&R Block
professional - the tax return is backed by Block's standard guarantee
that covers any penalty or interest payment in the unlikely chance
that there's an H&R Block error.
Do-It-Yourself - For the taxpayer looking for a faster, easier
solution than the traditional pen and paper method, the Yahoo!
Tax Center features H&R Block's do-it-yourself program.
The $19.95 fee includes electronic filing and one residential
state return. Best of all, there is no charge until the taxpayer
is ready to file the return.
This program performs calculations automatically, checks for
errors and fills out all of the appropriate forms. It cuts hours
off tax preparation time and weeks off the time required to receive
a refund, and it delivers the most comprehensive, easy-to-use
tax tools right to the taxpayer's home.
Consumers who prepare and file their taxes themselves can
also have their self-prepared return reviewed, signed and guaranteed
by H&R Block. With this review service, an H&R Block
tax professional will check a consumer's self-prepared return
for missing information, errors or IRS "red flags"
and provide tax planning tips for next year. The $29.95 fee
includes review of both the federal and resident state returns.
Use a Professional - For those looking to combine the benefits
of professional tax preparation with the convenience of the Internet,
Yahoo! consumers can use an H&R Block professional. Taxpayers
provide their tax information online and H&R Block prepares
and sends a signed tax return to the customer, usually within
48 hours.
Affordably priced at just $99.95 regardless of the return's
complexity, this service is a fraction of the cost of the average
CPA and includes one federal and one state tax return. Each
additional state return costs only $49.95.
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About H&R Block
H&R Block Inc. is a diversified company with subsidiaries
providing a wide range of financial products and services. In
2000, H&R Block served 19.2 million taxpayers - more than
any tax or accounting firm - through its more than 10,000 offices
located in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United
Kingdom. H&R Block served another 1.8 million tax clients
through its award-winning software program, Kiplinger TaxCut®,
and through its new online tax preparation services. Investment
services and securities products are offered through H&R
Block Financial Advisors Inc., member NYSE, SIPC. H&R Block
Inc. is not a registered broker-dealer. H&R Block Mortgage
Corporation and Option One Mortgage Corporation offer a full
range of home mortgage products. RSM McGladrey Inc. is a national
accounting, tax and consulting firm with 100 offices nationwide,
as well as an affiliation with 550 offices in 75 countries as
the U.S. member of RSM International. Quarterly results and
other information are available on the company's Web site at
www.hrblock.com.
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered trademarks
of Yahoo!, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. |