Several hundred New Hampshire residents are receiving refunds from tax preparer H&R Block over what the state calls erroneous charges.
The Attorney General’s office found a case in which H&R Block had charged a consumer to prepare a business and profits tax return that was neither needed nor filed.
Senior Assistant Attorney General James Boffetti says the state suspected other H&R Block customers might have had the same problem. “We asked [the company] to do a complete audit of their New Hampshire customers who were billed this past tax season,” Boffetti says. “There were 656 folks who were charged.”
Boffetti says the charges were likely caused by a software glitch, and that the affected individuals should have already received refunds totaling about $32,000.
H&R Block has also agreed to new protocols and training to avoid a similar scenario in the future, and it will pay for the cost of the investigation plus $5,000 in lieu of civil penalties.