Don’t Let Tax Time Cause Panic or Fear

H&R Block offers Peace of Mind for Rogers County and Tulsa taxpayers.

The professionals at H&R Block in Claremore and Owasso are ready to assist taxpayers with the preparation of their tax returns. Seated is Dawn Lund. From left, standing, is Henry Harrison, Wilma Benefield, Bob Brun, franchisee, and Pam Ziriax.

Everyone knows what April 15 means. Tax time. But there’s no need to panic or fear the process if you have a well-known tax preparation service taking care of you.

    H&R Block is one of the world’s largest tax service providers, preparing one in every seven U.S. tax returns each year. In Rogers and Tulsa County, the Claremore and Owasso offices are opened year-round, not just at tax time.

    Bob Brun, H&R Block franchisee and Certified Public Accountant, owns and operates the Claremore office and in partnership with Pat Etzkorn owns and operates the Owasso office. “Both Pat and I are Enrolled Agents,” says Brun, “meaning we can sit before the IRS and represent our clients if necessary.” Both offices offer a wide variety of services including: the preparation of individual, business, farm, corporation, trust and estate tax returns, as well as payroll and bookkeeping services.

    H&R Block’s client focused philosophy for the past 55 years has been to help clients with their tax and financial needs.  Brun says “we deliver Block's client philosophy by providing our clients with professionally prepared and accurate tax returns and obtain for them the maximum refund available and/or minimize their tax liability in accordance with the U.S. and State Tax Codes. We want to make sure our clients understand the contents and computation of their returns and alternatives available to them to improve the outcome of their current and future tax returns”.

    A total of 27 tax preparers are available to assist taxpayers at both locations. “Employees are required to have taken a basic three-month tax course and annually must obtain 15 hours or more of tax related continuing education,” Brun says.

    H&R Block provides their clients with its Standard Guarantee, which states “if an error is discovered on a Block prepared return and results in additional penalty and interest assessments Block will pay the additional fees.  Also, an HRB representative will assist the client in responding to any taxing authority inquiries about their tax return.”

    H&R Block also offers an optional three-year Peace of Mind Extended Service Plan. For a fee, the extended service plan is available upon the completion of a client’s current year's tax return, giving the client professional audit representation and reimbursement up to $5,500 in additional federal and state taxes owing due to a variance in the preparation of the client's return.

    An Emerald Prepaid MasterCard is also available for H&R Block clients. With the card, taxpayers can have their federal and state refunds deposited to their Emerald Card. “This is especially good for those who don’t have bank accounts,” says Brun. “The Emerald Card is rated number 2 in the U.S. for prepaid debt cards.” The Emerald cardholders can make purchases at no extra charge. “They can also make direct deposit of their payroll and other checks directly to the card at no charge,” he adds. Users of the Emerald card can also use it as an ATM card at any ATM, or at an Allpoint ATM without any additional ATM charge.

    Free tax consultation service is available to new and current clients.

    Block also provides its Free Second Look service whereby Block will check your last three years' returns prepared by either you or others.  The tax preparer will notify the tax client if the return is correct as it stands or if the return contains errors.  If the client requests that the return be amended there is a charge. If the return, as presented, is correct, Block will extend its Standard Guarantee on the return.

    Both H&R Block locations accept walk-ins, appointments and drop offs. Hours during tax season are Monday through Friday, 9 to 9; Saturday, 9 to 5; and Sunday, 10 to 5.

For more information, contact

H&R Block

www.hrblock.com

About Author Carol Beck-Round

After 30 years in public school education, Carol Round retired and moved from Grand Lake to Claremore, Oklahoma in 2005, where she writes a weekly faith-based column which runs in 14 Oklahoma newspapers as well as several national and international publications. Three volumes of her columns have been compiled into collections: A Matter of Faith, Faith Matters and by FAITH alone. She has also written Journaling with Jesus: How to Draw Closer to God and a companion workbook, The 40-Day Challenge. This past year she has written three children’s books, a series called Nana’s 3 Jars, to teach children about the value of giving, saving and spending money. All of Carol’s books are available through Amazon. In addition to writing her weekly column, authoring books and speaking to women’s groups, she writes for Value News. She also blogs regularly at www.carolaround.com. When she is not writing or speaking, she loves spending time with her three grandchildren, working in her flowerbeds, shooting photos, volunteering at her church or going on mission trips overseas, and hiking. She is also an avid reader and loves working crosswords and trying to solve Sudoku puzzles.