Pros
Overall I'm happy that I started my career in tax accounting at HRB. I was able to prepare more returns and get more direct experience working with clients than I probably would have at any other company. The education they provide is high quality—many preparers are able to sit for the EA exam only by studying the company's online educational materials. I would recommend this job to anyone looking to start a career in tax, or looking for a flexible part-time job. The office I worked in had a collaborative atmosphere, where anyone could ask for advice from anyone else, as long as they weren't currently meeting with a client. The hours are flexible; you say at the beginning of the season which days and times you can work. 95% of my clients were wonderful people and it was rewarding working with them, but few were angry and borderline abusive. The work requires a lot of tact in managing expectations and dealing with disappointment about nonexistent refunds and unplanned fees. In this job you will need to have a good command of basic tax law for individuals and the ability to recall rules from memory during in-person client interviews. That said, it's always possible to place a return on hold to do some research—clients generally respect your thoroughness if you do so.
Kontras
The pay is basically minimum wage. There is theoretically a commission system, but it mostly benefits the most experienced tax pros in the office. Any time spent not completing returns (answering phones, providing staffing coverage, learning, working on returns that don't get approved) dilutes your returns-per-hour. Pros with an established client base and the personal capital to refuse working extra hours are able to maximize their hourly pay. The pricing system made me uncomfortable. Often clients with low income will end up paying some of the highest fees, due to separate charges for claiming dependents, claiming the Child Tax Credit, claiming the Earned Income Credit, and having more than three W-2s. But people who choose a refund advance tend to be more interested in how much they are getting, not how much they are paying. At HRB there were people I deeply respected as professionals, and others I wouldn't trust anywhere near my own return. While most employees are diligent about learning tax law and applying it accurately, others are lackadaisical about it, doing what they THINK the law is or should be. Unfortunately HRB's test-based system of promotion doesn't reward knowledge (or honesty). Leveling up is done through taking untimed, unproctored, open-book exams, which invites cheating. I saw a woman with twenty years experience revert to a level two, because she didn't retake her test that year. Meanwhile, another coworker became a level four after collaborating with others on his test, despite not knowing some basic concepts. There is little oversight in the office regarding tax preparation, other than pressure to sell products. This isn't a good permanent position for someone who wants to make accounting a career.