The problem with putting some state in the 1099 questionnaire on SprintTax is that the software decides that I need to file a State return, and also calculates some unexplained tax liability.
I was thoroughly confused with SprintTax and decided to give up. TaxAct might be another viable alternative.
Coming to HR block, I'm not sure how exactly their software works, but for me, even the draft taxes were not generated until I made the payment (I had a 1099DIV+INT from my brokerage firm and a 1042-S form). I had to pay $99 extra for the 1042-S on top of the regular $99 charges for the DIY version (a total of $198).
Initially, the system generated a draft 1040 (not 1040-NR) , to my surprise, and on reaching out to them I was told that my responses to their questionnaire led to the 1040 instead of the expected1040-NR. However, the reason was not at all obvious to me and after a couple of email exchanges, they agreed to fix it to 1040 NR. Subsequently they seemed to have correctly applied the 25% tax on my 1099-DIV ordinary dividends (so I just got my 1099-DIV used as is). I have already paid the federal taxes, but am waiting on some clarification on the 1042-S before getting the returns filed.
I didn't explicitly ask for an advisor but it seems HR block has appointed someone, and I need to put my signature against a declaration that my taxes are being done by a tax preparer.
