I just Googled "will h&r block tax software require windows 11? Reply: No, H&R Block tax software does not require Windows 11. The company's official system requirements state that the software is compatible with Windows 10 or higher, meaning it will run on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. I've been loyal to TurboTax for over ten years, and I am very comfortable with it, but I refuse to purchase a Windows 11 PC just for one application. Online version? No thanks. In light of the common occurrences of hacking and data security breaches, expecting a responsible person with common sense to upload their financial "life" to a cloud server is equally preposterous. It seems to me the most practical solution is to switch over to the H&R Block application, which raises the question: Are there any TurboTax users out there who have experience with the H&R Block application? Honest, unbiased comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
You might want to take note that your result is from a Google search and that can be unreliable at times or even misleading.
What I got was the following (read the last line carefully!)
Thank you. Yes, I Googled it again, specifically tax year 2024: "will h&r block tax software require windows 11
for tax year 2024
."Reply:
for tax year 2024
will not require Windows 11. The minimum requirement for the desktop software is Windows 10 or higher, which includes Windows 11.Key system requirements for H&R Block 2024 tax software:
Operating System: Windows 10 or higher
@user17570948549 wrote:No, H&R Block tax softwarefor tax year 2024
will not require Windows 11.
WRONG TAX YEAR!
You want to know whether H&R Block tax software will require Windows 11 for the 2025 TAX YEAR.
2024 tax returns were due last April (or October 2025 with an extension filed).
2025 tax software is for returns due in April of 2026.
EDIT: Did you even bother to READ the post from the Reddit user who contacted H&R Block by phone?
Perhaps this new piece of information might be helpful. The following copy and paste, taken today, came directly from the H&R Block website. It seems consistent with the Google replies:
To install your tax software, your computer needs to be able to meet several H&R Block software system requirements. Without these basic requirements, the H&R Block Tax Software might not be able to function properly on your computer.
The H&R Block Tax Software minimum system requirements for Windows and Mac are below.
Windows:
Operating system: Windows® 10 or higher.
Browser: Internet Explorer® 11 or higher
Mac:
Operating system: Mac OS® X 10.15.7 or higher.
Browser: Safari® 15.6.1 or higher.
General:
Hard-Disk Space: 170MB
Monitor: 1024×768, SVGA color monitor
Printer: Compatible inkjet or laser
Speakers and Sound Card: For videos / animations
You’ll also need an internet connection to meet H&R Block software system requirements.
@user17570948549 wrote:H&R Block has not announced any changes to this policy for the upcoming tax season."
Again, it's a Google search and the upshot is H&R Block has not announced any changes which, obviously, does NOT necessarily mean there won't be any (i.e., Windows 11 could be required).
@user17570948549 wrote:Perhaps this new piece of information might be helpful.
No, it is NOT helpful since the stated requirements apply to the 2024 tax software (used to prepare 2024 income tax returns).
Again, read the post from the Reddit user who actually called Block support. He was simply told that the software would be released sometime in November and they were not aware whether there would be any changes in the system requirements (i.e., no commitment one way or the other).,
Re your request for input on the H&R Block consumer-level tax prep software, I can tell you that users of those versions have posted on this board over the years with the opinions being somewhat of a mixed bag.
Most of whom I can recall stated that the software did the job BUT the consensus seemed to be that it was not as intuitive (i.e., user-friendly) as TurboTax and quite a few appeared to have switched back to TurboTax after trying Block for a year.
which desktop is better is a matter of personal preference. I started out with H&R decades ago, I did not like it after using it just one year, so I switched to TT and have been using the desktop version ever since. 2023 was fine. then in 2024 the TT developers went insane in revising the interview mode for the desktop version. i would rate it a minus 10 (worse than what I remember about the H&R app). forms mode is still ok which is what I mainly use.
**********************
I also did something else. I have a full PC and I took an SSD from a second computer and following great instructions available on the web installed W11 on it. Then I installed TT 2024 with no problems. Open my 2024 tax file and everything appears as it does in the original W10 version. Also installed MS office though i had some issues. I made the computer dual boot so I can choose between booting to w10 or w11. this post is through the w11 drive. My computer does not have a TPM not even the 1.2 version and the processor is an intel I7 4000 series. The worst problem encountered was with my printer which dates back to W95. there is no native driver in w11 and the maker doesn't offer any except a generic PCL driver. Installing that worked but it took a while to figure out all the adjustments that had to be done so it worked.
so for $0 cost just time - a lot of it, I now have w11.
Thanks, yes, "mixed bag" is consistent with the online queries I've done so far, and "not as user-friendly" is also consistent. Assuming H&R Block software will be Win10 ESU compatible, it is still more attractive than replacing our otherwise fully capable and "dialed-in" PCs. I hope that Intuit will reconsider its stated policy in light of the Microsoft ESU program...
Regardless, my suggestion is still to buy your regular version of TurboTax, directly from Intuit, and try to install and run the software. If it does not work, you can always get a refund under their 60-day satisfaction guarantee.
After that, you could then buy the H&R Block (or TaxAct) software and see if that works.
Thank you. That is a very creative and clever solution path for dealing with this Inuit policy! Thanks for sharing that. I just checked out a few YouTube videos promoting "non-mainstream" Windows 11 installations. Estimating the time and potential frustration compelled me to also check on the "mini-pc" market, also known as NUCS. On Amazon, I found little boxes for sale under $200 with Windows 11 pre-installed with .5 GB drives, WiFI, Ethernet, USB, and triple monitor support. I think that will be my backstop solution if H&R Block doesn't work for me. But I'm still hoping Intuit will reconsider its policy in light of the Microsoft Windows 10 ESU program --- not just for us Win10 TurboTax users but for INTU stockholders as well 🙂
Thanks. Please correct me if I am mistaken, but I get the impression you are suggesting the software might install and run properly on a Windows 10 PC and is therefore worth the time and effort to try it. Do you know something I don't know? 🙂
It's unlikely Intuit will reverse course they've been decisioning this all year (the article below used to say "may restrict" for many months), so hoping for that is not a good plan; desktop is less than 1% of their revenue, 5% of total TurboTax revenue, declining 5% while online/live is increasing 10% annually. Per their latest quarterly results, they've no problem "yielding share for low average revenue per return users" (desktop and even some online) if revenue is growing at a clip elsewhere. So don't look to INTU shareholders for help - things like mailchimp are moving the stock, no one cares about Windows 10 (or ItsDeductible). They have all the numbers and have likely projected most will simply upgrade to 11 and move on, some will move to online, some will move to H&R Block - and some of those will come back in 2026 when this all blows over - and they don't care as long as online revenue keeps growing and probably determined it wasn't worthwhile to deliver and support s/w on an unsupported OS (ESU is not "extended support" just critical/important security patches), for what will be a small % of their users by Feb. We'll see in a year how it all falls out, but very likely a non-issue if not a revenue boost for Intuit.
So Intuit's position is clear - they aggressively remove unsupported OS (do it every year for MacOS), upgrade and use it or not, they don't care. Meanwhile, you presumably need a solution for your machine by October 2026 regardless of how you do your taxes; to use Turbo you just need to have a new machine 6 months sooner than otherwise. You can do all these workarounds or disrupt your tax prep process but you'll need a new machine a few months after you file if it can't handle Win 11.
Personally I think it's unlikely TT will work on Win 10 without some sort of hack, Intuit has stated "You won’t be able to install or use TurboTax Desktop 2025 on Windows 10." and even if you get it to download and install you have to activate the software I would imagine the activation server will check the OS version. Even if you get past all that, you'll be unsupported by both Intuit and MS, if you have any sort of issue with installation, importing 1099s, updates, forms, filing then the response is going to be you shouldn't be running it on Win 10 whether that's the issue or not. But it certainly seems worthwhile waiting a few months either way to confirm final direction by MS, Intuit and H&R Block.
👍Kudos to baldietax.
Thank you for your thoughtful and impressive analysis of all aspects, and boiling it down to: "You can do all these workarounds or disrupt your tax prep process but you'll need a new machine a few months after you file if it can't handle Win 11." 😆
@baldietax wrote:Personally I think it's unlikely TT will work on Win 10 without some sort of hack,...
Yes, if the program looks for the hack in the registry (or does a hardware check for TPM 2.0), then I agree at this point in time. I doubt either one of the aforementioned will be the case, however.