H & R Block

Last time I looked -- maybe 6 months ago -- all I could find for H & R Block in the UK was help for service men/women here.  Nothing else on them posted on here for last couple of years.

We have an American friend working in the UK for over 30 years who "neglected" to file his US tax returns.  A year or so ago he located a UK tax accountant who sorted him out and brought him up to date (and apparently didn't charge for it??  )  But this guy seems to have now disappeared.  Anyway, our friend now says he's using H & R Block.  I said I thought they were only useful for service people and he said oh no they were very helpful and knowledgeable and he is very satisfied.  Anybody know about this?

If using an IPAD or similar Mac and going through Google, you eventually can find a page under H&R Block international (which is simply their normal US site) for the UK, but it takes some inventive use of their search function if you wish not to be tracked. They list one location: RAF Lakenheath.

This thread came up on the BritishExpats site, and makes reference to someone indicating they use HR Block. See the 2nd post on this, page 3 of the thread, post #32 from mona2288.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/us-immigration-citizenship-visas-34/renouncing-citizenship-huge-increase-fees-842306/page3/



There are always requests for tax accountants, so here is a selection of places to look:

The US Embassy site, London:
http://london.usembassy.gov/tax_preparation_services.html

The National Association of Enrolled Agents, United Kingdom:
https://member.naea.org/naeassa/rflssareferral.query_page?p_vendor_ty=EA
(leave all search boxes blank; for distance - change to 'please select', and enter United Kingdom in the country box.)

The American Citizens Abroad Directory, Great Britain:
http://www.acareturnpreparerdirectory.com/listing/results.php?location_1=6&categories=5&screen=14
The ACA site is for individuals who may be associates of larger firms such as Frank Hirth, or one of the Big 4 (many, many duplicate addresses).

Then there are those advertising on this site, such as Taxes for Expats or Greenback. Or Google US/UK tax advisors. There are many. As we all know, the trick is to find one who is good, is someone we can work with, and most importantly, they are qualified for the US/UK task. Oh, and there is the complexity of return/cost consideration.

If you elect to use an advisor, don't be surprised if all conversations/transactions take place over the internet, and they may be located in another country. Good luck.

H&R Block RAF Lakenheath? I bet they have some interesting clients

Lakenheath is the base for the 48th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force, according to the interwebby. IIRC, there are other US forces stationed nearby at another base also. Someone may know.

Yeah, that's what I thought with regard to Lakenheath location.  I saw that HRB International site but didn't look very informative.  Not saying I was intending to use HRB myself but just wondering where this guy gets his tax advisers from!!