Warren couple owes IRS almost $4K after H&R Block glitch

WARREN, Mich. (WJBK) - It's tax season and Johnathon Ott and his wife decided to use H&R Block.

"We went in on February 6 to have our taxes done. We came prepared with all of our information, and it was a pretty smooth transaction. We got a little over $6,000 back," he said.

The couple got married last year and bought a house, so they said they would use the money to pay bills and make home renovations.

"It wasn't out of the ordinary for us because we had a lot of things go on in 2015. We got married, we bought a house, my wife finished her graduate degree -- so this was our first time filing jointly as a married couple," he said.

And then a bombshell: They were over-refunded.

"We now have to pay back $3, 390 to the IRS, and the issue came up because of a glitch in the H&R block computer system," Ott said.

He said H&R Block should pay them so they can pay the IRS and take care of the problem the company caused. But he said so far, the company is offering only a refund of the fees they paid to have their taxes prepared, which comes out to $236.

Ott said the company's peace of mind insurance was never offered to them.

"Peace of mind, to my understanding, is a product they offer for an extra fee that provides you with protection if they make a mistake on your return, or if it turns out that you're audited by the IRS," he said.

FOX 2 contacted H&R Block and late Monday afternoon, the company said the following:

"We take the situation seriously and we will be paying the client's tax liability," said Gene King, H&R Block spokesperson.

Ott said he believes this is the way it should be.

"Please take responsibility for your glitch. This is not even a mistake -- this is a glitch," he said.