Jackson Hewitt Tax School Review Work From Home

Is Jackson Hewitt worth working for? 

During the last big scary stock dip (2008-2009), I took on a side hustle and became a tax-preparer by going to Jackson Hewitt Tax School.  They trained me and hired me.  The original post about that process is linked below.   If I can do it, so can you -- I'm a math-phobe from way back. The only cost I incurred was for the books ($99).  

If you are looking for a side hustle that is seasonal, with work-from-home potential, this might be perfect for you.  

Not only do you help people, but you also earn extra cash, and keep up with all the latest in the tax code.  H&R Block also has a tax school and they also train and hire part-time tax preparers. 

The pay from the local Jackson-Hewitt Tax office in 2010 was only $7.50 an hour.  Remote work wasn't even contemplated, so I was in a retail office for a few hours every weekend, which was really unpleasant.  

After I completed one season of work, I didn't go back because I made more managing my taxes differently than I did actually preparing taxes by the hour for others.  The learning was invaluable.  If I had made more per hour and kept up the training, I probably would have switched to H&R Block.  

Tax Preparer Side Hustle

Now that so many returns are completed online, I can imagine the experience with either of these tax prep shops would be much better.  I never worked in a Wal-Mark kiosk for Jackson Hewitt, but always feel bad for those employees who do. 

Now if you like numbers and want to work remotely? There is enough training, support, and software at either of these companies to make it your while.  

If you have worked remotely to do tax preparation, please share your experience in the comments!  

Check Out the Programs' Websites

H&R Block Training Course

Jackson Hewitt Training Course

Original blog post 2009 Jackson Hewitt Tax School 

Jackson-Hewitt Tax School

Scary thing to do -- I signed up for Jackson-Hewitt Tax School yesterday.

The personable young lady who administered my registration test asked me "why do you want to come to tax school?"

I told her I write a blog. People reading my blog need simple information about taxes and I sure need to understand taxes if I'm going to write a money blog.

She smiled at the idea of the blog and took my $99 (it's a free course, but the books cost a pretty penny).

You can go to tax school too. The time to enroll is now! H&R Block has a tax school as well, but the last time I checked, it costs around  $250. If you do well, they will sign you up for part-time work if you are interested. I probably won't do it, since the hourly pay to begin with is pretty low. But it could be a life-saver for someone who lost their job during the recession. This is the season that tax schools do their training. You won't be able to sign up for one of these courses again until next fall.

Or you could just check back and read this blog. I'll be posting most important lessons as I go.

First thing to know is that to register for tax school at JH, you have to go in and take a test. I've never prepared taxes before, so it took me about 20 minutes to read through the materials and take the test. Do it slowly! The software tripped me up and although I knew the answers, I only got 45% on the first go-round. The second time I took the test, (and took my time with clicking the box I meant to click), I scored 100%.

And if you want to sign up for school, bring your checkbook. JH doesn't take American Express.

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