Our History

Henry and Richard Bloch fought to keep their bookkeeping venture, United Business Company, profitable. “It was terrible business,” Henry explained. “We would get one new client and then we would lose one. Some of our accounts struggled to keep their doors open from one month to the next. And they couldn’t always pay what they owed us.”

To supplement their income, the entrepreneurial brothers prepared individual income tax returns during the tax season for their friends and other non-bookkeeping clients. Word quickly spread, and by 1954 they were preparing approximately 160 tax returns.

After battling eight years to make their bookkeeping business a success and yet barely eking out a living, the brothers transformed their business into a tax preparation service in 1955. The same year, Henry and Richard ran their first newspaper ad and they not only discovered success, but they also forged an entire industry. They renamed their venture H&R Block and it grew into one of the most well-known and respected brands in America.