FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

FILING · MN · 2019 FDD · 6+ YEARS OLD

H&R Block FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) — 2019

The FDD is the 23-item legal disclosure every U.S. franchisor must hand you at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything (FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436). H&R Block's most recent FDD tracked here is the 2019 FDD · 6+ years old, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal) (a newer issuance very likely exists; ask the franchisor for it). Registration-state filings are public records, so you can read it free, with no sign-up.

Get the documentpublic record · PDF
Download from the Minnesota regulator (free) ↗

PUBLIC RECORD · FILED 2019 · SOURCE STATE MN

What the 2019 filing revealedextracted from the filing
ITEM 5Initial franchise fee$2,500
ITEM 7Total initial investment$32K–$149K
ITEM 3Disclosed litigation matters19
ITEM 19Earnings disclosure (FPR)None — no earnings claim published
ITEM 20Outlets (fiscal 2019)3,136 franchised at year end · 129 exits (exit rate 3.9%, fiscal 2019)
ITEM 21Franchisor financial statementsUnmodified (clean) opinion — Deloitte & Touche LLP
Item 21 · H&R Block's own audited statements2019 FDD · page-cited

Deloitte & Touche LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2019 FDD; revenue rose 2% from FY2017 to FY2019.

Audit opinion

Unmodified (clean) opinion

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Revenue · FY2019

$3.09B

extracted · not cross-checked

Net income · FY2019

$422.5M

extracted · not cross-checked

Where FY2019 revenue came from

13% royalties

initial-fee share not extracted

  • Fiscal years covered: FY2017, FY2018, FY2019 (2019 FDD)
  • Statements are for: not extracted
  • Parent / owner: not identified in the statements
Fiscal yearFY2017FY2018FY2019
Total revenue$3.04Bextracted · not cross-checked$3.16Bextracted · not cross-checked$3.09Bextracted · not cross-checked
Royalty revenue$388.0Mextracted · not cross-checked$393.5Mextracted · not cross-checked$403.2Mextracted · not cross-checked
Net income (loss)$408.9Mextracted · not cross-checked$613.1Mextracted · not cross-checked$422.5Mextracted · not cross-checked

How to read this: royalties recur as long as franchisees trade; initial and development fees arrive only when new franchises are sold. A franchisor whose revenue leans on initial fees is funding itself by selling territories, and that revenue stops when sales slow. Under ASC 606 most franchisors recognize initial fees over the agreement term, so the line understates the cash collected in a strong selling year. Ad-fund revenue, where reported, is included in total revenue as the statements present it.

Each figure links to its page in the filed PDF. “Matched to statement” means our extraction and a second, rule-based read of the statement page agree; “extracted · not cross-checked” means the statement page is a scanned image or could not be read as text. Figures we could not place on a consistent scale are withheld, not guessed. Spotted an error? Report a correction.

Every figure above was extracted by software from the 2019 H&R Block FDD as filed (figures are not individually checked by a person) and links back to that document. Fields that could not be extracted are omitted; no figure here is estimated. Extraction errors are possible: the filing controls, and FDDs are reissued annually; verify against the current issuance before relying on any number. Spotted an error? Franchisors and owners can report it via the contact on our Terms page.

H&R Block FDD questions, answered

Where can I download the H&R Block FDD for free?

H&R Block's 2019 Franchise Disclosure Document is a public record, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). It can be downloaded free from the source link on this page — no broker form, no email signup required.

What year is H&R Block's most recent FDD on file?

The most recent H&R Block FDD tracked here is the 2019 FDD · 6+ years old, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (public CARDS portal). Franchisors must update their FDD annually, so a newer issuance very likely exists; confirm you are reading the current issuance before signing.

Does H&R Block's FDD disclose earnings (Item 19)?

No — H&R Block's 2019 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim.

What does H&R Block's FDD Item 20 show?

In fiscal 2019, H&R Block ended with 3,136 franchised outlets; 129 of 3,345 open at the start of the year left the system (exit rate 3.9%, fiscal 2019) through terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons".

The H&R Block validation checklist

questions built from this brand's own filings · read them all on the profile

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