H&R Block : 2023 Proxy Statement

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. )

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant □

Check the appropriate box:

• Preliminary Proxy Statement
• Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))☒ Definitive Proxy Statement
• Definitive Additional Materials
• Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

H&R BLOCK, INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check all boxes that apply):

• No fee required.

• Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
• Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

2023

Proxy Statement

and Notice of

Annual Meeting

of Shareholders

One H&R Block Way

Kansas City, Missouri 64105

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Date and Time

Virtual Meeting Site

	Friday, November 3, 2023	www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/HRB2023
	8:00 a.m. Central Time
Items of Business:		Our Board of Directors
			Recommends You Vote:
1.	Election of the nine nominees for director named in this proxy	FOR each nominee
	statement (See page 5);
2.	Ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the	FOR the ratification of the
	Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal	appointment
	year ending June 30, 2024 (See page 52);
3.	Advisory approval of the Company's named executive officer	FOR approval, on an advisory basis
	compensation (See page 53);
4.	Advisoryapprovalofthefrequencyofholdingfutureadvisoryvotesonthe	FOR oneyear,onanadvisorybasis
	Company'snamedexecutiveofficercompensation(Seepage54);and

5. Totransactsuchotherbusinessasmayproperlycomebeforethemeeting andanyadjournmentorpostponementthereof.

These items of business are more fully described in the proxy statement accompanying this notice. The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on September 11, 2023 as the record date for determining shareholders of the Company entitled to receive notice of and vote at the meeting and any adjournment or postponement thereof.

To be admitted to the meeting online, you must enter the Control Number found on your proxy card, voting instruction card,ornotice ofavailabilityofproxymaterials.Alistofshareholders entitled to voteatthemeetingwill bemadeavailable during the meeting at the website referenced above.

WHETHER OR NOT YOU EXPECT TO ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING VIRTUALLY, WE URGE YOU TO VOTE YOUR SHARES VIA THE TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER OR OVER THE INTERNET, AS PROVIDED IN THE ENCLOSED MATERIALS. IF YOU REQUESTED A PROXY CARD BY MAIL, YOU MAY SIGN, DATE, AND MAIL THE PROXY CARD IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

KATHARINE M. HAYNES

Vice President and Corporate Secretary

Kansas City, Missouri

September 21, 2023

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 3, 2023.

The Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year

ended June 30, 2023 are available at www.proxyvote.com.

September 21, 2023

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

One of the best parts of serving as your Chairman is this annual opportunity to share with you the Board's views on the performanceoftheCompany,thebusinessenvironmentand,aboveall,ourthinkingabouttheprospectsforthefuture.My fellow Board members and I are extremely pleased with the performance of Jeff Jones and his team and look forward to what lies ahead in fiscal 2024 and beyond.

Jeff's letter in our 2023 Annual Report surveys in detail the progress our business has made toward achieving our five-yearBlockHorizonstransformationalstrategy,ourongoingcommitmenttoreturningcapitaltoyou,ourshareholders, through dividends and share repurchase, and our manifold commitments to making positive change in the communities in which we operate. In this letter, I'd like to focus on how we are developing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to serve our clients better.

While AI has only recently commanded widespread attention through the release of ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms, AI has in fact been an integral element of our technology roadmap for some time. Recently, we became part of Microsoft's AI 100, resulting in an industry-leading partnership with Microsoft to leverage its Azure OpenAI services and leading generative AI technology. Though we have been building in-house capabilities for some time, we believe we can further accelerate our progress by leveraging the most advanced AI models in the world while continuing to keep data security a top priority. In the early stages of our partnership with Microsoft, we expect to develop and deploy advanced approachesusinggenerativeAItofuelfasterandbetterexperiencesfortaxpayers.Wewillinitiallybefocusedontwoareas. First, using generative AI to reduce expenses and increase productivity, and second, to deliver enhanced customer experiences.

Andthat'sonlythe beginning.Aswegrowandexpandourservicestosmallbusinessandbroaden ourfinancialproducts base,generativeAIislikelytobeavaluabletool.ItisanexcitingtimetobeinthebusinessesweareinandtheBoardisreally proud of the way Jeff and his team are leaning into this technology.

A few more items. We continue to be aggressive in returning capital to you, our shareholders. For the second fiscal year in a row, we repurchased $550 million of stock and just last month increased our quarterly dividend by an additional 10%, whichwouldbe$1.28/shareonanannualbasis.Thesolidperformanceofourstockinavolatileandoftenconfusingmarket reflects both the strength of our businesses as well as these capital allocation policies. But another key factor has been a significant improvement in our ongoing communication withour shareholders and potential investors. I would encourage all of you to visit our investor relations website: investors.hrblock.com.

Like most of corporate America, our Annual Meeting is completely virtual and will remain so in the future. But I strongly encourage all of you to log in and participate. Jeff and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

As always, the entire H&R Block community-the Board, Senior Management, our Associates, and our Franchisees-sincerely appreciate the support you-ourshareholders-provide. We are most thankful.

Best regards,

Robert A. Gerard

Chairman of the Board

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HELPFUL RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii PROXY STATEMENT INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

FISCAL YEAR 2023 HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 GOVERNANCE HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ESG HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

PROPOSAL 1 - ELECTION OF DIRECTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

DIRECTOR NOMINATION PROCESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SELECTING AND EVALUATING OUR NOMINEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SUMMARY OF DIRECTOR NOMINEES' SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 DIRECTOR NOMINEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETINGS AND COMMITTEES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 DIRECTOR COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 DIRECTOR COMPENSATION TABLE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE BOARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 DIRECTOR ATTENDANCE AT ANNUAL MEETINGS OF SHAREHOLDERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 BOARD'S ROLE IN RISK OVERSIGHT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR SHAREHOLDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PRACTICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 FISCAL YEAR 2023 EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PROGRAM SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 FISCAL YEAR 2023 COMPENSATION PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 VESTING AND PERFORMANCE-BASED PAYOUTS OF FISCAL YEAR 2021 PSUS AND MSUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 FISCAL YEAR 2024 COMPENSATION PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 OTHER BENEFITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 COMPENSATION BENCHMARKING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

ROLES OF THE INDEPENDENT COMPENSATION CONSULTANT, MANAGEMENT, AND THE BOARD IN EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

OTHER EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PRACTICES AND POLICIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT, SEVERANCE, AND TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 RISK ASSESSMENT IN COMPENSATION PROGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 GRANTS OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS TABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END TABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 OPTION EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED TABLE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS, CHANGE IN CONTROL AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE IN CONTROL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE IN CONTROL TABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 PAY RATIO DISCLOSURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 PAY VERSUS PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 AUDIT FEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

H&R Block, Inc. | Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and 2023 Proxy Statement	i