H&R Block, which is the largest tax preparer in the US, has said that it has recorded lower than expected fourth-quarter profit due to changes in the tax laws and filing delays.

The company said that its market share continues to grow in the market in the digital tax filing business while the country recorded an abnormal tax filing period. It also said that there is a significant interest from prospective buyers for its H&R Block banking operation. It said that its market share has risen 50 basis points as it filed a total of additional 4.9 million or 11 per cent higher returns in 2013.

H&R Block had laid-off 350 staff members and was forced to close down about 200 stores and also change its management in the previous year to compete better in the highly competitive digital tax preparation market as it struggled against self-service portals like Intuit Inc's TurboTax.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had delayed the tax filing season by eight days to 30 January, 2013 in order to incorporate the changes in the tax laws that were made to resolve the fiscal cliff situation in the world's largest economy at the beginning of this year.