It is the last move in some jockeying by the nation's three largest tax chains in the two retail chains. For Liberty, it is the first deal with one of the two nationwide retail chains. Block, however, was switching places with Jackson Hewitt. Block operated in more than 500 Sears stores during the 2012 tax season and initially said it would cull that to 112 of the best-performing locations in 2013. But at the end of September Block said the deal with Sears was over.

Meanwhile, Block, which had moved back into Wal-Mart during the last tax season, is preparing to expand the number of locations there. And the same time Block said it was exiting Sears, Jackson Hewitt said it would operate in a majority of Sears locations. Sears also said both in-store and online preparation would be available through the tax company.