UPDATE 1-H&R Block digital tax business grows, profit falls

* Q4 EPS $1.99 vs $2.14 year ago

* Says gained about 30 basis points market share in U.S.

* Total digital tax returns prepared up 11 percent

* Shares rise 2 percent after the bell

June 26 (Reuters) - H&R Block Inc posted a lower fourth-quarter profit on charges related to job cuts earlier this year, but the top U.S. tax preparer said it gained market share in the highly competitive tax filing business.

The company cut jobs, shut stores and overhauled its management in April, to focus on the fast-growing digital tax preparation segment after several years of losing customers to do-it-yourself tax filing services like Intuit Inc's TurboTax software.

The number of tax returns prepared by the company's digital offerings grew 11 percent to 7.4 million.

The company estimates it gained 30 basis points of total U.S. market share.

Tax service revenue fell about 2 percent to $1.99 billion, as the company continues to offer some services free of charge to attract customers.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted net income of $586.1 million, or $1.99 per share, compared with $658.2 million, or $2.14, a year earlier.

H&R Block, which cut 350 jobs and shut about 200 stores in April, booked $31.2 million in severance costs and $5.5 million in impairment charges in the quarter.

Shares of the company rose 2 percent in trading after the bell. They closed at $15.09 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.