Tax Advance Refund Anticipation Loan and Tax Related Product Responsibility

Making Quality Tax Preparation and Tax Loans Accessible

Tax-related products play an important role during the tax season. Every year millions of consumers access tax-related products in order to facilitate tax preparation fee payment by withholding fees from a taxpayer’s refund. It is difficult for many unbanked working and middle class taxpayers to pay for tax preparation services out of pocket in cash. Tax-related products make the services of our qualified tax professionals available with no upfront fees. Tax Advance refund anticipation loan online services allow consumers the option of a tax advance tax refund loan.

Keeping Services and Tax Loan Related Products Affordable

Other tax preparation companies disclose a fee for preparing and e-filing a Federal tax return but then add on additional (hidden) costs for other required services later in the tax return preparation process. We have compiled a list of the most common additional fees but this list is not all inclusive:

• ​​State Tax Return Filing
• Refund Anticipation Check (RAC)
• Application or Administrative
• Technology
• Audit Assist
• Check Handling/Issuance & Cashing
• Amended Tax Return
• Prepaid Card Issuance
• E-filing
• Service Bureau
• Transmission or Processing
• Additional Copy of Tax Return

Taxnet Financial Inc. has developed a simple and affordable fee structure for taxpayers. We charge a reasonable fee for individual tax preparation services which is not allowed to exceed $528 for a single tax year per company policy.

E-filing tax loan related product applications, audit assistance, amended tax returns, additional copies of tax returns, check issuance, prepaid card issuance and all other administrative fees are services provided to our clients at no additional cost.

Full Disclosure

Although the majority of tax preparation companies operate with full disclosure, honesty, and integrity a group of unscrupulous companies have misapplied tax loan related products and violated the public’s trust. To combat misrepresentation of tax loan related products Illinois passed the Tax Refund Anticipation Loan Reform Act effective January 2013 which limits interest rates on refund anticipation loans and requires full disclosure to consumers.

To provide fair and full disclosure to our clients and ensure compliance to statutes we have taken the following steps:

• Designed website in a manner for taxpayers to view all available tax solutions in a clear and concise manner.
• Developed a clear and concise fee structure for tax preparation fees and tax-related products.
• Prominently displayed tax-related product disclosures in our offices and on all advertisement sources.
• Required tax-related product training for all employees that interact with the public.
• Developed internal controls and policies to assist us in offering tax-related products in a responsible manner.
• Set a tone from the top of the organization that embraces ethical behavior over corporate profits.

We continue to display fee schedules for all refund options including the option to get a tax refund anticipation loan online. On January 1, 2013 we began to “prominently display” on each fee schedule a “Notice Concerning Refund Anticipation Loans” as required by the Tax Refund Anticipation Loan Reform Act.

Opportunities for the Unbanked

For the 9 million American households that are unbanked, tax-related products offer the opportunity to receive a refund faster than if they were to receive their refund as an IRS paper check. This refund transfer product also provides a secure method for receiving the refund amount rather than having a large check mailed to the taxpayer’s residence. For many unbanked taxpayers, prepaid card products are great alternatives to check cashing establishments. Prepaid card products give unbanked taxpayers the benefits of an account including security and convenience.