Greetings everyone out there in cyber land. I am writing (and posting) this week’s blog on the road from Maryland as I am out of the office working with clients. On the flight up from Atlanta, I was able to get in some reading and found an interesting article in the January 2007 issue of Practical Accountant (a Source Media Publication). It deals with our good friends at H&R Block and their better disclosure to their clients of all the fees associated with Refund Anticipation Loans (RAL’s). What caught my attention is that they are reducing the costs associated with these loans.
For those who do not know how RAL’s work, let me walk you thru them. The loan is based on your anticipated refund amount and the time frame to receive your money can be a fast as a day to 11 days. The catch with these loans is that the interest rates can be as much 35 to 40 percent, not including the additional costs for forms and processing. This is a great way for tax prep firms as well as banks to make an additional bounty of money.
Smarter ways of filing your taxes and keeping more of your hard earned money is to simply E-file your return, and have the refund direct deposited into your account. This process typically takes about the same amount of time as a RAL and you save your money.
This is just a thought. Feel free to respond to this post and let me know your thoughts.
As always keeping your Business N Synergy (even on the road) :-0
Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com
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