Refund Anticipation Loan

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A (Tax) Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) is a high interest rate short-term loan secured by a taxpayer’s expected tax refund. Commonly, the taxpayer applies for the loan through a paid tax preparation firm such as H&R Block. The tax preparation firm receives a fee for each loan originated, but IRS rules prohibit basing this fee on the amount of the expected refund. Only the banks through which the loan is made are allowed to charge interest or finance charges.

12 million taxpayers used a RAL in 2004, according to the National Consumer Law Center [1]. With e-filing, tax refunds can be direct-deposited into the taxpayer's bank account within two weeks, rendering RALs less attractive to some.

[edit] Controversy

Despite their commonplace nature, RALs are controversial. Supporters of the practice say the loans allow people access to funds immediately in cases of an emergency such as overdue medical bills, credit payments, and other debts while they wait for the IRS to process their tax return (which can take anywhere from three weeks to two months). Opponents of RALs such as the National Consumer Law Center argue that the profit motive of lenders result in RALs being too often issued to low-income individuals who are made to think the wait for their refund is longer than it really is, who do not realize they are making a loan and the high interest rates charged by the loan (often exceeding 100% APR), and who do not actually need the funds immediately. An empirical study at Georgetown University found that a large fraction of RAL customers appear to use limited decision processes [2]. Even cash advances on credit cards have much more attractive rates than RALs. For example, a representative RAL is a ten-day $3,000 refund anticipation loan with a loan fee of $89, resulting in an annualized interest rate of 108%.[3]

More than half of all RAL consumers are low-income recipients of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), despite the fact that EITC recipients only constitute 15% of all taxpayers.

In 2002, H&R Block settled a lawsuit brought by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs for predatory lending practices with regard to RALs and the EITC.

In 2003, the Illinois Attorney General issued a detailed warning to taxpayers about such loans.

On February 15, 2006, the California Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, sued H&R Block over its refund anticipation loan business, whose interest rates top 500%, including fees. Lockyer said the company falsely portrays the nature of the loans, advertising "cash, cold, green, in your hand, out the door." In May 2005, a federal judge in Chicago rejected a $360 million settlement as inadequate. [4]