kathykoul:  First, neither is better - they are both chains which hire tons of newbies every year and put them through a crash course on tax prep and very often these people don't return. If all you have is a w-2 then why not consider going to the irs website www.irs.gov and click the free efile link which will give you a bunch of sites to self-prepare and won't cost you anything, or it will be very little. It's a matter of answering the questions and inputting the information from your w-2 when prompted. You should also know a chain will charge you $60 - $100 for a basic return like that (1 w-2, no dependents). The 2 day refund is in reality a loan. It's called a RAL (refund anticipation loan). It's a bank loan against the refund which the IRS will issue within 8 - 15 days. The loan will come to you in 2 - 4 days. The interest rate for the 10 or so days in which the bank has paid you and they are waiting for the IRS to pay them is approx 35 - 39% which in my opinion is worse than loan sharking. So the tax preparation and the loan fees will cost you at least $200 just so you can get your refund a week - 10 days earlier. If you efile now you will have your refund by April 1 if you select direct deposit into your checking/savings. It only takes the IRS 8 - 15 days to do this once they accept your return. E-filing simply means that you electronically submit your return vs. sending in the mail. Try it yourself first before you go spend that kind of money. If you run into a problem you can also use the hr block website and for a much smaller fee you can ask questions about your return, however you can't get a RAL online - that you have to go to an office for. I strongly suggest you avoid that though.
2008-03-12 03:43:03

bostonianinmo:  What you're looking at is a rip-off known as a Refund Anticipation Loan. It's a very short term loan -- about 5 to 9 days -- with an extremely high interest rate, typically between 500% and 2,600% APR. To put things in perspective, the worst rip-off rate in the credit card industry is less than 70% and most are less than 40%. Also keep in mind that RALs are NOT automatic! If most of your refund is comprised of EIC payments or other refundable credits the RAL will be denied. That's because of massive amounts of fraud in that area that can delay your refund by several months. Also, if your refund is being captured for unpaid child support, back taxes, or defaulted student loans the RAL will be denied. Finally, although the RAL is "secured" by your tax refund if your credit is unusually poor it will be denied. The problem with the RAL if you're in a hurry for your money is that in most cases it won't be acted on until your tax return has been submitted to the IRS. If the RAL is subsequently denied, your refund will still be processed through the RAL bank (who will still stick you with service charges by the way) before it's forwarded to your bank or sent by check to the tax prep office for payment to you. This will delay your refund by one to two weeks past the date that the IRS would have paid it directly to you by direct deposit to your bank account. If you need your money by April 1st there is STILL time to have it by then WITHOUT being ripped off by the RALs. Today is March 13th. If you file TODAY you should have your refund in your bank by the 21st with no problem. Even if you delay a couple of days you'd see it by the 28th without wasting your money on a RAL. And if you're unlucky enough to have your refund delayed by the IRS for any reason, a RAL won't help you any since you won't get the RAL at all. There's another rip-off to watch out for. Many tax prep places will suggest that you can have your tax prep fees paid from your refund. DON'T DO IT! That will delay your refund by a week or more while your refund is sent to their bank first to have the fee (plus the banks "convenience charge" of around $30 or so) stripped from your refund and then forwarded to your bank. If you feel that you must go to one of the tax prep mills, at least pay the bill in cash or put it on your credit card! If you want the fastest and cheapest refund possible, just go to the IRS website and click on the Free E-File link on the left side of the page. Shoot, I'll make it easier for you -- here's a link: http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html You can e-file your Federal return for free (although there may be a small charge for your State return) and have your money in hand by the 21st or 28th if you have it sent directly to your bank. (And your state probably has it's own free e-file system in place, just check your state's department of revenue website.) All that for free, and you don't even need to leave the house!
2008-03-12 03:43:48