Refund Advance tax loans

The Refund Advance loan program has ended for this year.

Refund Advance tax loans are typically available between December and February.  Jackson Hewitt offers an Early Refund Advance, available in December, while most other tax companies start offering their loans in January.  Refund Advance loan applications for Jackson Hewitt are closed for season, so check back around Thanksgiving to see when the next Early Refund Advance loan is available.

The Early Refund Advance is a convenient way for you to access money for the holiday season.  An Early Refund Advance is a 0% APR loan from MetaBank^®, N.A. that you could get with just a pay stub or other proof of income.  So, unlike other Refund Advances, this is a way to access money before your W-2 is available in January (or later).

No Fee Refund Advance is a no fee, 0% APR loan provided by MetaBank^®, N.A. available at participating Jackson Hewitt locations.  Clients can apply for a No Fee Refund Advance loan when they file taxes at Jackson Hewitt from January through late February.

The Go Big Refund Advance is a fee-based loan provided by MetaBank^®, N.A. available at participating Jackson Hewitt locations. Clients can apply for the Go Big loan when they file taxes in January.

If you applied for and received an Early Refund Advance loan, you were also required to apply for No Fee Refund Advance and Go Big Refund Advance (if available) loans. To complete your Refund Advance application, you had to file your taxes with your W2(s) or other income verification by Jan 28, 2021 to be eligible to apply for the No Fee Refund Advance loan.

It depends on which Refund Advance loan you choose, and amounts are subject to change from season to season.

The No Fee Refund Advance and the Early Refund Advance loans have no finance fee or any other fees associated with the loan.

In 2020, the Go Big Refund Advance loan had a finance fee of 2.5% of the loan amount. For example, for a $1,500 Go Big Refund Advance loan, the total amount payable by your tax refunds was $1,537.50 including the fee.  Depending on the loan duration, the effective APR of the loan would vary.  Based on a loan duration of 30 days, the 2.5% fee would translate to a 30.42% APR.

The amount you owe would be deducted directly from your tax refunds, if sufficient. If your tax refunds are insufficient to pay your loan in full, future  returns filed with Jackson Hewitt may be applied to repay the outstanding loan balance, if applicable.

Yes. Online prequalification is no longer active, but this feature will be available again next year. Returning clients may receive direct communication about their prequalification amounts. This is an estimate based on limited information and could change when more information is available after you complete your tax return with Jackson Hewitt.

Amounts are subject to change from season to season.

• In 2020, No Fee Refund Advance loan sizes were $500, $750, $1,000, $1,250, $2,500 and $4,000 for qualifying clients.
• In 2020, Go Big Refund Advance loan sizes were $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500, $4,000, $5,000, and $6,000 for qualifying clients. Maximum Go Big Refund Advance loan amount for new clients was $2,500.
• In 2020, with Early Refund Advance, qualifying clients could access $200, $300 or $700 of the No Fee or Go Big Refund Advance loan amounts as early as December 14, 2019 until January 17, 2020.

For tax year 2020, the Early Refund Advance, Go Big Refund Advance, and No Fee Refund Advance loan options were available at select participating Jackson Hewitt stores. The Go Big Refund Advance was not available to customers in Connecticut.

Loans may be disbursed via an American Express Serve^® Card or direct deposit to a bank account of your choice.

If you were approved for a Refund Advance loan and chose to have it disbursed via an American Express Serve Card, you would have received the loan amount from within minutes to 24 hours of making your loan choice (if applicable); or, if you chose Direct Deposit, you would have received the loan amount within one to five business days after making your loan choice (if applicable).

Early Refund Advance Loans are offered prior to filing your tax return and you are not required to provide all information necessary to file your tax return to apply. When the loan program is active, you must provide your most recent pay stub or equivalent form of evidence of income so Jackson Hewitt can most accurately estimate your tax refund.

If you applied for and received an Early Refund Advance, you were also required to apply for a No Fee Refund Advance and Go Big Refund Advance (if available). To complete your Refund Advance application, you must file your taxes with your W2(s) or other income verification before February 28, 2021 at Jackson Hewitt.

No. There is no impact on your credit score if you apply for a Refund Advance.

Clients can be approved for a Refund Advance loan even if they do not have a credit history. Loan approval is subject to MetaBank^®, N.A.’s underwriting criteria that is based in part on the size of your tax refund.

When you apply for a Refund Advance loan, underwriting is performed by MetaBank^®, N.A. In 2020, they considered criteria such as: 

• Identity verification
• Payment history with the IRS
• Status of education loans, child support, tax liens, etc.

The Early Refund Advance loan was offered at participating Jackson Hewitt locations starting December 2020. Information about the Early Refund Advance loan will be available in November 2021.

For tax year 2020, all you needed was your pay stub or other proof of income to start preparing your taxes at Jackson Hewitt. In December, you could bring your latest pay stub to your appointment and see if you qualified for an Early Refund Advance of up to $700. In January, you could provide your W-2 or other tax documents to complete filing your taxes and apply for additional Refund Advance loan amounts until February 28, 2021.

When the Refund Advance loan program is active, you can apply for an Early Refund Advance loan by bringing in your latest pay stub or other proof of income for all income sources and any unemployment documents so we can most accurately estimate your expected tax refund and determine if you are eligible to apply for a loan.

Yes. The prequalification helps you get an estimate of the loan amount based on information that you provide online. However, we do obtain more information during the office visit, which could result in a larger or smaller loan than the prequalification amount.