[bjhowell]

I heard today that refunds for the tax year 2007 may be held back until feb. is this true and if so, will it affect anticipation loans?

[Fr_Chuck]

Anticipatoin loans are not from the IRS, some company is loaning you the money ( like the bank does) but they are being paid back from the IRS when the payment comes. And you pay a high interest rate for this early money.
It is from many anticipation loans as close to loan sharks as you can get and be legal.

So the companies will still be there lending the money, but the catch is perhaps if they are not paid within a certain amount of time, you may owe them additional fees. *** will all depend on the terms of the loan.

For examaple if you go to the ABC company, they will be funding loans though the CBA or some loan company.

[ScottGem]

The IRS announced that only a small number of people will be affected.

And if you take a refund anticipation loan you are being very foolish.

[bjhowell]

Thanks for the info. Why do you say it would be foolish to get an anticipation loan? I have done it before and had no problems. I have a friend file it and it costs me nothing!

[MukatA]

With anticipation loan, you may be saving just about two weeks that is you get money two weeks before you will actually get from IRS, and check for yourself how much interest you are paying.

[Fr_Chuck]

You are paying a lot, if your refund should be lets say 2000.00 you may only get 1800.00 from the loan or some figures even worst, they don't give you the full amount of your total refund,
There have been large law suits against some of the national tax firms because of this.

[ScottGem]

Are you saying the loan costs you nothing or the filing costs you nothing?


First you are lending the government your money tax free, then you paying through the nose to get it back a few weeks earlier. Did you ever analyze how much these loans cost you? Is it really worth it to get your money a few weeks sooner? If really needed the money that bad, why are you loaning it to Uncle Sam for nothing?

I'm sorry but refund anticipation loans are DUMB, DUMB, DUMB! Just throwing your money away In my opinion. The tax preparers prey on people too ignorant to understand what they are doing.

[bjhowell]

I wasn't asking to be called dumb or ignorant! I asked if anyone had heard about refunds being held back. This was my first time here on this site and my last as I see that some of the regular members are rude and think they know it all. Good luck s

[Fr_Chuck]

No, just trying to save youi up to 100's of dollars, but heck it is your money if you want to give it away.

Why I guess are you willling to pay large amounts of money ( or percentage) of your refund to get the money 2 to 4 weeks faster

[ScottGem]

No one was rude to you. At most I was being rude to the people who prey on others by rooking them from Refund Anticipation Loans. No one called you dumb or ignorant. Only the action of wasting money by utilizing such loans.

Some times the truth hurts. But what you got was excellent help. You got advice that would warn you against wasting further money. Its really hard to warn someone away from doing something dumb without calling it dumb.

I don't profess to know it all. I know of no regular here that does. But I do know what RALs are and how they prey on the very people who can least afford them. Do some research on RALs and you will find the opinions expressed about them here are not isolated. MANY respected economic advisors have spoken out against them.

You will be welcome to return, but if you don't its your loss, not ours.

[Mobea]

Returns that include the following forms cannot be filed until Feb. 11, 2008:
Form 8863, Education Credits
Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits
Schedule 2, Form 1040A, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers
Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit
Form 8859, District of Columbia First-Time Homebuyer Credit

A lot of early filers use the child and dependent care expenses. Day care expenses add up over the year. So do the education credits. That's why it's a hassle for the late filing date.
To answer your question, the IRS will not even be accepting these returns with these forms until Feb. 11, 2008. So yes, You cannot apply for a Rapid Refund Loan until then since they are cannot even be filed with the IRS until then.
If you do not claim or use any of the above mentioned forms, then you can file anytime around mid January and use a Rapid Refund Loan if you so desire.
But honestly, if you file electronically, and have a checking or savings account, the IRS can have your refund in your bank account usually within a week or 10 days from the day that it is filed and accepted. It usually cost on the average an extra $100-300 to do an Refund Loan (It depends on the amount of the refund) plus the cost of preparing the actual return. I know that sometimes it seems like an emergency at the time, but that really is a lot of money just to get your money back a week earlier. Do you have someone who could loan you a couple of hundred dollars for a week or so if you really need it desperately? The IRS is really good about getting the money in your bank account quickly. You would even know the day that it will be deposited the day that you file. If your income is under $35,000 you can even file for free online and do a direct deposit. That way it won't cost you anything!! And you get ALL of your refund to keep for yourself:)

[Mobea]

I honestly answered your question as to why some refunds would be delayed. Not everyone was laughing at you.

[ScottGem]

Not my loss at all. I;m having fun laughing at you fools. hahahahahahahahaha

We aren't the ones throwing away money. Your laughter sounds very hollow to me.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

No one has been rude.

Are we know-it-alls? Of course! That is why we are rated experts on this forum. Taxes is what WE do!