Jackson Hewitt
by Aethyna
Jan 24, 2019 |
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Touted as the second-largest tax-preparation service in the US, handling over 2 million tax returns (federal, state and local) every year, Jackson Hewitt is a reliable brand that offers so much more than just filing your taxes.
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Summary
Touted as the second-largest tax-preparation service in the US, handling over 2 million tax returns (federal, state and local) every year, Jackson Hewitt is a reliable brand that offers so much more than just filing your taxes. They even provide refund anticipation loan services, tax consultation services, and assisted refund where you can you use your refunds to pay for the services rendered, all of which are set up to make getting your refunds as quickly and as easily as possible.
What You Get
Similar to other tax-filing services out there, Jackson Hewitt offers all the usual services you’d come to expect from a tax-preparation company. You can file your taxes online yourself or you can do it offline with the help of a tax professional in one of the thousands of Jackson Hewitt offices across the US, with around 50% of them located within a Walmart.
The online method is certainly a lot easier and cheaper since you’ll be doing most of the “heavy lifting” yourself. There are 3 packages available – the free edition which can be used by most people who are single or married but have no dependents, the $29.99(federal)+$36.95(state) package that’s most suitable for families and retirees, and the $49.99(federal)+$36.95(state) package that’s designed for people with more complex returns such as people who are self-employed, rents properties, and have itemized deductions they want to file.
By using their propriety tax software, the ProFiler, Jackson Hewitt will let you store and access important documents and copies of your returns for free. The software will also auto-complete your state returns after you’ve filed your federal returns.
For the offline method, there’s no need to even make an appointment – though making one would be wise, considering how many people visit their offices on a daily basis during the tax season – and since the offices open late and even on weekends, you can definitely drop by whenever it’s most convenient for you. Not very fluent in English? Well, there will definitely be at least a Spanish-speaking tax professional there that could help you!
Best yet, since most Jackson Hewitt’s offices are located in Walmarts, you can actually drop off your documents and basically, let the tax professional do your tax returns for you while you shop. The cost for the offline method is slightly higher – it is priced at $48 for federal returns only - because you won’t need to fill the forms yourself. However, there seems to be a Minimum Tax Preparation fee of $150 mentioned in the Terms and Conditions. You might want to ask your assigned tax professional at Jackson Hewitt about this before heading off into Walmart.
What makes Jackson Hewitt stands out from the other tax preparation services out there is the fact that they allow you to get your refund money sooner through their Refund Advance Loan program. There are 3 types of loans available – the Early Refund Advance Loan (up to $400), the No Fee Refund Advance Loan (up to $3,500) and the Go Big Refund Advance Loan (up to $7,000).
Both the Early and No Fee Refund Advance Loan don’t have an interest rate, while the Go Big Refund Advance Loan has interest at an APR of 35.90%. However, the Early Refund Advance Loan can be obtained prior to filing your taxes – though a most recent pay stub or a legit form of evidence of income is needed. To get the No Fee or Go Big Refund Advance Loans, you will have to already filed your taxes instead. You can apply for all 3 types of loans but you can only accept 2 types – the Early Refund Advance Loan, and either the No Fee or Go Big Refund Advance Loan.
If loans aren’t the right solution for you, then you might want to apply for a Jackson Hewitt Early Access Card just so you can tap into the early access line of credit by Republic Bank. Unlike loans, signing up for a line of credit can be costlier in the long run though since you’ll need to pay a $15 monthly Line of Credit Fee and $5 monthly prepaid card fee. However, the card functions much like a prepaid card, a credit card and a bank card all rolled into one since you can use it to access Moneypass ATMs, perform money transfer and cash withdrawals via Ria, deposit money directly into it, and more, so it might be worth it for you.
That being said, like many tax-preparation companies, Jackson Hewitt also offers Assisted Refund in which you can you use your refunds to pay for the services rendered, extra help dealing with the IRS if you get notices about tax debt, and a referral system whereby you can get a paid reward for every friend you referred to file his or her taxes at the same Jackson Hewitt office as you did. They even have a tax school set up, so you can learn how to file taxes the correct way and possibly find employment at a Jackson Hewitt office (no guarantees though!)
Terms
You’ll want to read their terms and conditions especially if you want to apply for a refund based on one of their guarantees, refer a friend, apply for a line of credit through the Jackson Hewitt Early Access Card or accept a refund advance loan.
For instance, there’s a clause in its Refer a Friend program where it states that your friend will need to file his or her taxes in the same location as you did. This may also mean that you may not be able to cash in on the referral system if you use its online method to file your tax returns. Not to mention, the “Biggest Tax Refund” guarantee is also only applicable to first-time clients – it is terms like these that you’ll really need to take note.
Thankfully, their terms can be easily found on their website and are all very clearly written.
Trustworthiness
Being the second largest tax preparation service in the US, this speaks volumes of the trustworthiness of Jackson Hewitt’s services. Their tax professionals are reliable as well and, unlike some other companies, they have not had a major scandal, be it a data breach or a tax fraud incident. Their Basic Tax Preparation Course is also IRS accredited so you can be confident that you’ll be getting a legitimate certificate if you do enroll in their tax school.
Conclusion
All in all, Jackson Hewitt is a trustworthy and reliable tax preparation company that not only prepare your taxes, both online and off; it also offers so much more. You can secure refund advance loans from them and obtain a line of credit from their partner, for example, or take their Basic Tax Preparation Course and maybe find a career in this industry. If you haven’t already, you might want to give Jackson Hewitt a try!
Jackson Hewitt Blog
New Site Added: Jackson Hewitt
by Aethyna
Jan 24, 2019
Touted as the second-largest tax-preparation service in the US, handling over 2 million tax returns (federal, state and local) every year, Jackson Hewitt is a reliable brand that offers so much more than just filing your taxes.
Read More
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