Illinois Asset Building Group - Building Financially Strong Families and Communities

Refund anticipation loans (RALs) and other instant refund products costs Illinoisans millions each year. These unnecessary loans charge exorbitant fees to provide refunds a mere 7-14 days early.

RALs and other instant refund products have annual interest rates (APR) that can range from around 50% to 500%. In 2007 RALs assessed $833 million in loan fees and $68 million in other fees to 8.67 million Americans.

In difficult economic times RALs can be tempting. However, by filing electronically and having the refund directly deposited into a bank account, individuals can often receive their refunds within 8 – 15 days.

Families and individuals can save money by avoiding RALs and other instant products and still get their refund in a few days by using the following tax preparation resources:

www.economicprogress.org/zipcode/index.php
www.freefilealliance.org

To download a fact sheet on RALs click here.

For more information about RALs and their costs click here.