Tax Pros Profit With Pay-by-Refund

Dictionary.com defines convenience as “anything that saves or simplifies work,” or “adds to one’s ease or comfort.”

You might not think of yourself as selling “convenience,” but it is a large reason why your customers hire you. They bring you a folder, shoebox, binder or stack of papers, and you magically transform it into a neatly typed and organized document that meets their complex obligations to the IRS.

The service you provide saves your clients the time required to keep up with the ever-changing tax codes and regulations. It also frees them from learning complex technical terminology and calculations, and gives them confidence that their return has been completed properly. For your clients, the sum of your service fits the definition of convenience to a T.

When we look at tax preparation from this angle, it opens a whole new perspective on ways to improve your client relationships and grow your business by asking the questions like “How can I simplify processes for my clients?” and “How can I add to their ease or comfort?” Intuit® has created the Client Benefit Suite to help you do just that.

One of the most popular services in the Client Benefit Suite is Pay-by-Refund, a product that enables taxpayers to pay for tax preparation directly from their refund. According to the IRS, in 2014, nearly 80 percent of all individual income tax returns yielded a refund ¹, so it is likely that the majority of your clients can take advantage of this convenient service. It not only makes their lives easier, but also streamlines and expedites your receivables process. Taxpayers are charged a one-time $35 bank setup fee per Federal return for the service, and this fee is deducted from their refund just like your tax preparation fees.² There are no additional costs to your client, and there is no cost to you for this service.

In fact, you can earn money by offering Pay-by-Refund to your refund clients:

• Earn $10 for funded Pay-by-Refund transactions.²
• Earn an additional $15 for Pay-by-Refund transactions, funded onto a new American Express Serve®card.³
• Earn up to $250 for referring a friend to the ProSeries® Pay-by-Refund.⁴

It is important to note that Pay-by-Refund is not a loan against the refund. In addition, the refund is not going into your bank account; instead, it’s being deposited into a temporary bank account, established with one of our participating banks on behalf of the taxpayer. Once funded, the taxpayer can withdraw the funds from an ATM or have the funds loaded onto a prepaid debit or credit card. It might sound complicated to facilitate this, but it couldn’t be simpler. The bank handles the setup and you enable the process with just a few simple clicks in product.

It’s easy to offer Pay-by-Refund as a convenience option to your clients. To get started, you must be an approved IRS e-file provider and must sign up and be approved to issue refund transfers by one of our participating banks: Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG), Refund Advantage, Republic Bank orRiver City Bank.

For Lacerte® and Intuit Tax Online Users: Refund Advantage.

Pay-by-Refund Benefits Summary:

• Streamline your receivables by getting paid directly from your client’s refund.
• Provides your clients with a useful alternative to paying by check or credit card.
• Your clients pay nothing out of pocket to pay your tax prep fees.
• No charge to you to offer this service – just a one-time $35 bank setup fee per Federal return paid by your client out of their refund.
• Provides you with an additional revenue stream for your business.

To learn more or get started, click here.

¹ Source: IRS http://www.irs.gov/uac/SOI-Tax-Stats-Tax-Stats-at-a-Glance

² Offer available for current ProSeries®, Lacerte® and Intuit Tax Online customers only for a limited time only. Credit applies to Pay-by-Refund transactions through a participating bank only. Participating banks are Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, Refund Advantage, Republic Bank, and River City Bank. You must adopt industry refund transfer best practice principles by charging customary and reasonable processing fees to be eligible. Earn a $10 credit for every federal Pay-by-Refund transaction funded through a participating bank from Jan. 1, 2016 through April 30, 2016 beyond the number of Pay-by-Refund transactions (formerly called “Refund Transfers”) from the prior tax year. Credits will be delivered from participating banks by May 31, 2016. $35 one-time bank set up fee applies to each federal Pay-by-Refund transaction. Additional fees apply to state Pay-by-Refund filings. Terms, conditions, pricing features and support for all offers subject to change without notice.

³ Offer only available to valid license holders of Intuit’s ProSeries or Lacerte products. Requirements to receive $15 from Intuit: (1) successfully register with American Express via ProSeries or Lacerte to offer the American Express Serve® Card (“Card”), (2) obtain the client’s acceptance of the Card terms and conditions and consent to submit the Card registration, (3) registration must be initiated via ProSeries or Lacerte and approved by American Express by May 15, 2016 and (4) a Direct Deposit of tax refunds totaling $15 or more must be made to the new Card. Joint filers are considered a single client making you eligible for $15 only. No payment shall be made for rejected Card registrations or tax filings. Limit of $15 in total incentives per Card. Refunds deposited to existing Cards or any other American Express prepaid product are not eligible. Intuit reserves the right to recoup amounts paid (or may elect to withhold future payments) where fraud or other illegal activity is suspected. Payment provided by Intuit and will be made prior to Dec. 31, 2016. Terms, conditions, pricing, features and support for all offers subject to change without notice.

⁴ See details at https://refer.accountants.intuit.com/micro/microsite6?channel=other&source=RTs