A refund antipation loan or RAL is a method of receiving a Federal income tax refund sooner than it would come to the taxpayer from the IRS. Other common names for this type of transaction are: Fast Cash Refunds, Rapid Refunds, Express Money, and Instant Refunds.
All of these common names are misleading because they are not refunds; they are actually high interest loans.Taxpayers are paying high fees to borrow their own refund money. The IRS has become quite efficient at getting refunds back to taxpayers if a return is electronically filed and the refund is automatically deposited into a bank account.
For more information about refund anticipation loans, see http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/02/07/refund-anticipation-loans-live-on-in-new-disguises/.
We would like your feedback on this Personal Finance Frequently Asked Question.