Don’t wait weeks to reach the money you need

A refund advance is an optional loan based on your anticipated federal tax refund. It lets qualifying taxpayers reach a portion of an expected refund before the IRS finishes processing and issuing the full amount. It is not your actual tax refund — it is a loan from a participating financial institution, generally repaid out of your refund once the IRS releases it.

No. Every refund advance is subject to approval by the participating financial institution, based on its identity-verification requirements, eligibility criteria and underwriting guidelines. Elite Pro-Tax does not make approval decisions and cannot guarantee that you will be approved or receive any particular amount.

The amount depends on your anticipated federal refund and the financial institution's current programme. Refund Advantage offers loans of $250 (where available), $500 and $1,000, and loans equal to 25%, 50% or 75% of an expected refund with a minimum of $1,250 and a maximum of $7,500.

Through Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, Fast Cash Advance loans are offered in amounts from $500 to $7,000.

The $7,500 figure is available only to well-qualified applicants who meet the lender's expected-refund and underwriting requirements. A large refund does not by itself qualify you for the largest advance.

It depends on the amount and the provider. Refund Advantage offers select $250, $500 and $1,000 loans at 0% APR — the cost to you on those is $0. Its larger loans, from $1,250 up to $7,500, carry a 36% APR, and interest accrues only for the days between the loan being approved and your refund repaying it, capped at 60 days.

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group's Fast Cash Advance works differently: loans run from $500 to $7,000 and every one of them carries a 35.99% APR — there is no 0% option on that product. As their own example puts it, a $2,000 loan with a 30-day repayment period comes to $2,059.16 in a single payment, including principal and interest.

Other tax-preparation, Refund Transfer, bank-product, card, check or processing fees may also apply and are separate from the loan's APR. The applicable disclosures are provided before you agree to anything.

Many applicants get a decision shortly after the completed return and application are submitted, and approved clients may receive funds as early as the same day depending on the product and disbursement method chosen. Additional identity verification, bank processing times, weekends and holidays can all delay both. We cannot guarantee same-day approval or funding.

Out of your tax refund. When the IRS releases the refund to the participating financial institution, the advance and any applicable interest and authorised fees are deducted, and the remaining balance is disbursed to you by the method you selected. There is no separate repayment for you to make in the ordinary case.

The IRS or another agency can reduce a refund for past-due federal or state tax, past-due child support, certain unemployment-related debts, other federal agency debts, or corrections made to your return. If your refund comes back smaller than expected, you may still owe an unpaid balance under the terms of your loan agreement. The lender's disclosures set out the complete repayment requirements.

Your tax return is still e-filed and processed normally — a declined advance is not a declined refund, and has nothing to do with whether the IRS accepts your return. The financial institution may send you a notice explaining its decision. Elite Pro-Tax cannot reverse or override it.

No. Those are two separate decisions by two separate organisations. The IRS can still review, adjust, delay, reduce or offset your refund after your return has been accepted for processing, whether or not an advance was approved.

No. Nothing speeds up IRS processing. An advance gives you earlier access to part of the money; the rest of your refund still arrives on the IRS's timetable. Returns claiming certain refundable credits are held by law until a set date each year regardless of when they were filed.

A refund advance is a loan. A Refund Transfer is not — it is a service that lets authorised tax-preparation and processing fees be deducted from your refund when it is released, instead of being paid upfront. Choosing to pay your preparation fees from your refund does not mean you will be approved for an advance, and a Refund Transfer carries its own bank-product fee.

Generally a completed federal return showing an anticipated refund, plus a valid unexpired government-issued photo ID, Social Security cards or acceptable tax-identification documents, current contact information and mailing address, all required income documents, and bank details if you want direct deposit. Further documentation may be required depending on your return or the lender's verification process.

Usually not. The advance option normally has to be selected and the application completed as part of the original filing process, so once a return has been transmitted it is generally too late. Tell us you are interested before your return is filed.

A complete and accurate return has to be prepared from acceptable tax documents, and a final pay stub is generally not a substitute for a Form W-2. We will tell you which income documents are needed before your return can be completed and filed.

The financial institution decides what verification and underwriting it uses for each product, so review the lender's current disclosures to see whether a credit inquiry is involved and whether it could affect your credit. Elite Pro-Tax cannot make credit-reporting determinations on the lender's behalf.

Eligibility is generally based on your anticipated federal refund. State refunds are handled separately, and available products and repayment terms depend on the participating financial institution's current programme.

Yes, always. Applying is entirely optional, and your return can be prepared and electronically filed without an advance or a Refund Transfer. Nobody here will push you toward a product you do not want.

Because the things you authorised come out of it first: an approved advance and its interest, tax-preparation fees, Refund Transfer or processing fees, any other product you agreed to, and any adjustment or offset made by the IRS or another agency. Your final paperwork lists every product and fee you authorised.

They are seasonal. Pre-acknowledgement advances run from January 2 until the IRS opens e-file, in-season advances are available from the first day of filing, and applications are accepted through March 15. Products, amounts, qualifications, fees and availability can be changed, limited or discontinued without notice — call us for the current season's terms and deadlines.