What Are The Differences Between a Loan and a Tax Refund Advance?
Does a tax refund advance sound like a loan to you? Well, you wouldn’t be completely wrong – obviously you are borrowing money, and there are fees and interest involved. But there are some significant differences too! The first one is that if you apply for a personal loan, you’re signing up for months or even years of monthly payments. An advance on your tax refund is different in a couple of ways: for one thing, the payments will be complete in a month or so. Secondly, it’s your own money you’re borrowing against, so when your refund arrives it will reimburse you for those payments you’ve made. Finally, you can get a tax refund advance regardless of the state of your credit, because the criteria used are different than those for a traditional loan. There’s no credit check, no credit reference check, and no extensive list of questions about your monthly expenses needed to qualify you.
A Tax Refund Advance Means You Can Spend Your Refund When You Need It
Most of us eagerly look forward to the annual windfall that our income tax refund brings – but have you ever wished you could move it to another time of year? Maybe you need that cash for the holidays, or when your best friend decides to get married at a moment’s notice and you need a plane ticket asap. With a tax refund advance, you can access your next income tax refund when it will be the most helpful to you, not just when the federal or state taxing agency releases it.
Credit Problems? You Probably Still Qualify for a Tax Refund Advance
One advantage a tax refund advance has over traditional loans is that the approval process uses a different set of criteria that doesn’t discriminate based on events that happened years ago and might not even have been within the person’s control. For example, having your mortgage foreclosed is a very black mark on your credit report, but given the economic downturn that occurred several years ago, many responsible people lost their jobs through absolutely no fault of their own. This caused many thousands of people to lose their homes, which was ultimately not their fault. Many individuals also have to declare bankruptcy because of medical bills that they were unable to pay after their insurance was maxed out or simply declined the charges.
A tax refund advance only considers current, relevant factors: the basic requirements like being a legal adult, having a bank account for the direct deposit and automatic draft payments to use, and having a steady job that brings in a certain level of income. Long term factors don’t matter, since the advance will be repaid so quickly, compared to traditional loans that need some assurance that a year or two or more down the road you’re still going to have a stable situation because you’ll still be paying back your loan. That’s why all those years of history are included on your credit report, and reviewed so carefully by some lenders!