Earlier this month, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Inspector General issued a report on refund advance and refund transfer products sold to taxpayers, finding that nearly 16% of taxpayers used such products for the 2023 tax year– with nearly 80% of those taxpayers having worked with just 7 tax return preparation companies. The report estimates that this led to over $842 million in fees for taxpayers.
The report noted the IRS’s general lack of oversight for these products, and encouraged the agency to provide some consumer education on its website — noting that tax preparation companies are not particularly transparent with respect to the fees.
The Washington Post published a story on the report today.
