The Assisted Refund (AR) (also called pay-by-refund) is a non-loan product designed for taxpayers who cannot or do not wish to pay out-of-pocket for income tax return preparation and related costs. This pay-by-refund product allows you to withhold the tax preparation fees from your refund amount, and the remaining amount is paid to you. This gives taxpayers the ability to pay for tax preparation without paying up from with cash, check or a credit card. 

How it works

Once your tax return has been prepared, you are expecting a tax refund, and you have agreed to pay for tax preparation with your tax refund, the tax return is filed to the IRS and/or state taxing authority with the temporary bank account information included on your tax return.

The tax refund will be routed to Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (sbtpg). Once we have received the tax refund from the IRS and/or state, all authorized fees (including the tax preparation fees) are deducted from your tax refund. The remaining balance is paid to you by the method you requested.

How long does an Assisted Refund take?

When the IRS and/or state taxing authority issue the tax refund, funds are deposited into your temporary account, typically in as little as 21 days from the date the IRS acknowledged processing the federal tax return.