With the tax filing season underway, the Department of Revenue is reminding Pennsylvanians to use caution and look at all their options when considering tax refund anticipation loans.

A refund anticipation loan, or RAL, is a loan made by a lender or business to a taxpayer in anticipation of a taxpayer’s state or federal income tax refund.

RALs are often advertised as a quicker option for taxpayers to get their money, but they often reduce taxpayers’ refunds because of high interest rates and substantial service fees charged by the lender. RALs are not always the quickest way to receive a tax refund, and the full amount of the loan may be required to be repaid even if the refund is not granted or is lower than the anticipated amount.

The Department of Revenue reminds taxpayers that lenders of RALs are required to:

•Advise taxpayers of all fees, interest and other known deductions paid from their refunds, as well as the remaining amount the taxpayers will actually receive.

•Ensure taxpayers understand they will not receive their refunds from the Department of Revenue or the IRS. Instead, the refund will be sent directly to the lender.

•Advise taxpayers they may be liable to the lender for additional interest and other fees if the lender does not receive the refund within the expected timeframe.

•Secure the taxpayer’s written consent to disclose tax information to the lending financial institution in connection with an application for a refund-related financial product.

•Adhere to advertising standards and fee restrictions, which state lenders may not base fees on a percentage of the refund amount or compute fees using any figure from tax returns.

Review the fine print and consider alternatives

As an alternative, the department is urging taxpayers to consider filing their Pennsylvania personal income tax returns electronically and opting for electronic deposit of their refunds.

Visit the Department of Revenue’s website for more information on electronic filing options.