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Franchise
News: Income tax franchises
Did You Know?
If
you live in the U.S. you will know (or
so we hope) that Tax Day is just around
the corner. You probably also know that
taxes are one of life’s little certainties.
What you may not realize it that tax-service
franchises are some of the most economical
businesses to open and operate. When examining
the many tax-related franchises available
in the marketplace, you will find the
initial investment (which includes all
pertinent start-up costs) usually ranges
from just under $10,000 for an EXPRESSTAX
franchise to a maximum of $75,000
for a Jackson Hewitt
Tax Service franchise. Researching,
investing
in and operating a tax franchise is a
piece of cake compared to navigating a
Form 1040. If the relative ease of establishing
a tax franchise doesn’t convince
you, how about this. Of the 180 million
tax filers in the U.S., one third of them
pay someone else to fill out their forms.
That’s 60 million people a year.
As the tax code continues to become more
complex, you can expect that number to
climb with each passing year.
EXPRESSTAX
is a chain of tax-preparation and electronic-filing
services based in Jacksonville, Florida.
The low franchise fees and startup coasts
(starting at $9,400) make EXPRESSTAX
a great option for people who are looking
to expand the franchise and startup business
services they currently offer. The growing
reliance on electric tax filing is also
a great reason to add EXPRESSTAX
to the services you currently offer. People
want their taxes done quickly so they
are going to have them prepared by a tax
professional. People also want their refunds
today so they are going to e-file with
the IRS. A service that packages both
of those options into a single, affordable
business is going to be an attractive
alternative for an increasing number of
tax filers. EXPRESSTAX
franchisees provide refund loans and advances,
instant tax-related loans, income-tax
preparation and electronic-filing services.
Tax
experience is not necessary to qualify
for a EXPRESSTAX franchise.
Exclusive territory locations are awarded
on a first-come, first-served basis. Even
with 1,000 locations currently in operations,
EXPRESSTAX plans on opening
many more in the coming years. According
to information from the Internal Revenue
Service, electronic filing is expected
to jump 60 percent between 2001 and 2007.
EXPRESSTAX wants its
franchisees trained and ready to serve
all of those potential future clients.
Another
low-investment tax franchise is Econotax.
Econotax knows taxes (it’s
been in business since 1965), and it knows
franchising (it’s been franchising
since 1968). The company provides each franchisee
with an arsenal of the most current tax
information, services, supplies, advertising
and strategies. The company designs its
offerings to serve the individual tax filer
who makes $50,000 and up. Econotax
targets clients who need more than the EZ-version
tax forms and who aren’t ready to
retain full-time CPAs. The
Econotax franchise system
has been steadily growing over the past
several years and the company is looking
for qualified franchisees to open locations
throughout the U.S. The total investment
for a Econotax franchise
ranges between $15,000 and $30,000.
Not
too long ago John Hewitt, one of the founders
of the Jackson Hewitt Tax Service,
acquired a Canadian tax service company,
changed its name to Liberty Tax
Services and expanded its operations
to serve both the Canadian and the U.S.
income-tax markets. Actually, Liberty
Tax Service only became available
in the U.S. in 1999 after the expiration
of Hewitt’s non-compete agreement
with Jackson Hewitt. The
result? Liberty Tax has
become one of the fastest growing tax-service
franchises in North America. It has also
grown into the world’s third-largest
tax franchise. With
more than 900 offices in Canada and the
U.S., Liberty Tax has
no plans for stalling its rapid growth.
While you don’t need to be a tax
preparation professional to qualify for
a Liberty Tax franchise,
you do have to be firmly committed to
providing stellar customer service. The
total estimated start-up costs for a Liberty
Tax franchise range from $39,000
to $49,000.
And,
speaking of Jackson Hewitt Tax
Services, you can also choose
to buy into the world’s second-largest
tax preparation service. The company traditionally
reigns near the top of Entrepreneur’s
Franchise 500 list and has built an exemplary
franchising system with more than 4,900
tax-preparation outlets. The initial investment
for a Jackson Hewitt
franchise starts at $47,430 and franchise-fee
financing is available from the company
for qualified applicants. All franchisees
are given territorial protection and receive
extensive Business Management and Processing
Training.
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