I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7188 
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish certain advertising and 
disclosure requirements with respect to tax refund anticipation loans, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish certain 
advertising and disclosure requirements with respect to 
tax refund anticipation loans, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tax Refund Anticipa-
tion Loan Consumer Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ADVERTISING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 128 of the Truth in Lend-
ing Act (U.S.C. 1638) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
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‘‘(e) ADVERTISING
AND
DISCLOSURE
REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR TAX REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.— 
‘‘(A) INCOME TAX REFUND ANTICIPATION 
LOAN.—The term ‘income tax refund anticipa-
tion loan’ means any short-term extension of 
credit, whether in cash, through a stored value 
card, in the form of a down payment or deposit 
in connection with a transaction to which the 
consumer is a party, or otherwise, to a con-
sumer in exchange for— 
‘‘(i) the sale or assignment of the con-
sumer’s anticipated income tax refund or 
rebate to the creditor or the income tax re-
fund anticipation loan originator; or 
‘‘(ii) an arrangement authorized by 
the consumer pursuant to which such an-
ticipated income tax refund or rebate se-
cures, directly or indirectly, the repayment 
of such extension of credit or will be cred-
ited against any balance owed by the con-
sumer on such extension of credit. 
‘‘(B) INCOME TAX REFUND ANTICIPATION 
LOAN ORIGINATOR.—The term ‘income tax re-
fund anticipation loan originator’— 
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‘‘(i) means any person, including any 
income tax return preparer, electronic tax 
return filer, or check cashing service, who 
engages in income tax refund anticipation 
loan origination; 
‘‘(ii) includes any person who rep-
resents to the public, through advertising 
or other means of communicating or pro-
viding information (including the use of 
business 
cards, 
stationery, 
brochures, 
signs, rate lists, or other promotional 
items), that such person can or will provide 
or perform any of the activities described 
in any clause of subparagraph (C); and 
‘‘(iii) does not include who performs 
purely administrative or clerical tasks on 
behalf of a person who is described in any 
clause (i) or (ii). 
‘‘(C) INCOME TAX REFUND ANTICIPATION 
LOAN ORIGINATION.—The term ‘income tax re-
fund anticipation loan origination’ means— 
‘‘(i) accepting an income tax refund 
anticipation loan application for direct or 
indirect compensation or gain, or in the ex-
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pectation of direct or indirect compensa-
tion or gain; 
‘‘(ii) assisting a consumer in obtaining 
or applying to obtain an income tax refund 
anticipation loan (whether or not such as-
sistance is described as a loan to the con-
sumer) for direct or indirect compensation 
or gain, or in the expectation of direct or 
indirect compensation or gain; or 
‘‘(iii) offering or negotiating terms of 
an income tax refund anticipation loan, for 
direct or indirect compensation or gain, or 
in the expectation of direct or indirect 
compensation or gain. 
‘‘(D) INCOME TAX RETURN PREPARER.— 
The term ‘income tax return preparer’— 
‘‘(i) has the same meaning as in sec-
tion 7701(a)(36) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986; and 
‘‘(ii) includes any person who prepares 
for compensation, or who employs 1 or 
more persons to prepare for compensation, 
any return of tax imposed under State law. 
‘‘(E) COMPENSATION.—For purposes of 
this title, the term ‘compensation’ when used in 
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connection with the preparation by any person 
of any return of tax for a consumer, includes 
any compensation or gain directly or indirectly 
received by such person for acting as an income 
tax refund anticipation loan originator for such 
consumer with regard to such return. 
‘‘(2) ADVERTISING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) PROHIBITION
ON
CONFUSING
RE-
FUND WITH LOAN.—An advertisement for an 
income tax refund anticipation loan may not— 
‘‘(i) describe an income tax refund an-
ticipation loan as a tax refund or rebate; 
or 
‘‘(ii) advertise or solicit tax prepara-
tion services as including the possibility of 
obtaining an immediate or rapid income 
tax refund or rebate if the immediate or 
rapid income tax refund or rebate involves 
an income tax refund anticipation loan 
origination. 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE PRO-
VIDED IN ADS FOR INCOME TAX REFUND AN-
TICIPATION LOANS.—Any advertisement for an 
income tax refund anticipation loan shall in-
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clude the following information with respect to 
such loan: 
‘‘(i) Any fees imposed by the origi-
nator in connection with the origination of 
such loan. 
‘‘(ii) The annual percentage rate ap-
plicable with respect to such loan and any 
fees imposed by the creditor in connection 
with such loan. 
‘‘(iii) The name of the creditor, if 
other than the originator, with respect to 
such loan. 
‘‘(3) CONTRACT
AND
DISCLOSURE
REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(A) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—No in-
come tax refund anticipation loan origination 
services may be provided by any income tax re-
fund anticipation loan originator for any con-
sumer unless a written and dated contract (for 
such services) which meets the requirements of 
subparagraph (B) has been signed by the con-
sumer. 
‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE
REQUIREMENTS.—No 
contract referred to in subparagraph (A) meets 
the requirements of this paragraph unless the 
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following information relating to the income tax 
refund anticipation loan is included in such con-
tract (in writing) and is verbally communicated 
to the consumer (regardless of whether any of 
such information is also required under this 
chapter to be provided by the creditor to the 
consumer): 
‘‘(i) The purpose and the amount of 
all fees associated with the loan that will 
be imposed by the originator, the creditor, 
and any other person involved in the trans-
action. 
‘‘(ii) The estimated amount of the 
Federal or State tax refund. 
‘‘(iii) The fact that the consumer will 
be responsible for the repayment of the en-
tire loan amount and all related costs and 
fees regardless of whether— 
‘‘(I) the individual receives a re-
fund; 
‘‘(II) the amount of the actual 
refund is greater than or less than the 
amount of the estimate of the refund; 
or 
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‘‘(III) any mistake or miscalcula-
tion was made by the income tax re-
turn preparer in the preparation of 
the tax return or in determining the 
amount of the refund. 
‘‘(iv) The date by which, on average, 
a refund could be expected to be received 
using a refund direct deposit program if 
the consumer filed the return electroni-
cally. 
‘‘(v) Information on obtaining low- or 
no-cost income tax preparation, electronic 
filing and direct deposit of refund services 
from Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 
Program (VITA) for low- to moderate-in-
come individuals and military personnel 
and their families or Tax Counseling for 
the Elderly (TCE), which will allow the 
consumer to receive a refund in usually no 
more than 10 days. 
‘‘(vi) A website and a toll-free tele-
phone number for locating the nearest Vol-
unteer Income Tax Assistance Program or 
Tax Counseling for the Elderly office. 
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‘‘(4) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 130 shall be ap-
plied for purposes of this paragraph substituting ‘in-
come tax refund anticipation loan originator’ for 
‘creditor’ each place such term appears in such sec-
tion.’’. 
(b) PROMPT MODEL DISCLOSURE FORM PUBLICA-
TION.—The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System shall publish model disclosure forms for implemen-
tation of the amendment made by subsection (a) with re-
gard to income tax refund anticipation loans, in accord-
ance with section 105 of the Truth in Lending Act, before 
the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply after the end of the 60-day pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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