Through John Hewitt’s expert leadership, Liberty Tax Service is setting a new standard for the retail tax industry. Hewitt began his career in the retail income-tax preparation industry 41 years ago at H&R Block; he then founded Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and sold it in 1997 for $483 million. Since Hewitt started Liberty Tax Service twelve years ago, it has experienced explosive growth, both in the number of offices opened and tax returns prepared.  Liberty Tax Services has successfully tapped into the income tax industry’s predictable growth, with yearly increases in both the number of people filing tax returns and in the number of people paying a tax preparer.

Recently ranked 3^rd in Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” feature, and included on  Poder (formerly Hispanic Enterprise) magazine’s elite list of “25 Top Franchise Opportunities for Hispanics” for the third time, Liberty Tax Service is on its way to becoming the leader of the retail tax industry.

Investment Required

The fee for a Liberty Tax Service franchise is $40,000.

Liberty Tax Service provides the following range of investments required to open your initial franchise. The range assumes that all items are paid for in cash. To the extent that you choose to finance any of these expense items, your front-end investment could be substantially reduced.

On-going Expenses

Liberty Tax Service franchisees pay a royalty fee equal to 14% of gross receipts (minimum of $5,000 for the first year, $8,000 for the second year and $11,000 for the third year and beyond), and an advertising fee equal to 5% of gross receipts.

What You Get—Training and Support

Training consists of three phases. First, Liberty Tax Services provides a minimum five-day Effective Operations Training course in Virginia Beach, VA which instructs franchisees on the basics of operating an income tax office. Other subjects include accounting, marketing, hiring and staffing, budgeting and office procedures. This course is followed by a five-day Intermediate Operations Training session that covers tax return preparation procedures and technology applications necessary to process income tax returns and maintain accurate accounting records. Two of these five days focus on a marketing module designed to help the franchisee develop an effective local marketing plan. The last phase is Advanced Operations Training, which covers tax-related topics, advanced management training issues and in-depth marketing methods over the course of three days. Franchisees also benefit from a support system of employees who have a combined total of 600 years of industry experience.

Every year, a supplemental two-day training session is conducted across the country to update franchisees on new tax laws, software and marketing programs.

Fun is hard to avoid at Liberty Tax with its unique form of marketing: people dressed as the Statue of Liberty or Uncle Sam draw customers to stores. More traditional local marketing and grand opening plans are also provided and promotional events at the national level create media awareness and exposure.

Territory

Liberty Tax Service grants exclusive territories in which typically 7,000 to 8,500 paid federal tax returns are prepared.