Texas Finance Code 352.004 – Disclosure Requirements
(a) A facilitator to which § 352.002 applies shall discuss with and clearly disclose to a borrower, after the borrower’s tax return has been prepared and before the loan is closed:
(1) the refund anticipation loan fee schedule;
(2) a written statement disclosing:
(A) that a refund anticipation loan is a loan and is not the borrower’s actual income tax refund;
(B) that the taxpayer may file an income tax return electronically without applying for a refund anticipation loan;
(C) that the borrower is responsible for repayment of the loan and related fees if the tax refund is not paid or is insufficient to repay the loan;
(D) any fee that will be charged if the loan is not approved;
(E) the average time, as published by the Internal Revenue Service, within which a taxpayer can expect to receive a refund for an income tax return filed:
(i) electronically, and the refund is:
(a) deposited directly into the taxpayer’s bank account; or
(b) mailed to the taxpayer; and
(ii) by mail, and the refund is:
(a) deposited directly into the taxpayer’s financial institution account; or
(b) mailed to the taxpayer;
(F) that the Internal Revenue Service does not guarantee:
(i) payment of the full amount of the anticipated refund; or
(ii) a specific date on which it will mail a refund or deposit the refund into a taxpayer’s financial institution account; and
(G) the estimated time within which the proceeds of the refund anticipation loan will be paid to the borrower if the loan is approved; and
(3) the following information, specific to the borrower:
(A) the estimated total fees for the loan; and
(B) the estimated annual percentage rate for the loan, calculated using the guidelines established under the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.).
(b) A refund anticipation loan fee schedule required by Subsection (a)(1) must be a listing or table of refund anticipation loan fees charged by the lender for refund anticipation loan amounts. The schedule shall:
(1) list separately each fee imposed related to the making of a refund anticipation loan;
(2) list the total amount of fees imposed related to the making of a refund anticipation loan; and
(3) include, for each stated loan amount, the estimated annual percentage rate for the loan, calculated using the guidelines established under the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.).
Terms Used In Texas Finance Code 352.004
- Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. Source: FDIC
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on Source: OCC
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) A facilitator who advertises or markets refund anticipation loans in Spanish shall offer any borrower the option of receiving a Spanish-language printed disclosure and loan contract. A facilitator who negotiates a loan with a borrower in Spanish shall offer that borrower the option of receiving a Spanish-language printed disclosure and loan contract.