Franchises /Financial Services /Tax Services

Instant Tax Service

At a Glance

Products & Services: Retail tax preparation & electronic filing

Number of Locations: 873

Total Investment: $39K - 89K

Founded: 2000

Began Franchising: 2004

Private Owned

About Instant Tax Service

Fez Ogbazion was a college student from Ethiopia in 1994 when he started Instant Refund Tax Service. In their first tax season, his startup did returns for over 600 clients and eventually grew to dozens of locations. Ogbazion sold Instant Refund Tax Service to Jackson Hewitt in 1999. In 2000, Ogbazion moved to Dayton, Ohio, with the profits from his business deal to found Instant Tax Service. By 2003, Instant Tax Service had 100 offices across several states, and the company began franchising in 2004. Instant Tax Service specializes in professional tax preparation, expedited refund and refund anticipation loans, offering both in-person and online filing services.

Franchise Units

Year	U.S.	Canadian	International	Company Owned
2010	873	0	0	0
2009	1,197	0	0	16
2008	1,181	0	0	17

Where Seeking Franchisees: Franchisor is seeking new franchise units in the following states:
Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming.

Startup Costs, Ongoing Fees and Financing

Total Investment: $39,000 - $89,000
Franchise Fee: $34,000
Ongoing Royalty Fee: 20%
Term of Franchise Agreement: 5 years, renewable

Financial Requirements

Net Worth: $10,000
Liquid Cash Available: $10,000

Operations

75% of all franchisees own more than one unit. Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 3. Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (90% of current franchisees are owner/operators).