RAL Refund Anticipation Loan.
A very short term loan made by a bank to an electronic taxpayer once a tax return is filed and due to be repaid when the refund is received from the Internal Revenue Service. When the IRS receives the return it issues a DDI (Direct Deposit Indicator) number that assures the lending bank that the taxpayer has no other debt to the government. RALs were once viewed as extremely safe loans but fraudulent returns, filed specifically to obtain RALs, have forced banks to raise their fees or abandon making such loans altogether.
Maximizing Business Potential
