2017 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 5 - Consumer Credit Code
Consumer Credit Code
Article 9.5 - Refund Anticipation Loans
§ 5-9.5-105. Disclosures required

(1) A facilitator shall not facilitate a refund anticipation loan unless the facilitator makes the disclosures required by subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section.

(2) Fee schedule to be posted. (a) Every place of business in which facilitators facilitate refund anticipation loans shall post a schedule showing the current fees for facilitating refund anticipation loans and for the electronic filing of a consumer's tax return.

(b) Each fee schedule posted pursuant to this subsection (2) shall contain examples of the refund anticipation loan annual percentage rates for refund anticipation loans of two hundred dollars, five hundred dollars, one thousand dollars, one thousand five hundred dollars, two thousand dollars, and five thousand dollars.

(c) Each fee schedule shall also prominently contain the following statement, in at least twenty-eight-point, bold-faced type and in both English and Spanish:

NOTICE

When you take out a refund anticipation loan, you are taking out a loan by borrowing money against your tax refund. If your tax refund is less than expected, you will still owe the entire amount of the loan. If your refund is delayed, you may have to pay additional costs. YOU CAN USUALLY GET YOUR REFUND IN 8 TO 15 DAYS WITHOUT GETTING A LOAN OR PAYING EXTRA FEES. You can have your tax return filed electronically and your refund direct-deposited into your own bank account without obtaining a loan or other paid product. You can make complaints regarding your refund anticipation loan to the administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code in the Colorado state attorney general's office at [current telephone number]. (d) The fee schedule and notice required by this subsection (2) shall be made on a sign measuring no less than sixteen inches by twenty inches and shall be displayed conspicuously and in a prominent location.

(3) Oral disclosures. (a) When a consumer applies for a refund anticipation loan, the facilitator shall orally disclose to the consumer:

(I) That the product is a loan that only lasts one to two weeks;

(II) That, if the consumer's tax refund is less than expected, the consumer is liable for the full amount of the loan and must repay any difference;

(III) The amount of the refund anticipation loan fee; and

(IV) The refund anticipation loan interest rate.

(b) The oral disclosure required under this subsection (3) shall be made in English, Spanish, or any other language that the facilitator uses to communicate orally with the consumer.

(4) Written statement. (a) When a consumer applies for a refund anticipation loan and before closing the refund anticipation loan, the facilitator facilitating the loan shall give the consumer a written statement informing the consumer:

(I) That a refund anticipation loan is a loan and is not the borrower's actual income tax refund;

(II) That the consumer may file an income tax return electronically without applying for a refund anticipation loan;

(III) That the consumer is responsible for repayment of the loan and related fees if the tax refund is not paid or is insufficient to repay the loan;

(IV) Any fee that will be charged if the loan is not approved;

(V) The average time, as published by the federal internal revenue service, within which a taxpayer can expect to receive a refund for an income tax return filed:

(A) Electronically, and the refund is deposited directly into the taxpayer's financial institution account or mailed to the taxpayer; and

(B) By mail, and the refund is deposited directly into the taxpayer's financial institution account or mailed to the taxpayer;

(VI) That the federal internal revenue service does not guarantee:

(A) Payment of the full amount of the anticipated refund;

(B) A specific date on which it will mail a refund or deposit the refund into a taxpayer's financial institution account; or

(C) The estimated time within which the proceeds of the refund anticipation loan will be paid to the consumer if the loan is approved;

(VII) The following information, specific to the consumer:

(A) The total fees for the loan; and

(B) The estimated annual percentage rate for the loan, calculated using the guidelines established under the federal "Truth in Lending Act", 15 U.S.C. sec. 1601 et seq., as amended;

(VIII) The procedure for making a complaint to the administrator regarding the refund anticipation loan, including the current address, telephone number, or website of the administrator to which such complaints may be directed.

(b) The written statement required under this subsection (4) shall be provided to the consumer in English, Spanish, or both English and Spanish, as requested by the consumer.