Liberty Tax Service was founded by John Hewitt in 1997. Hewitt began his career in the retail income-tax preparation industry 37 years ago at H&R Block; he then founded Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and sold it in 1996 for $483 million. He used this entrepreneurial experience and tax industry knowledge to found Liberty Tax Service, which has become the fastest-growing retail tax preparation service in history. Liberty Tax Service has set the standard for the number of both offices opened and tax returns prepared (more than 1 million in the 2005 fiscal year).

Investment Required
The fee for a Liberty Tax Service franchise is $30,000.

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 is divided into three phases. Effective Operations Training takes five and a half days to instruct new franchisees in the basics of operating an income tax office. Other subjects include accounting, marketing, hiring and staffing, budgeting and office procedures. This is followed by a five-day Intermediate Operations Training session that details tax return preparation procedures and the computer applications needed to process returns and maintain accurate accounting records. Two of these five days focus on marketing 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 in three days. Franchisees also benefit from a support system of employees who have a combined total of 400 years of industry experience.

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

Liberty Tax Service has a 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.