Where can i cash a tax check

Walk into a Speedway to pay for gas, pick up a Krispy Kreme doughnut and, oh, yes, grab a plastic card off the shelf to get your tax refund faster.

Gas pumps and tax refunds?

Direct deposit is a no-brainer for consumers who have a bank account and fill out the proper routing and account numbers when they file their tax return.

But millions of tax filers without bank accounts need to cash a check somewhere. Why not the gas station? The supermarket?

Another twist: Tax filers can pick up a prepaid card, such as the one at Speedway, and have refunds directly deposited onto that plastic card, too.

For retailers and others, it's a way to generate fees — and drive up those impulse purchases.

Who thinks twice, really, about buying a dozen doughnuts — or a bright orange blouse or new sandals — when you've just cashed a chunky tax refund check at the store?

The average federal income tax refund this year is $2,894 through March 8, down about 1.7% from an average $2,944 for the same time last year. But hundreds of thousands of refunds involving large education credits have been delayed this year, so that may be contributing to the lower refunds so far.

Where's the best deal for cashing that tax refund?

It depends — particularly if you run into some hidden fees.

Drive by a Check 'n Go and signs say "We Cash Tax Checks."

But we're not talking about a low-cost option. Check 'n Go, for example, charges 2.49% of the refund check. If you had a $1,000 tax refund check, you'd pay $24.90 upfront.

By contrast, Walmart, Meijer and Kroger offer better deals.

Walmart charges a maximum of $3 if your refund check is less than $1,000. Or you'd pay $6 to cash a refund check that's bigger than that amount. The limit is up to $7,500 on a check.

The Walmart customer can receive cash or have the money loaded onto a Walmart MoneyCard, which is a reloadable prepaid card that can be used where MasterCard Debit or Visa Debit are accepted.

Kroger will charge $3 to cash a tax refund check or other checks of up to $2,000 and then charge $5 starting at $2,000.01.

The latest marketing twist involves getting a prepaid card to have tax refund money directly deposited on that card.

Speedway has signs in stores offering a $10 credit for those who have a tax refund directly deposited onto the NetSpend or PayPal prepaid card.

But the footnotes on the store sign say that a tax refund of at least $750 or more must be directly deposited between Jan. 1 and May 31 to qualify for the $10 bonus. The NetSpend card costs $3.95 upfront.

If you opt for any prepaid card, be sure to consider the fees — and that you may not necessarily spot all of them.

"There are some fees that they just don't mention," said Susan Weinstock, director of the Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project for the Pew Charitable Trusts. "The disclosures are not uniform."

Quite often, you won't see all the fees unless you buy the product and dig through the packaging to find the disclosures. Another option: Go online before you buy the card to find a chart for fees related to services.

The NetSpend Visa, for example, lists 18 different fees that could apply to some but not every consumer. The fees include an account maintenance fee of $5.95 a month, but that fee is waived if the card account has a debit or credit transaction and/or a balance inquiry within 90 days. There's also a $2.50 fee for domestic ATM withdrawals plus any ATM owner fees that apply.

The H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard has no fee to get the card when you get your taxes done at H&R Block. There's no regular monthly fee. It has a $2.50 fee for ATM withdrawals, plus any fee by the ATM owner and a $2.50 monthly fee that's triggered if the account is not active for three consecutive months.

Here's a shocker: There's a $25 over-the-counter fee for withdrawals if you go to a bank teller to obtain money that's on the H&R Block Emerald card.

Gene King, an H&R Block spokesman, noted that customers can get cash at a point of sale at a register, depending on if the store allows it and the cash limits set by the store, for no charge.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, about 88% of tax filers this tax season through early March had refund money either deposited into a traditional bank account or onto a prepaid card.

For someone who does not have a bank account, though, it's savvy to check out fees beforehand.

"It can be expensive to cash a check — especially a refund check," said Caroline Ratcliffe, senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

About 17 million adults live in unbanked households, according to the latest government data.

It's tempting, of course, to jump at any chance to get your tax refund money quickly. But why would you want to pay $25 or $50 to cash a tax refund check?

Some prepaid cards can be good alternatives — particularly if the card doesn't allow a consumer to overdraw on the account, has low usage fees and limited monthly fees, Ratcliffe said.

"Make sure that the fee structure is a fit for how you plan to use the card," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com.

When you're watching every penny, you can't act on impulse when it comes to deciding where to cash that tax refund check. The fees can be far less sweet than grabbing a doughnut on the run.

Some money-saving tips for getting tax refund cash:

• Find a credit union that offers no-strings-attached free checking accounts, open an account before you file your tax return, and have that tax refund directly deposited into that checking account.

"There's no transaction fee on that," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com.

• Many prepaid cards may allow you to directly deposit a federal tax refund. But that's not true of every card. Read the rules on the card.

• A tax filer cannot have a tax refund directly deposited onto the American Express Bluebird card. But the consumer could receive a paper tax refund check and add that money to the Bluebird card via the Bluebird mobile app on a smartphone or cash the check at Walmart for a fee and deposit that money at the register onto the Bluebird card.

The Bluebird card costs $5 at a Walmart register, or consumers can sign up for free at Bluebird.com. But there are no fees to load the Bluebird via cash at a Walmart register, said Vanessa McCutchen, a spokeswoman for American Express.

In the first quarter of 2013, she said, Bluebird will be adding more options to load money and check-writing capabilities.

• Contact a bank about any prepaid card options, too. Comerica Bank's Convenience Card allows customers to have their tax refund directly deposited onto the card at no additional cost. The card can be purchased for $5.95, and there is a monthly maintenance fee of $3.95. Withdrawals can be made at any Comerica ATM at no charge.