AtaxFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ATAX franchise requires a total initial investment of $59K – $79K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 14.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $111K[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $59K – $79K
- 28th pct Financial Ser…
- Avg gross sales
- $111K
- 2nd pct Financial Ser…
- Royalty
- 14.0%
- 23rd pct Financial Ser…
- Units
- 116
- 42nd pct Financial Ser…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Financial Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Financial Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchised units fell from 116 to 98 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
11 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $59K – $79K including a $35K franchise fee, 14.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $111K/year.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- ATAX LLC
- Parent company
- Loyalty, LLC
- Predecessor
- ATAX Franchise
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President & CEO
- Alberto Ortiz
- Incorporated in
- VA
- HQ
- 780 Lynnhaven Parkway, Suite 240, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
- Auditor
- Bernard Robinson & Company, L.L.P.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.7M
- vs $2.8M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- has offered franchises s
- LMS Franchising
- Tectum Franchising
- Loyalty Business Services
- Loyalty Brokers
- companies listed below
- The Inspection Boys Franchise USA
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
ATAX franchisees operate tax preparation and accounting service centers, typically handling individual and small business tax returns during peak filing seasons. Day-to-day operations include client intake, tax return preparation using franchisor software systems, compliance filing, and year-round accounting/bookkeeping services. The model relies heavily on seasonal tax season revenue concentration with variable profitability dependent on client acquisition and local market conditions.
- CEO
- Alberto Ortiz
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 24
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Construction & Leasehold Improvements | $3K | $5K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $4K | $6K | |
| Interior & Exterior Signage | $2K | $4K | |
| Rent and Security Deposit | $3K | $5K | |
| Software and Software Support Services | $100 | $1K | |
| Computer and Point of Sale Systems & Connectivity | $3K | $4K | |
| Training Travel and Living Expenses | $1K | $2K | |
| Opening Inventory & Supplies | $500 | $2K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $2K | $5K | |
| Permits and Licenses | $200 | $500 | |
| Utilities | $450 | $1K | |
| Initial Insurance Deposit/Advanced Premium | $400 | $500 | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $4K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $59K | $79K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$7K
6.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $59K – $79K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $4K – $5K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $18K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 14.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 17.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 14.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $500 – $2K |
| Total fee load | 17.0% of rev |
At 17.0% total fee load, roughly $19K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $111K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 100 units
- vs category median 97
- Range (low → high)
- $2K→$923K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 0 / 5 · above
Compared against 58 Financial Services brands
vs Financial Services averages
How Atax Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 116
- Opened
- 21
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 15
- Terminated
- 5
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.9%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +4.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +18.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 5
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 3
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 4.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 8.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 24 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- Rhode Island
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 8 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 8
- Loan volume
- $295K
- Median loan
- $28K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Atax's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 6-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
ATAX presents meaningful investment risk due to unsustainably high royalty burden on modest average revenue, stagnant unit growth, extensive litigation ecosystem, governance failures, and undisclosed profitability metrics.
Litigation (Item 3)
11 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $500,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bernard Robinson & Company, L.L.P.⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MINORAggressive 14% royalty rate on gross revenues (industry standard 5-8%) creates high breakeven threshold given $110,515 avg revenue
- 02MINORSlow unit growth (4.5% YoY) and stagnant system size (116 units) suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 03HIGHMultiple concurrent litigation categories including investor claims, IP disputes with Liberty Tax Service, shareholder derivative suits, and governmental consent orders indicate systemic governance and compliance failures
- 04HIGHGoing concern status combined with pending litigation regarding financial controls and opportunity zone claims raises franchisor operational stability concerns
- 05MEDNo disclosed average net income despite disclosing gross revenue — suggests marginal or negative profitability for typical franchisees after 14% royalty
- 06HIGHHistorical litigation with former CEO John Hewitt and governmental consent orders indicate past compliance/transparency violations that may recur
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Geographic / Population based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 30,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Virginia |
| Litigation count | 11 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
11 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 2 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks Online / Xero
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks Online / Xero
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
123 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
ATAX · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ATAX franchise?
The total investment to open a ATAX franchise ranges from $59K – $79K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do ATAX franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ATAX FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $111K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is ATAX's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for ATAX (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many ATAX franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ATAX has 116 total units in the United States, including 116 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 21 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ATAX a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ATAX as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent ATAX, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Financial Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Financial Services category
Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.