Liberty Tax Service franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Liberty Tax Service franchise takes $42,200 – $61,400 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $15,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 14% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 5%. To qualify, Liberty Tax Service asks for $85,000 in liquid cash and a $250,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Liberty Tax Service franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $15,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $42,200 | $61,400 | $42,200 to $61,400 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $85,000 | $85,000 | $85,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $42,200 | $61,400 | $42,200 to $61,400 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 14% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 5% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full Liberty Tax Service cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Liberty Tax Service's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Liberty Tax Service's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $42,200 — about 50% below the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $15,000 — about 62% below the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
How Liberty Tax Service's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2013–2020: began the window at 3,809 units; 2,098 units opened, 2,382 closed, ending at 2,255 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Liberty Tax Service or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Liberty Tax Service for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Liberty Tax Service is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Liberty Tax Service grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Liberty Tax Service can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Liberty Tax Service franchise
Liberty Tax Service is a professional services franchisor with 2,255 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2013 and 2020, it began the window at 3,809 units; its filings record 2,098 unit openings and 2,382 closures, ending at 2,255 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is JTH Tax Inc.. The filings indicate financing options are available; terms come from the franchisor, not from us.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
JTH Tax, Inc. d/b/a Liberty Tax Service offers a franchise program to operate tax return preparation offices utilizing special marketing techniques and operating procedures.
Liberty Tax Service franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Liberty Tax Service franchise cost?
- $42,200 – $61,400 all-in to open, per Liberty Tax Service's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Liberty Tax Service units are there?
- 2,255 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Liberty Tax Service's units held up?
- 78.3% of units at risk between 2017 and 2020 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).