Franchise opportunities compared
Jackson Hewitt vs Liberty Tax Service
Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- Jackson Hewitt discloses more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
- Item 19 figures cover the location groups each FDD names (Jackson Hewitt: 2, Liberty Tax Service: 1). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Jackson Hewitt |  Liberty Tax Service |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $18,900 – $71,050 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $49,700 Charge As incurred Suppliers, Utilities, etc. TOTAL FOR A SINGLE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT — 49700 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 31 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $25,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14 | $25,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 26 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $6.00 Royalty on revenue you receive from your offering of a tax course will be reduced by — 6% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 20 | $14 OTHER FEES* Fee Amount Due Date Remarks Royalties — 14% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 27 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $5,000 vertising and marketing fee of 6.5% of your Gross Volume of Business. You must spend — 5000 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 20 | $2.00 id paying royalties and advertising fees on said returns. Holdover Fee An additional — 2% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 29 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 10,248 Outlets at end of 2026 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 51 | 3,326 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 61 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | +5,768 Calculated: 4,480 at end of 2024 → 10,248 at end of 2026 | −444 Calculated: 3,770 at end of 2023 → 3,326 at end of 2025 |
| Outlet exits (Item 20) | Not available No complete exit records for a year | Not available No complete exit records for a year |
| Franchising since (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | 1997 From a verified franchisor listing |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Kiosk franchised CoveredOffices $2,121 other Kiosk · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Standard franchised CoveredOffices $167,954 other Standard · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record $164,860 other Netprepfees · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 60 |
Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.