Many tax preparation firms offer their clients a refund anticipation loan(RAL). For a fee, the firm will give a client his refund when the return is filed. The loan is repaid when the Internal Revenue Service sends the refund directly to the firm. Thus, the RAL fee is equivalent to the interest charge for a loan. The schedule in the table on the right is from a major RAL lender. Use this schedule to find the annual rate of interest for a$936 RAL, which is paid back in 24 days.