About Us

Company Founder Anton M. Lavrisha, B.A., J.D., a 1979 graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, CSU began preparing taxes at age 16 for his father, a self-employed bricklayer. Upon earning his law degree, Anton continued to prepare individual income taxes for his clients. In 1985, he acquired an income tax preparation practice in the Slovenian neighborhood on Cleveland's east side.

"Providing a professional level of service at a better price for the common man" would ultimately provide the foundation for the mission of 800-TAX REFUND, Inc.

President Joel T. Dimengo, B.A., a 1978 graduate of Kent State University, got his first exposure to taxes and accounting at age 15, when he handled the bookkeeping duties for his father's real estate investments. After spending the early years of his professional career in public service for the County of Summit, in 1988 Joel began offering financial planning and tax services for individuals in North Akron.

"Empowering people with the resources they need to better themselves" would distinguish the methods by which 800-TAX REFUND, Inc. carries out its mission.

When electronic tax filing was introduced nationwide in 1990, Messrs. Lavrisha and Dimengo embraced the new technology and combined their resources to form 800-TAX REFUND, Inc., and in its first year realized an insatiable demand from taxpayers to have their already-prepared tax returns reviewed and filed. In the ensuing years the company refined its services for making electronic filing easier and more accessible for taxpayers, when, in January 1998, IRS granted the company the first legislative privilege of its kind: the authority to accept fax signatures in lieu of original signatures.

Whether your tax return is self-prepared or professionally prepared, we encourage you to file your tax return electronically through an experienced and reputable source -- one that is willing to invest in the right technologies to make the process convenient, easy, and safe for you.

800-TAX REFUND, Inc. is one of just two companies to have earned the IRS Industry Partner award in each of the thirteen years that IRS granted the award. And it remains the only company to have earned the IRS Industry Partner award for its contributions in all three Partner categories: Individuals, Practitioners, and Financial Institutions/Employers.