History

Tax icon John Hewitt has founded two franchises that Entrepreneur magazine has consistently ranked on their Franchise 500: Liberty Tax Service and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. He envisioned a new company, Liberty Tax Service while serving out the terms of a non-compete contract with Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. Hewitt's business plan was set into motion in Canada, when he purchased a Canadian tax company, U&R Tax Depot September 1, 1997. Using his blueprint for success, Hewitt inaugurated U.S. operations in January 1998.

In 1969, when Hewitt was a college student, he enrolled in a non-curricular course that would change his life, and have a profound effect on the tax industry. He took the H&R Block tax course, and described it as “the most interesting course I’ve ever taken.” Hewitt started as a tax preparer, then began his climb up the H&R Block management ranks. He became assistant manager for Block’s Buffalo, New York District the following year. After a stint as District Manager in Elmira, New York from 1975 until 1980, Hewitt advanced to a position as Regional Director, the youngest ever in the Block operating system. Hewitt managed over 2,000 preparers in 250 offices in one of Block’s largest districts.

Hewitt embraced the technological revolution, and had the foresight to imagine the future and evolution of computerized tax preparation while at Block. In the early 1980’s, he and his father developed a decision-tree tax interview program that generated individual responses to tax interview questions. It was the first PC tax software of its kind in the industry. Anticipating the impact of this potential new tax revolution, Hewitt was optimistic that he could market this futuristic product to his present employer. H&R Block was not a taker, so Hewitt took steps to found a new tax company. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service was founded in Hampton, Roads Virginia. In 1988, the company became Jackson Hewitt, utilizing the unique “Hewtax” tax interview program. By 1986, IRS personnel also had designs on the positive effects that computerized tax preparation could have on the filing process. This was the first year that the IRS tested the electronic filing process to allow taxpayers to directly file their taxes, bypassing the mailing of returns entirely. The timing was right. Hewitt took Jackson Hewitt public in 1994. The company, a solid second to Block, subsequently sold for $483 million in 1997.