When you’re living on the edge financially, you cannot afford the convenience fees that go along with instant money. That’s why I dislike Refund Anticipation Loans, or RALs.

A RAL is a short-term loan backed by a person’s tax refund. Tax preparation companies count on desperate people trying to get their refunds as quickly as they can. But there’s a price for that speed.

What galls me is that there’s little, if any, risk to the lender – yet the loans often carry high fees. The Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumer Law Center have found that RALs cost from about $30 to more than $125 in loan fees. Some tax preparers also charge a separate application or document-preparation fee of about $40. The consumer groups say the effective annual interest rate for a RAL can range from about 40 percent to more than 500 percent.

Amid criticism, some companies have lowered RAL fees. For example, H&R Block says its typical RAL costs about 2 percent of the principal.

What I would like to see is a ban on these loans. That may not happen, but the IRS and Treasury Department announced recently that they are considering a new rule that could greatly restrict the marketing of RALs and similar products.

The IRS is considering prohibiting tax preparers’ involvement with RALs, said David Williams, IRS director for electronic tax administration and refundable credits. The agency doesn’t have the authority to ban the product, but it can forbid tax professionals from selling or marketing the loans directly.

Under the proposal, “if you prepare the return, you can’t obtain taxpayer consent to process the RAL,” Williams said.

He added that the agency also plans to do its own research to determine if tax laws are being broken by tax advisers.

Comments about the proposed rule can be sent by mail to Room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C., 20044 or by e-mail to www.regulations.gov. In each case you need to reference “REG-136596-07.”