[3] In January 1998, the Cendant Corporation, a consumer conglomerate, purchased Jackson Hewitt in a transaction valued at approximately $480 million.

John Hewitt, a former H&R Block employee who wrote accounting software for the firm, acquired the company with a group of investors and became its chief executive officer in August 1982.

In October 1989, the Montgomery Ward department-store chain contracted with Jackson Hewitt to open offices in 169 stores across the United States.

The sudden growth was too much for the company and to avoid entering bankruptcy during tax season, Jackson Hewitt closed 67 of those offices.

The trial was a success, and later that year the company launched plans to establish eighteen offices in Walmart stores, leasing space for use as combined tax preparation and business mail service sites.

During that year, the company also introduced the issuance of MasterCard cash cards – so that their customers would have easier access to accelerated refund accounts – as well as the creation of a Premier Tax Service for complex returns.

Some Jackson Hewitt locations began to offer ATMs where clients could cash their refund checks on-site.

The firm prepared some 3.4 million tax returns for low- and middle-income customers through more than 7,400 franchised company-owned offices, including locations within Kmart, Walmart Stores and mall kiosks.

In 2008, the company partnered with the Magic Johnson Foundation to create Community Empowerment Centers that offered comprehensive tax information seminars and financial educational resources in Sacramento, Houston, Chicago, New Orleans and Cleveland.

[10] In August 2011, Jackson Hewitt became a privately held company with Philip Sanford as its president, chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors.

[11] Jackson Hewitt has a strong retail presence and has re-emerged after bankruptcy as the second-largest and fastest growing tax preparation company in America, having been named Vendor of the Year for Walmart.

Furthermore, in tax year 2005 Jackson Hewitt unveiled its new ESS scan system which enables paperless uploading of customer documents to its secure server.

Jackson Hewitt offers "Tax School" throughout the country with two ways to learn: in a classroom or online, through the University of Phoenix.