NOTE 16: REVENUE RECOGNITION

The majority of our revenues are from our U.S. business. The following table disaggregates our U.S. revenues by major service line, with all international businesses included in a single line and consists primarily of tax preparation revenues:



(in 000s)
Year ended April 30,	2018		2017		2016
REVENUES :
U.S. assisted tax preparation fees	$	1,947,160	$	1,902,212	$	1,890,175
U.S. royalties	245,444		250,270		249,433
U.S. DIY tax preparation fees	243,159		219,123		234,341
International revenues	227,266		210,320		213,400
Revenues from Refund Transfers	171,959		148,212		162,560
Revenues from Emerald Card®	102,640		95,221		92,608
Revenues from Peace of Mind® Extended Service Plan	101,572		92,820		86,830
Revenues from Tax Identity Shield®	28,823		21,054		7,641
Interest and fee income on Emerald Advance	56,986		57,022		57,268
Other	34,922		40,060		43,897
	$	3,159,931	$	3,036,314	$	3,038,153

We defer revenues and incremental wages related to our POM and TIS programs. We also defer commissions paid to our franchisees and other costs related to the TIS program. The deferred wages and costs are amortized using the same method revenues are recognized.



																(in 000s)
POM	Deferred Revenue									Deferred Wages
Year ended April 30,	2018			2017			2016			2018			2017			2016
Balance, beginning of the period	$	211,223		$	204,342		$	189,779		$	31,344		$	30,105		$	28,095
Amounts deferred	122,650			120,691			119,915			18,148			17,442			17,397
Amounts recognized on previous deferrals	(115,599		)	(113,810		)	(105,352		)	(16,809		)	(16,203		)	(15,387		)
Balance, end of the period	$	218,274		$	211,223		$	204,342		$	32,683		$	31,344		$	30,105

As of April 30, 2018, current deferred revenue related to POM was $116.9 million, which will be recognized over the next twelve months, while the remaining balance will be recognized over the following sixty months.

As of April 30, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015, deferred revenue balances of $36.4 million, $20.6 million, $18.5 million, and $7.6 million, respectively, related to TIS. For the years ended April 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016, all revenues deferred as of the beginning of the year were recognized during the fiscal year. As of April 30, 2018 and 2017, TIS deferred costs were $4.5 million and $3.1 million, respectively. We did not have any deferred costs recorded for prior periods. For the year ended April 30, 2018, we recognized deferred costs of $3.2 million. All deferred revenues and costs as of April 30, 2018 related to TIS will be recognized within fiscal year 2019.

A significant portion of our accounts receivable balances, with the exception of those related to EAs, are subject to this new guidance. The majority of our services and products must be paid for at the time of service unless an RT is purchased and therefore, no receivable is recorded. Generally the prices of our services and products are fixed and determinable at the time of sale. For our RT product, we record a receivable for our fees which are then collected at the time the IRS issues the client’s refund. Our receivables from contracts with customers are generally collected on a periodic basis during and subsequent to the tax season. See note 3 for our accounts receivable balances.