FEES

Tax return preparation and accounting work is $200 per hour. Specialty consulting, tax and accounting work such as technical research, business and tax planning, and business valuation is $285 per hour. Expert witness work is higher.

Staff ranges from $60 to $120 per hour. Billing is in increments of 5 minutes (1/12 of an hour) with a 5-minute minimum, rounded up. Expenses are billed per the list below.

Expenses typically include:

  • Copies at 10¢ each,
  • International long distance calls and faxes vary depending on location,
  • Tax preparation software for individuals at $40.00 per Federal return and $30.00 per state return including e-filing,
  • Tax preparation software for entities at $65.00 per Federal return and $35.00 per state return,
  • Sub-contractors at actual cost,
  • Postage and express delivery at actual cost,
  • Travel fares and related expenses at actual cost, and
  • Car mileage at 80¢ per mile. (This approximates the true cost of operating a car per the American Automobile Association.)

BILLING

Payment is due 15 days after the invoice date. We ask new clients to sign an engagement agreement and pay an advance fee deposit (any unused portion will be refunded).

Our billing protocol for an initial contact by a prospective client is as follows.  If our conversation is less than 15 minutes and you do not continue as a client, there is no charge.  If it goes beyond that, all the time becomes billable at the hourly rate of $200 prorated by fractions of an hour.  If you become a client by signing our engagement agreement and paying the $500.00 advance fee deposit ($1,000 for entities), all the time we spend with you on the initial contact will be charged against the fee deposit.  If you decide not to become a client but our conversation lasts more than 15 minutes, we will bill you for the time.  We do not bill for personal visiting about non-professional matters.

FEE ESTIMATES

If you are a prospective client, we cannot give you a specific estimate of how much we would charge for preparing your tax return. It’s a bit like estimating oil reserves, not knowing how much is there till the drilling is done. Nonetheless we can you give a range of fees we have charged clients in situations similar to yours.

ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT

For other than simple tax return preparation engagements, we will ask you to sign an engagement agreement. For a PDF sample, please click here.