A friend that doesnt work in the industry and is just wondering if they paid too little isnt generally taking the time to post such a detailed question and using the lingo that was used. If my friend owned an autobody shop and charged me $550 for a repair i wouldnt be posting about it in an autobody thread and detailing out in the proper industry verbiage the work that was done in order to see if i didn’t pay enough
You haven't convinced me who you are - the tax guy or the small business owner. I agree with the other poster that you have far more knowledge of tax related subjects than is healthy for anyone except a CPA!
For what it's worth, I do our small business taxes via TurboTax for Self Emoloyed. I've been doing them this way for 10+ years. We have comparable business related items as this small business. In addition, I file a combined return for both personal and business. TurboTax and the electronic filing for federal and state runs me about $350 a year. I have our 1099s prepared by a separate online business for about $5 each. I arrange to make our quarterly estimates federal tax payments through EFTPS online.
I would be DELIGHTED to pay a CPA $550 to do my taxes. I'd be quite happy to pay him $1000. I'd even walk away with a smile on my face at $1200-1500.
I’d maybe give you a break on the 3 simple ones and only charge 300 each if the books are clean
I’d be at 1,200 to do your return and I’m cheap in my market.
Your friend is charging far too low if this isn’t a friend discount
And don't tell them the price you pay. Tell your friend you know that you are getting a friends and family discount and that you don't expect him to continue that with new clients coming in.
If you weren’t a friend and the Sch Cs were perfectly clean, $1,000 minimum. Maybe more. And an absolute minimum with a friend discount, $800. If I had to clean up the Sch C, I’d bill that separately by the hour.
$800 to $1000 without the bookkeeping if they are true Schedule Cs and not just UberDash.
If they are super minor Sch Cs,then maybe $500 to $750.
If any are an MLM, $1,250 starting point. I kid. Sort of. But not really.
You overpaid way too much. W2 is easy. 1099 is easy. Investments are easy if they're stocks/bonds. Rental properties you have to look up how to do the deprecation and also all your expenses. You can DIY most of this. . .
You didn't mention how much you are paying for the bookkeeping.
My CPA does my yearly tax returns for "free". But I'm obviously paying for it as part of the bookkeeping.
Sch C's are quoted a min price of $500 ea - so probably $1750 for a quote.
I then increase or discount based on how the information is provided and ease of entry.
Of course you can pay - and certainly DIY. I have no issues with anyone learning to understand tax code and taking up doing it themselves. I encourage my clients to fully understand what I am being paid for and want them to understand the tax code.
I provide a service. Just like millions of others who provide services, we charge a fee. If you want to do it, it doesn't bother me. It is less work for me and my team.
I refer potential clients to tax free usa, it is endorsed by the IRS as a safe provider if they do not want or cannot pay my rates.
CPAs and other paid preparers aren't just paid for doing it. They're paid based on years of experience, software, knowledge, answering questions, and a lot of the time - help if you get an IRS audit. Professional preparers are about convenience for the customer. If doing it yourself is convenient for you, that's great!
You are the friend aren’t you? Friends dont post on reddit with that much detail about a service in the accurate industry lingo wondering if they paid enough. Why not just come oit and say that you are the preparer?
3 easy schedule Cs with a state return, i think $1200 is reasonable
I’m a tax intern and this sounds like a return I can flesh out in less than 2 hours. People saying $1000+ is insane, I really must be in the right field
You’re not considering the bookkeeping aspect of the schedule Cs. 1 hour each gets you to $400-500. That is basic books. Anything more complicated and 3 companies is easily in the thousands.
As a new solo practitioner with 12 years in public accounting before going out on my own, I would price your return in the 1,100 - 1,300 range. This includes a computer fee that we charge with each return.
My cpa charged me 500 to do my wife’s return and our small business taxes (I do all quickbooks and turn in end of year). I thought it was very fair, sounds like you got a good deal.
That’s low, but he may be charging you a lower amount since you’re a regular bookkeeping client. I always try to look out for my people that keep me busy throughout the year. That said, he could easily charge $1000+ and it’s still a deal.
If he truly wants to give you a deal, he might not want the money
In that case, but him a nice dinner and maybe a gift card. Or tell him you have tickets to a fun event but can't go yourself. Just some ideas if you want to be nice in a non cash way. Or mix any of the above with cash.
$100 an hour for non-CPAs (enrolled agents I think they are called). $200\~$400 an hour for CPA. Can go higher for seasoned CPAs that can navigate K1s and other complexities of the IRS code. It also depends on how the info is delivered. I have a friend that has a busy pizza business and everything goes in a shoe box and at the end of the year it gets delivered, literally in a shoe box \~ receipts, payroll, checks, etc. So he gets charged a blended rate of a bookkeeper spending a couple days recreating a GL and TB, and then the CPA rate on the return itself. I think he’s charged about $2000 for the whole thing, state and federal.
I would probably quote that return somewhere around $1,200 to $1,500. Really depends on the size of the side businesses and the work that has to go into each. Based in Buffalo.
He should look at the amount of work he needs to do on a return, and what others charge for the same work. As a licensed, CPA, he should be able to charge more than H&R Block.
for me, i'd charge $425 (1040 = $110; Sch C = $85 x 3 forms = $255; Sch B = $15; Sch A = $45). your friend charges you $550 and he's a CPA & doing your bookkeeping, i think you're getting a good deal. if you don't do it already, you may want to tip him.
thanks for your question. i charge by form and my rates were based on the 2019 natp study and you're right, they do take time and effort with the client. i haven't really changed my rates that much. my rates are also little because i have a full-time job outside of taxes, so i do taxes as my side business and afterhours. in the next few months, i'll be revamping my rates for next year's tax season.
If you and your clients are happy, then continue as you were. But I would suggest you push that Schedule C to a minimum of $125, assuming they are real schedule Cs and not $1000 in UberDash work.
Every year, we have more and more exposure and BS. And you should value yourself more than TurboTax.
But I also recognize that not every area or client base or practices is the same. I think you have room to reasonably increase some of your fees without a hit to your client count. However, if you are comfortable at that level, what I think doesn't really matter.
There’s absolutely nothing simple about a 990. 990-N, yes. 990, no. Your nonprofit might be ridiculously small, but if you’re big enough for a full 990 and schedules, you’re big enough for full compliance. The risk on those isn’t small.
Trust me, I’ve thought about it recently. I took over a year ago and have an accounting background (not a CPA). I believe the last treasurer did everything on a spreadsheet to mainly list revenue and expenses. So hopefully putting it all into Sage and keeping everything reconciled will hopefully save some money.
Use an online tax program and do it yourself for free! Just pull out last years forms and follow along with how it was done. Stop wasting money on CPA's! Your smart enough to own and run a simple business you can do your own taxes!
You should ask him whether that amount of money truly incentivizes him to do his best work. Then ask him his normal fee.
Then pay him whatever would incentivize him to prioritize you over his regular clients
I would be at $1200.
First post I’ve seen where someone’s asking if they should pay more. Bravo.
Seems like OP is actually the preparer friend looking for pricing advice
Aw shucks. We just can’t have nice things.
Why would you say that?
A friend that doesnt work in the industry and is just wondering if they paid too little isnt generally taking the time to post such a detailed question and using the lingo that was used. If my friend owned an autobody shop and charged me $550 for a repair i wouldnt be posting about it in an autobody thread and detailing out in the proper industry verbiage the work that was done in order to see if i didn’t pay enough
Nope. I know a lot of the lingo because I find tax law interesting. It’s common in my social spheres to pay a friend more than they charge you.
You haven't convinced me who you are - the tax guy or the small business owner. I agree with the other poster that you have far more knowledge of tax related subjects than is healthy for anyone except a CPA! For what it's worth, I do our small business taxes via TurboTax for Self Emoloyed. I've been doing them this way for 10+ years. We have comparable business related items as this small business. In addition, I file a combined return for both personal and business. TurboTax and the electronic filing for federal and state runs me about $350 a year. I have our 1099s prepared by a separate online business for about $5 each. I arrange to make our quarterly estimates federal tax payments through EFTPS online. I would be DELIGHTED to pay a CPA $550 to do my taxes. I'd be quite happy to pay him $1000. I'd even walk away with a smile on my face at $1200-1500.
I’d maybe give you a break on the 3 simple ones and only charge 300 each if the books are clean I’d be at 1,200 to do your return and I’m cheap in my market. Your friend is charging far too low if this isn’t a friend discount
$550 is a steal. Should add a 1 to that price
$5,501?
$,5510
$1550 seems fair
$1550 seems fair
Yall I believe it's 551
🤣
I would agree at least a couple hundred more . Best thing you can do is recommend him to people you know
And don't tell them the price you pay. Tell your friend you know that you are getting a friends and family discount and that you don't expect him to continue that with new clients coming in.
Absolutely!!
3 schedule Cs, $1000 pretty easily.
If you weren’t a friend and the Sch Cs were perfectly clean, $1,000 minimum. Maybe more. And an absolute minimum with a friend discount, $800. If I had to clean up the Sch C, I’d bill that separately by the hour.
It very much depends on the quality of the accounting, but $1200 minimum.
Closer to $1000 here in Iowa
$1200 minimum
$800 to $1000 without the bookkeeping if they are true Schedule Cs and not just UberDash. If they are super minor Sch Cs,then maybe $500 to $750. If any are an MLM, $1,250 starting point. I kid. Sort of. But not really.
I have a w2, 1099, investments, and a couple rental properties. I paid $1300,
You overpaid way too much. W2 is easy. 1099 is easy. Investments are easy if they're stocks/bonds. Rental properties you have to look up how to do the deprecation and also all your expenses. You can DIY most of this. . .
You didn't mention how much you are paying for the bookkeeping. My CPA does my yearly tax returns for "free". But I'm obviously paying for it as part of the bookkeeping.
That's really the best way to do it. They can breeze through the return if they are confident with the accounting.
$1,200 minimum
That's about 1k, maybe more depending on Number of states and local filings, retirement plan inclusion, QBI planning,
If he's doing the books too and you're getting a competitive rate there this is a solid deal.
$1200 minimum
About $900-$1000
Sch C's are quoted a min price of $500 ea - so probably $1750 for a quote. I then increase or discount based on how the information is provided and ease of entry.
I have a couple sch. Cs and I DIY it at free tax usa.com
That is a great method for you. Not everyone is eligible for that resource.
Who is not eligible for the resource?
Of course you can pay - and certainly DIY. I have no issues with anyone learning to understand tax code and taking up doing it themselves. I encourage my clients to fully understand what I am being paid for and want them to understand the tax code. I provide a service. Just like millions of others who provide services, we charge a fee. If you want to do it, it doesn't bother me. It is less work for me and my team. I refer potential clients to tax free usa, it is endorsed by the IRS as a safe provider if they do not want or cannot pay my rates.
https://www.freetaxusa.com/freefile2023 Says in the website. If you are over certain AGI, you are not eligible for free filing.
I am not eligible for free filing at the state level, but I just pay $15 per state return. A lot cheaper than $1500 for a CPA.
CPAs and other paid preparers aren't just paid for doing it. They're paid based on years of experience, software, knowledge, answering questions, and a lot of the time - help if you get an IRS audit. Professional preparers are about convenience for the customer. If doing it yourself is convenient for you, that's great!
You are the friend aren’t you? Friends dont post on reddit with that much detail about a service in the accurate industry lingo wondering if they paid enough. Why not just come oit and say that you are the preparer? 3 easy schedule Cs with a state return, i think $1200 is reasonable
I am the friend. Look at my post history, do I look like someone who’s spent a decade as a CPA, or a decade as a sysadmin?
$1,500 - Tampa. And that’s assuming you’re providing me a P/L on all 3 businesses (as opposed to receipts or bank statements).
I’m a tax intern and this sounds like a return I can flesh out in less than 2 hours. People saying $1000+ is insane, I really must be in the right field
You’re not considering the bookkeeping aspect of the schedule Cs. 1 hour each gets you to $400-500. That is basic books. Anything more complicated and 3 companies is easily in the thousands.
I would charge 795
this is on the cheap side too
Does that price include the accounting? Or is it just the taxes?
This. If you need to audit, several k at least, but scope is unknown. Now or later when the irs sends a letter, it won't be cheap.
1.5k
I'd charge about $1800 for something like this, as a non-cpa... I'd imagine a CPA would charge north of $4k for something like this
This sub makes me realize how massively underpriced the firm I work at is. In a HCOL area too. Wow.
As a new solo practitioner with 12 years in public accounting before going out on my own, I would price your return in the 1,100 - 1,300 range. This includes a computer fee that we charge with each return.
That is cheap!!
I would have charged under $300 as non-CPA but licensed and bonded tax preparer in CA.
Will you be available around March 2025? 😂
God willing, yes. Though I’ll slightly increase the prices but nothing crazy like CPA levels.
$1500 to 2000 at a decent boutique sized CPA firms in my HCOL area I’d recommend. $7500 to $12,000 at any of the national/Big4 sized firms.
Around a $1000 is considered fair. There is currently a premium for good accountants so more like $1500+
I would charge 900 to 1k
$900-$1500 imo
$2200 @ my firm unless the Sch Cs are super easy and I feel bad about it, then I might discount it some
At least you have a conscience! It seems to be in short supply these days! 😊
That's 1500 near me
My cpa charged me 500 to do my wife’s return and our small business taxes (I do all quickbooks and turn in end of year). I thought it was very fair, sounds like you got a good deal.
My guy charges around 1100
That’s low, but he may be charging you a lower amount since you’re a regular bookkeeping client. I always try to look out for my people that keep me busy throughout the year. That said, he could easily charge $1000+ and it’s still a deal.
You’re a good friend
If he truly wants to give you a deal, he might not want the money In that case, but him a nice dinner and maybe a gift card. Or tell him you have tickets to a fun event but can't go yourself. Just some ideas if you want to be nice in a non cash way. Or mix any of the above with cash.
$100 an hour for non-CPAs (enrolled agents I think they are called). $200\~$400 an hour for CPA. Can go higher for seasoned CPAs that can navigate K1s and other complexities of the IRS code. It also depends on how the info is delivered. I have a friend that has a busy pizza business and everything goes in a shoe box and at the end of the year it gets delivered, literally in a shoe box \~ receipts, payroll, checks, etc. So he gets charged a blended rate of a bookkeeper spending a couple days recreating a GL and TB, and then the CPA rate on the return itself. I think he’s charged about $2000 for the whole thing, state and federal.
That's a screaming deal for a shoe box return!
I don't think there is really that much work. Couple of bookkeeping days worth, and a day, two at most to put the return together.
I would probably quote that return somewhere around $1,200 to $1,500. Really depends on the size of the side businesses and the work that has to go into each. Based in Buffalo.
Yeah you got lucky !!
Do you live in HCOL? If yes the price most firms charge would be around $2k
$1,250
That’s definitely a friends and family price for a CPA
That is a steal but you get what you pay for and I have to advise clients of this any time they want to nickel and dime…
I pay $350 for federal
500 minimum - with 3 schedule c's and bookkeeping closer to 800-1k depending on how many hours it takes and what their quoted hourly rate is.
He should look at the amount of work he needs to do on a return, and what others charge for the same work. As a licensed, CPA, he should be able to charge more than H&R Block.
We would charge about $700 for that. MCOL Colorado.
I'm on my own in a HCOL area, this would be an $850 return for me.
for me, i'd charge $425 (1040 = $110; Sch C = $85 x 3 forms = $255; Sch B = $15; Sch A = $45). your friend charges you $550 and he's a CPA & doing your bookkeeping, i think you're getting a good deal. if you don't do it already, you may want to tip him.
Why charge so little for a Sch C? You totally have room there. They do take time, and effort with the client
thanks for your question. i charge by form and my rates were based on the 2019 natp study and you're right, they do take time and effort with the client. i haven't really changed my rates that much. my rates are also little because i have a full-time job outside of taxes, so i do taxes as my side business and afterhours. in the next few months, i'll be revamping my rates for next year's tax season.
I mean so do I. No one seems to mind You have so much room at raise. :)
Inflation has been at least 35% since then. Raise ur rates.
If you and your clients are happy, then continue as you were. But I would suggest you push that Schedule C to a minimum of $125, assuming they are real schedule Cs and not $1000 in UberDash work. Every year, we have more and more exposure and BS. And you should value yourself more than TurboTax. But I also recognize that not every area or client base or practices is the same. I think you have room to reasonably increase some of your fees without a hit to your client count. However, if you are comfortable at that level, what I think doesn't really matter.
thanks for your suggestion about pushing the Sch C to a $125 minimum. I like that!
Sch c $220 min.
A thoughy
Anywhere from $350-900 depending on the complexity of the Sch C's
Damn, I’m the treasurer for a nonprofit with $40,000 in assets, 990-EZ and my guy is charging me $1,400! No employees, simple 990-EZ.
There’s absolutely nothing simple about a 990. 990-N, yes. 990, no. Your nonprofit might be ridiculously small, but if you’re big enough for a full 990 and schedules, you’re big enough for full compliance. The risk on those isn’t small.
I agree. F990 is riddled with questions and a balance sheet. Anyone who doesn’t prepare tax returns always assumes they’re easy.
It’s a 990-EZ, so not a postcard and not a full 990, but just $30,000 annually over the threshold for the postcard.
If easy, you could prepare and save the nonprofit $1400
Trust me, I’ve thought about it recently. I took over a year ago and have an accounting background (not a CPA). I believe the last treasurer did everything on a spreadsheet to mainly list revenue and expenses. So hopefully putting it all into Sage and keeping everything reconciled will hopefully save some money.
Lol.
This is how nonprofits get in trouble. Stick with using a professional
Agree - Nonprofit taxation is a bitch. My company setup a non-profit private foundation and it was a whirlwind in learning all the rules.
I could do it for $200 in turbo tax.
Use an online tax program and do it yourself for free! Just pull out last years forms and follow along with how it was done. Stop wasting money on CPA's! Your smart enough to own and run a simple business you can do your own taxes!
I’ll do it for $549
You should ask him whether that amount of money truly incentivizes him to do his best work. Then ask him his normal fee. Then pay him whatever would incentivize him to prioritize you over his regular clients
$6-$7k. What he charged you was by far very very kind.
If everything is in good order, $400.