You can quickly pay our fee from our secure payment page. Just fill in the retainer or invoice amount then simply click on the "Pay Now" button.
A receipt is emailed to you upon completion. If you have any questions, please call.
Fees are based on time charges.
We charge clients for our services based on the actual "billable time" spent on their jobs. Billable time includes all preparation work, consultations, research, phone calls, e-mails and a review of the tax preparer's work by another CPA (all work must be reviewed by another CPA in our firm). Consulting time includes time with the client directly as well as between our professionals within the firm.
We assign different standard hourly billing rates to each of our professionals based on their level of experience and value added. You may work with several CPAs and professionals with different hourly billing rates.
Why we don't use fixed fees.
Every taxpayer is different and one size (price) doesn't fit all when it comes to tax planning and preparation. Some other accounting firms use fixed fees or fixed pricing based on forms or schedules filled out, but that type of pricing usually does clients a great disservice.
If we used a fixed fee, some clients would pay more than they should and others would pay less. That's not fair to many clients. That's why almost all credible CPA and attorney professionals charge for their services based on time spent.
Our time-based fees are the most fair and honest and in the best interests of our clients and our firm. If you have many questions, complex tax matters and/or just need lots of tax help, expect to pay more than other clients who are well organized and have simple tax matters.
Fee Quotes - how much can you expect to pay?
Simple and organized: If you are very organized with your tax records and have a standard individual tax file, then you can expect our fees to be around $225 to $350.
Complex and organized: If you are organized with your tax records and have more complex individual tax files, then you can expect our fees to be around $350 to $600.
Complex and unorganized: If you are not well organized with your tax records, and/or have a more complex individual tax file, you can expect our fees to be around $600 to $1,200.
Complex or unorganized and lots of tax matters: Certain clients have challenging tax files and they require much more time on our part. They may be high net worth clients with a large number of tax matters and transactions requiring our attention and planning throughout the year. They may need us to figure out all their trade accounting on several investment accounts. They may use complex entities. They may have IRS notices and follow up exam matters. They may need us to consult with our tax attorneys. They may have complex matters with their retirement plans. They may have complex questions with investment funds, trading treatment, international aspects and otherwise. These clients may pay us between $1,200 and $2,000 per year.
If we prepare your children's tax returns, they usually cost between $95 to $225 per return, since most are fairly simple.
Our retainer payment and engagement letter.
We require a retainer payment when you sign up for our tax preparation services. Your retainer payment is like a deposit or prepayment that we apply against your time-based invoice(s); it's not an extra charge of any kind. Our retainer also represents our minimum price. It is firm policy that before we begin with any work, we must receive a retainer and have an engagement letter on file. Our engagement letter spells out the scope of our engagement, the exact work to be done, our retainer and our limited responsibilities as "tax preparers" (we are not auditing your tax file). You need to sign the engagement letter before we proceed with your job.
Invoices - interim and final are payable before delivery
Upon the completion of your work, we present you with a summary of our results together with our invoice for fees and expenses (which were reduced by your retainer and other on-account payments made to date).
We require payment of our invoice (by credit card, check or cash) before we deliver your actual completed work. If we were to deliver work before invoice payment, we would have to chase many clients for payment and incur many costs in this regard. Avoiding these costs and possible bad debts helps us keep our fees lower, and that benefits our clients. Think of our firm as you would a doctors' office, restaurant or retail store: you pay for your goods and/or services on receipt; not later when you get around to paying your bills by mail. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding on this matter.
Thank you for your business and we look forward to serving you again.
