Services and pricing
What this costs, before you call me.
Almost nobody in this profession publishes prices. I think that is a failure of nerve rather than a real difficulty. You should be able to work out roughly what this costs before you spend twenty minutes on the phone with a stranger.
$300
per hour for planning and advisory work
$350
per hour for IRS representation
$650
minimum engagement, whatever the work
Most work is quoted as a fixed fee rather than hourly. The rates above apply where work is genuinely open ended.
Jump to what you need
Not sure yet? Start here
Return review and written summary. $650.
Send me last year’s return. I read it properly, then send you a written summary of what I would have done differently, what I think was missed, and what I would change going forward.
It is a complete piece of work, not a sales call. If the answer is that your return was fine and you should stay where you are, that is what the summary will say. People buy this when they suspect something is being missed and have no way to find out.
Tax returns
Fixed fee, agreed in writing before I start. Includes a call to walk you through the finished return before anything is filed.
| Individual returns | From |
|---|---|
| Annual engagement: return, quarterly estimates, autumn planning call, questions through the year | $3,200 |
| Individual return, minimum | $750 |
| With self employment or a Schedule C | $1,250 |
| With rental property | $1,350 |
| With investments, K-1s or equity compensation | $1,500 |
| Each additional state | $200 |
| Each additional rental property | $250 |
| Each additional K-1 | $150 |
| Crypto reporting added to a return | $600 |
| Amended return | $750 |
The annual engagement is the one most people end up on. A return on its own is a document. The engagement is somebody who knows your situation and is reachable in July, which is when the questions actually happen.
IRS problems
Everything starts with the investigation phase, so nobody quotes a resolution before knowing what they are resolving.
| Representation | From |
|---|---|
| Investigation phase: transcripts pulled, written memo on where you stand | $999 |
| Penalty abatement request | $650 |
| Notice response, straightforward | $950 |
| Installment agreement | $1,200 |
| Currently not collectible status | $2,200 |
| Lien discharge, subordination or withdrawal | $2,200 |
| Collection Due Process hearing | $3,500 |
| Examination representation | $3,500 retainer, billed at $350/hr |
| Offer in compromise | $5,500 |
| Unfiled returns | Priced per return, as above |
On offers in compromise: the price is high deliberately. Most people who apply do not qualify, the work is substantial, and a cheap price attracts applications that were always going to be rejected. If you qualify I will tell you. If you do not, I will tell you that instead, and it will not cost you $5,500 to find out.
Business
| Returns and compliance | From |
|---|---|
| S corporation or partnership return, single owner, clean books | $1,800 |
| S corporation or partnership, multiple owners | $2,500 |
| C corporation return | $2,200 |
| Schedule C only, no entity | $900 |
| Advice and structuring | From |
|---|---|
| Entity selection analysis | $950 |
| Reasonable compensation study, documented | $1,400 |
| Acquisition analysis: is this business worth buying | $2,800 |
| Exit analysis: what you would actually keep after tax | $3,500 |
| Purchase or sale structuring | $2,500 minimum, billed at $350/hr |
| Bookkeeping, monthly | Per month |
|---|---|
| Up to around 75 transactions | $450 |
| Around 75 to 200 | $700 |
| Around 200 to 400 | $1,000 |
| Cleanup of prior periods | From $1,500, quoted |
Bookkeeping is taken alongside tax work rather than on its own, for reasons set out on the bookkeeping page. I do not process payroll, though I will set you up on a platform and handle anything the IRS sends you about it.
Estates and trusts
| Service | From |
|---|---|
| Decedent’s final individual return | $950 |
| Trust or estate income tax return (1041) | $1,400 |
| Gift tax return (709) | $1,400 |
| Estate tax return, portability only (706) | $3,800 |
| Estate tax return, full (706) | $8,000 |
| Estate and legacy tax planning | $1,800 |
| Aging parents conversation | $1,500 |
If a spouse died within the last several years and no estate tax return was filed, that is worth asking about regardless of the size of the estate. The reason is here.
Planning and advice
Paid in advance, delivered with something written at the end. I sell no products, manage no money, and receive no commission from anybody.
| Service | From |
|---|---|
| Return review and written summary | $650 |
| Year end tax projection session | $650 |
| Insurance needs analysis | $1,100 |
| College funding analysis | $1,100 |
| Retirement needs analysis | $1,800 |
| Estate and legacy tax planning | $1,800 |
| Modular plan, two areas | $2,400 |
| Full financial plan | $4,500 |
| Hourly, where work is open ended | $300/hr |
What this does not include: recommendations about what securities to buy or sell, asset allocation, or which company to buy a product from. I will tell you how much coverage you need and not whose policy to buy. I will tell you how much to save and in what kind of account, and what each choice costs in tax. The investment decision stays yours, or your advisor’s.
Americans abroad
| Service | From |
|---|---|
| Annual return, foreign earned income exclusion or foreign tax credit, with FBAR | $1,500 |
| Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures, catching up | $4,500 |
| Form 8938 added to a return | $350 |
| Treaty position (Form 8833) | $650 |
| State residency severance and defence | $1,200 |
Returns involving a foreign company you control, foreign mutual funds or a foreign trust are quoted individually, and in some cases I will tell you honestly that a specialist firm is the better answer.
Not sure which of these you need?
That is normal, and working it out is my job rather than yours. Describe the situation in a few sentences and I will tell you what it would take and what it would cost.
Prices on this page are starting points and were last reviewed [DATE]. Your quote is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
What I do not charge for
The first conversation
Fifteen minutes to work out whether I am the right person. No charge and no pressure at the end of it.
Going through your return
The call where I walk you through what I prepared, before anything is filed, is part of the fee. That is the part worth having.
Questions during the year
Reasonable questions between engagements are included. I would much rather answer something in June than fix it in April.
Telling you that you don’t need me
If your situation is simple enough to handle yourself, that is what you will hear, and I will tell you how.
What moves a price up
So you are not surprised by a quote that sits above the figures on this page.
- Returns in more than one state
- Multiple entities, partners or K-1s
- Foreign accounts, foreign income or foreign entities
- Records that are incomplete or need reconstructing
- Years that were never filed
- Cryptocurrency across several wallets or chains
- Rental property, particularly where depreciation was never set up properly
- Rush work. Anything needed inside two weeks during filing season carries a 50% premium, because it displaces other people’s work
How billing works
A fixed number in writing before anything starts. You will never watch an hourly meter and wonder whether it is safe to ask a follow up question.
Half at signing, half before filing. Card or bank transfer. Planning work is paid in advance.
If the scope changes, you hear about it first. A rental property I did not know about, a year that was never filed. You get a revised number to approve before I do the work, not an invoice afterwards.
Minimum engagement $650. Below that the paperwork costs more than the work.