How much does tax preparation cost?

Author: Tom G.
Millions of people ask Thervo for cost estimates every year. We track the estimates they get from local professionals, then we share those prices with you.

Tax preparation services can offer the gamut of ways to reduce taxes owed, as much as is legally and ethically possible, either far in advance or while filing.

Whether preparing taxes for a single taxpayer on minimum wage or the owner of a small business, each company has a unique number of employees and bases its prices on the size of business client or the number of forms an individual client requires.

Tax Filing Prices

Due to the wide variety of tax services on offer, most tax preparers, other than franchised business such as H&R Block, prefer to give customized quotes for the services needed.

A&E Financial Services in Houston, TX, quotes their pricing as starting at $150. The Neal Group in Milwaukee, WI, appears to price its time at $300/hour, based on its statement that a 30-minute consultation is worth $150.

Tax Preparation

D. Eckerman Tax Services has tax return prices beginning at $55. Bottom Line Bookkeeping and Tax in Salt Lake City, UT, offers a $99 tax return with full itemizing, a $79 “no itemizing” return, and a $35 student rate for high school and college students. They even offer a free tax return for missionaries.

Average Costs

The National Society of Accountants Reports on Average Tax Return Preparation Fees states:

The average fee for a professional to prepare and submit a Form 1040 and state return with no itemized deductions is $176.
The average fee for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return is $273.
The average fee for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule C and a state tax return is $457.

Tax Preparation Services Offered

Tax preparers base their prices on their level of experience, the number of employees, and the number of services offered. Personal and/or business returns, quarterly payroll tax reports, sales tax, state tax, multi-state returns, tax compliance, property tax, franchise tax, trust and estate tax, 1099 prep, electronic filing, and more, are offered by most qualified tax preparers.

Special Offers

Diamond Tax Services in Williamsburg, VA, offers an advance of up to $750 of your refund to avoid out-of-pocket fees. Phoenix Financial Tax Services in Chesapeake, VA, offers a first look for $50, which includes estimating what your tax payment or return will be based on the information you give. They also offer a second look for $95, which examines a filed return to see what errors it contains.

Specialties

The Caldwell Company of Bethesda, MD, and Washington, D.C., has “multilingual tax experts and deep expertise in the financial challenges faced by foreign nationals working in the U.S. This allows us to specialize in international accounting across a wide spectrum of issues.”

Glass Jacobson Financial Group of Rockville, MD, offers “multi-generational and family tax structuring to real estate cost segregation and R&D tax credit opportunities.”

Sam Income Tax in Edison, NJ, is particularly experienced in helping prepare tax forms for public servants. They also offer 10% off their services to first-time clients. Hallisey & D’Agostino in Wethersfield, CT, are especially practiced in working with those in construction, manufacturing, and real estate services.

Experience

Some tax preparation companies have gone over and above in their efforts to provide clients with the best expertise in the industry, like the SRF Accounting Group in Hackensack, NJ, which boasts an MBA in taxation, two BAs in accounting, and a tax auditor.