How much does it cost to have your income tax done by an accountant?

July 21, 2007 2:48 PM

Quick survey: how much does your accountant charge to do your income tax?

My googling has failed for this seemingly simple question. I dont know if they charge by the hour or charge depending on the complexity of your situation or what. I'd just like to get an idea of how much this generally costs.

posted by GleepGlop to work & money (18 comments total)

The tax accountant I used when I lived in NYC charged me a $350 flat rate for preparing all relevant federal and state tax forms.

I have no idea whether this was typical or not.
posted by dersins at 2:58 PM on July 21, 2007

I would expect it to be, in general terms, a flat rate in the hundreds of dollars, but I can't guess what the regional variations would be.

It does depend on the type of office, the kind of tax returns you need prepared, the part of the country you're in, and other factors that can be determined by contacting offices experienced in the tax issues relevant to you. I'm sure it also depends on the quality of the service in some arbitrary way.
posted by caitlinb at 3:01 PM on July 21, 2007

I'm in Portland, and ours has charged us between 180 and 220 over the past 3 years. We've had a house purchase, and one year we wrote off medical expenses. Other than that, nothing hugely complicated.
posted by peep at 3:11 PM on July 21, 2007

My husband and I paid $175 this year, with an accountant who charges by the hour. I've paid about twice that at various H&R Blocks in NYC, where they charged by the form. (I'm self-employed, receive royalties, and we always have a small stack o' W-4 forms.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:15 PM on July 21, 2007

NYC, flat $300.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 3:15 PM on July 21, 2007

In the UK, I used to pay around £200
posted by kenchie at 3:19 PM on July 21, 2007

$200 flat. additional $150 to readjust my 401k investments.
posted by krautland at 3:26 PM on July 21, 2007

Pretty much what caitlinb said. Your location and tax situation can make a huge difference. My accountant charges me $250 for federal and state (CA) taxes with a schedule C and multiple sources of income, investments, etc. Not a nightmare but not something for TurboTax. She alwas says if I wasn't a long loyal customer who has all of their ducks in a row before I go, she would charge another $50-150 to de-cruft my receipts and records.
posted by Ookseer at 3:39 PM on July 21, 2007

I paid over $400 in Oregon and this was after meeting with several accountants to determine the lowest quoted cost.

The cost included my personal tax liability and my business tax liability for doing business in multiple states. I also had numerous business tax deductions and business-related moving expenses that had to be untangled from my personal expenses.

The flat rate was about $200 but then I was charged for additional forms, of which I had many, including special city of Detroit tax requirements from doing business there.
posted by click at 4:19 PM on July 21, 2007

350+/- (ny/nj) but it included some startup business issues in addition to personal...
posted by R. Mutt at 4:34 PM on July 21, 2007

Thanks mefi, I've got a good idea of the rates now!
posted by GleepGlop at 4:42 PM on July 21, 2007

Connecticut - $300.

That's fed, state plus itemized deductions.
posted by devbrain at 6:03 PM on July 21, 2007

$180 in Boston - both fed and state, itemized.
posted by jdl at 6:13 PM on July 21, 2007

$350-ish. But we had a complicated file (bought a house, moved states, cashed out a business, income from 3 states) and I believe our accountant has some kind of "sliding difficulty scale."
posted by media_itoku at 2:58 PM on July 22, 2007

Australia - salary only, no fancy deductions $100
investment property, shares - $300
posted by bystander at 11:37 PM on July 22, 2007

Bay Area, independent contractor (at the time), no house or investments, and I was quoted $250 flat fee.
posted by salvia at 12:09 AM on July 23, 2007

In MN, I pay $325 which covers my (small) corporate returns and personal returns. It's a per-return charge.
posted by BigLankyBastard at 8:59 AM on July 23, 2007

In Washington:
when I was independent contractor (small business): $350
salaried: $150
posted by patrickje at 9:42 AM on July 23, 2007