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How we quote
A fixed fee, agreed before we start.
We do not bill by the hour and we do not publish a rate card, because a tax return is not a product with a shelf price. What we do instead is look at your documents, tell you the number, and hold to it.
Why there is no price list
The honest answer is “it depends” — so we look first.
Two people can both describe themselves as having “a simple return” and be four hours of work apart. One has two W‑2s and takes the standard deduction. The other has two W‑2s, a rental in Sherman Oaks, a K‑1 from a partnership they forgot to mention, and a state they moved from in June.
A published rate card would quote both of them the same number, and one of those quotes would be wrong. So we do the looking before the quoting. Bring your documents to a first appointment, we tell you what the return actually involves, and you get a fixed figure before any work starts. If you would rather not proceed, that costs you nothing.
The first conversation is free
How a fee is set
- Documents reviewed At your appointment
- Scope explained Before anything starts
- Fixed number agreed In writing
- Work begins Only after you say yes
Included in the fee
Things we do not charge separately for.
The state return
Federal and California are prepared and e‑filed as one job. There is no separate line for the state return on an individual filing.
The first conversation
Bringing your documents in, having us look at them and tell you what the work involves, costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
The review before you sign
We walk the return with you line by line before it is transmitted. That is part of preparing it, not an add-on.
Your copy of everything
The filed return and the e‑file acknowledgements, printed or as a PDF, in your hands the day it goes out.
E‑filing itself
No transmission fee, no per-form charge, no processing surcharge added at the end. The quoted number is the number.
A call in August
If a notice arrives months later about a return we prepared, you call us and we read it with you. We do not start a meter for that.
Honest about the variables
What makes a return cost more.
The fee follows the work, and these are the things that add work. We tell you which of them apply to you before we start, not afterwards:
- A business schedule, rental property, or farm income
- Investment sales, crypto transactions, or K‑1s from other entities
- More than one state, or a part-year move
- Missing documents that we have to chase or reconstruct
- Foreign accounts or foreign income reporting
- Records that need sorting before they can be entered
- Several prior years being caught up at once
If the scope changes mid-preparation — a K‑1 turns up, a second state appears — we stop and tell you what it means before continuing. You will never find out that the price moved by reading the invoice.
Comparing us against a cheaper quote? Ask the other office what is not included: the state return, the review, e‑file fees, and what happens if a notice arrives in August. That is usually where the difference lives.
Paying us
How payment works.
- Card, bank transfer, cheque or cash — whatever suits you
- Payment is due when the return is complete, before it is transmitted
- Business engagements and catch-up work can be split into instalments
- Bookkeeping is billed monthly or quarterly, in step with the work
- A written engagement letter states the fee before anything begins
We do not take our fee out of your refund. Refund-transfer products route your money through a third-party bank, add their own charges, and slow the refund down. You pay us directly and your refund goes straight from the IRS to your account.
Fee questions
The ones we get asked.
Can you give me a rough idea over the phone?
We can give you a range once you have described the situation, and we are happy to do that on a call. What we will not do is commit to a number before seeing the documents, because the thing that changes the fee is almost always something the caller did not think was relevant.
Is the quote really fixed once you give it?
Yes. Once we have seen your documents and quoted you, that is the figure you pay. If something surfaces mid-preparation that genuinely changes the work, we stop and talk to you before going further — we do not adjust the number quietly and present it at the end.
What does the first appointment cost?
Nothing. Bring your paperwork in, we will tell you which service it is, what it involves and what it will cost. If you decide to go elsewhere, that is the end of it and you owe us nothing.
Do returning clients pay the same each year?
If your situation has not changed, the fee generally does not either, and we quote returning clients before the season starts so there is no surprise in March. A year where you started a business or bought a rental is a different return, and we say so up front.
What if I cannot pay the whole fee at once?
Tell us at the appointment rather than afterwards. Catch-up work and business engagements are routinely split into instalments, and we would rather arrange that openly than have you put off filing.
Want the number for your situation?
Bring your documents in and we will tell you what the return involves and what it will cost, before you commit to anything.