How Much Does a CPA Cost?
Real fee ranges for tax preparation, business returns, bookkeeping, and tax planning, and how to tell when the fee is an expense versus an investment.
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Quick Answer
Short answer: a basic CPA-prepared Form 1040 averages about $280, and tax professionals who bill by the hour average $182 an hour, according to the National Association of Tax Professionals 2025 Fee Study. Returns with a business, rentals, equity compensation, or several states take far more work, so specialist firms charge more: individual tax preparation commonly runs $400 to $1,200, with complex rental, equity-compensation, or multi-state returns reaching $3,000 or more. Business returns (S-corp or partnership) commonly run $1,500 to $5,000 or more, advisory work $200 to $500 per hour, and proactive tax planning $5,000 to $25,000 or more. Complexity, record quality, specialization, and whether you want a once-a-year filer or a year-round advisor drive where you land in each range. The useful comparison is total scope, not the headline fee alone.
What Taxstra charges
Flat fees, quoted before work starts. Here is where most engagements land for our virtual CPA services.
| Engagement | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Individual tax preparation | Typically starts at $1,200 to $2,000 a year |
| Preparation plus tax planning | Typically $5,000 to $12,000 in the first year |
| Monthly accounting | Typically starts around $750 to $2,500 a month |
Flat fees, quoted before work begins. Multi-entity and multi-state situations price higher.
See what each engagement includes on our virtual CPA fee table, or how we price.
The Typical Range, and Why It Is So Wide
Fees track complexity, and what you're actually buying
"How much does a CPA cost" is really two questions: what does it cost to get your return filed, and what does it cost to stop overpaying tax. The first is a compliance expense, comparable across firms, driven mostly by how many forms your life generates. The second is an engagement with a return on investment, and comparing it on price alone is how high earners end up with a cheap preparer and an expensive tax bill.
Across the market, a simple individual return with a W-2 and the standard deduction runs $400 to $700. Add a rental property or self-employment income and the range moves to $700 to $2,000. Business returns for an S corporation or partnership run $1,500 to $5,000 or more, and a full tax planning engagement, the kind that changes what you owe rather than just reports it, runs $5,000 to $25,000 or more depending on the strategies involved.
The one-question test
Ask any CPA you're evaluating: 'What did you proactively recommend to your clients before year-end last year?' A preparer talks about deadlines. An advisor talks about entity elections, retirement plan design, and depreciation timing. Their answer tells you which fee category you're shopping in.
Cost by Service Level
Typical 2026 ranges across the market
| Service | Typical Range | What Moves the Price |
|---|---|---|
| Individual return (W-2, standard deduction) | $400 to $700 | Number of states; investment activity |
| Individual return with Schedule C or E | $700 to $2,000+ | Number of businesses/properties; record quality; depreciation schedules |
| S-Corp or partnership return (1120-S / 1065) | $1,500 to $5,000+ | Payroll cleanup, shareholder basis tracking, multi-state apportionment |
| Monthly bookkeeping | $500 to $3,000+/mo | Transaction volume, number of accounts and entities, payroll |
| Hourly advisory | $200 to $500/hr | Credential level and specialization |
| Tax planning engagement | $5,000 to $25,000+ | Income level, entity complexity, strategies implemented |
Find the service level you actually need
Choose the closest situation. The result gives you a likely service lane and the scope items that should appear in a comparable quote.
Likely starting point
Tax preparation or tax software
$400 to $1,200 market range
Good fit when: Mostly W-2 income, limited investment activity, no business or rental property, and no major life event.
Your quote should spell out: Federal and state returns, e-filing, extension policy, amendment policy, and the person who reviews the return.
Take the full needs assessmentIf your situation involves rental real estate, equity compensation, or 1099 income in multiple states, expect the upper half of each range. Those returns carry more forms, more elections, and more ways for a generalist to leave money on the table. If your need is specifically outsourced monthly accounting rather than tax preparation, our bookkeeping cost calculator breaks that price down by business size and complexity.
“I recently had the pleasure of working with Taxstra, and I must say, the experience exceeded my expectations. From start to finish, their professionalism, expertise, and customer care were outstanding.”
Published client feedback. Individual experiences vary.
What Drives the Fee Up (or Down)
Four levers, two of which you control
- Complexity you can't avoid: each additional state, entity, rental property, or K-1 adds forms and professional judgment. This is the honest core of the fee.
- Record quality you can control: clean books through the year cost meaningfully less at filing time than a March cleanup project. Firms price shoeboxes accordingly.
- Service model: a once-a-year filer and a year-round advisor are different products at different prices. Paying filer prices and expecting advisor outcomes is the most common mismatch we see.
- Timing: organized records in January beat a drop-off in April, both for the fee and for the quality of the work.
Hourly billing surprises
An hourly engagement with an unclear scope is how a $500 estimate becomes a $2,000 invoice. Ask for flat-fee pricing with a defined scope before work begins. Reputable firms will give it to you.
Want a scoped fee for the work you need?
A free 30-minute call with our team about your needs, how we can help, and whether we are a good fit. Tax advice, document reviews, and analysis require a paid engagement.Your tax plan and specific advice come after you engage. The call is about fit and next steps.
Tax planning slots are limited before year-end.
Cost vs. Value: A Worked Example
An expense versus an investment
Preparation reports what already happened; the fee buys accuracy and compliance, and the cheapest accurate option is a reasonable choice. Planning changes what happens next: entity elections made before year-end, retirement plans designed around your income, depreciation strategies timed to acquisitions. Those decisions are worth real dollars, which is why planning is priced as an engagement rather than a form fee.
Worked example (hypothetical, illustrative round numbers)
A consultant with $200,000 of net profit is deciding whether an S corporation is worthwhile. The correct comparison is not “sole proprietor tax versus zero.” It is the projected payroll-tax difference after a defensible salary, less payroll, bookkeeping, state fees, additional tax preparation, and the planning fee.
If the modeled annual benefit is $8,000 and the added first-year professional and administrative cost is $5,000, the first-year net benefit is $3,000. If the required salary or state tax eliminates the benefit, the right recommendation is not to elect. That is what a planning fee should buy: a documented decision before the deadline, not a promised savings multiple. Run an initial estimate in our S-corp savings calculator and have a CPA validate the salary and state assumptions before filing an election.
Not sure which category you actually need? Our guide to what a tax strategist does breaks down the difference between filing, advising, and planning in detail, including what a strategist engagement typically costs.
How to Evaluate Providers
The questions that expose a vague scope, and when the fee is worth it
Software is fine for a single W-2 and a standard deduction. The economics flip when any of these show up:
- Self-employment or 1099 income requiring an entity, payroll, or multi-state analysis
- Rental property, especially short-term rentals, where classification decides whether losses offset your W-2 income
- Equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs) or a liquidity event
- Income in more than one state
- A year with a major event: business sale, home sale converted to rental, large capital gain
Once you are in that territory, put every quote through the same four questions before comparing numbers:
- Flat fee or hourly? Ask for a defined scope and a flat fee before work begins. An unscoped hourly engagement is where estimates quietly become invoices twice the size.
- Who actually does the work? A CPA, an EA, or a preparer under review by one? Credentials change what the person is legally allowed to advise on and represent you for.
- What did they proactively recommend last year? The one-question test above. A real answer names elections and strategies, not deadlines.
- Is bookkeeping included or coordinated? Tax positions are only as defensible as the records behind them. A provider who also handles or reviews your books catches problems in real time instead of in April.
| Quote item | What a useful answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| Deliverables | The exact returns, projections, meetings, filings, and implementation included |
| People | Who prepares, who reviews, and who answers planning questions |
| Timing | Record deadlines, expected turnaround, extension policy, and year-end planning dates |
| Out-of-scope work | Cleanup, notices, amended returns, bookkeeping, and additional states priced explicitly |
| Support after filing | How questions, notices, and implementation follow-up are handled and billed |
How Taxstra Prices
Flat, quoted upfront, no hourly surprises
We quote flat fees before work begins. As reference points: individual tax preparation engagements typically start in the $1,200 to $2,000 range, preparation combined with a proactive strategy engagement typically runs $5,000 to $12,000 in the first year, and monthly accounting typically starts around $750 to $2,500 per month. Complex, multi-entity, multi-state situations price higher, and we tell you the number on the front end, not on the invoice.
We serve 1,000+ clients nationwide, fully remote, with a CPA-led team that specializes in high-income earners, real estate investors, and business owners, and serves as a CPA for doctors across all 50 states. In the free consultation, our team discusses your needs, our services, fit, and next steps. A scoped proposal follows when there is a fit.
Want a business-side breakdown instead? Our bookkeeping cost calculator prices monthly accounting by size and complexity, and our accounting needs assessment gives a nine-question read on whether you need a bookkeeper, a tax planner, or a fractional CFO.
At the higher end of that range, the question shifts from what the fee is to what a high net worth tax advisor should do for the fee, and our guide covers what that level of engagement should actually include.
From first contact to ongoing work
How an engagement works
A fee is easier to judge when you know exactly what it buys. Here is how a Taxstra engagement runs, from your first message to ongoing work: what each side does, what you receive, and what the free consultation covers.
01
Free 30-minute consultation
Who: You and our team
Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team. Tell us what you need, learn how Taxstra can help, and explore whether our services are a good fit. No preparation is required. A general idea of your income sources, any entities you own, and the decision in front of you helps.
02
Discovery and fit
Who: Our team
Our team asks about your goals, the help you are looking for, and your timeline, then tells you which kind of engagement fits: proactive planning, monthly accounting plus tax, or preparation. If we are not the right firm for your situation, we say that too.
03
Written proposal
Who: Our team prepares it. You decide.
If there is a fit, you receive a written proposal through Ignition. It sets the services, deliverables, responsibilities, cadence, and fee before any work begins. Work starts only under an agreed paid engagement.
04
Onboarding in TaxDome
Who: Our team sets it up. You upload.
Once you accept, we set you up in TaxDome, our secure client portal, for documents, e-signatures, and messages. Sensitive records go through the portal, not a web form.
What you receive
- Tax preparation
- The named personal, entity, and state returns, plus filing instructions
- Tax planning
- A written planning agenda, assumptions, projections, and assigned next steps
- Monthly accounting
- Reconciliations, financial statements, and an exception list for management review
- Fractional CFO and advisory
- Separately scoped forecasts, decision support, and reporting improvements
Your proposal names the exact deliverables for your engagement.
What we need from you
- Prior returns and income documents
- A list of your states and entities
- Reconciled business records, or bank and card records if the books need work
- Payroll reports, if you run payroll
Who does what
Our team
- Scopes the engagement and writes the proposal
- Sets up your TaxDome portal and requests the records the work needs
- Performs the agreed analysis, planning, and filings
- Documents assumptions and assigns each next step an owner
You
- Share the facts and the decision you are facing
- Upload records through TaxDome, then review and sign what needs your signature
- Tell us about decisions and changes before they happen
Other professionals
Payroll providers, cost segregation study providers, and attorneys keep responsibility for their own work. The proposal names who does what.
Typical cadence
Your proposal sets how often we meet and review. Planning engagements run year-round, not only at filing time. Work outside the agreed scope is scoped separately before it starts.
How the fee is set
Entities, states, record condition, and the depth of planning drive the fee. Your proposal states which returns, meetings, and accounting work are included, whether cleanup is separate, and how extra work is approved.
What the free tax fit call is, and what it is not
Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team. Tell us what you need, learn how Taxstra can help, and explore whether our services are a good fit.
It is a conversation about your needs, our services, fit, and next steps. Personalized advice, return or document reviews, eligibility determinations, and savings estimates require a paid engagement. There is no obligation to hire us.
Tax planning slots are limited before year-end.
Taxstra is led by Bryan Martin, CPA, MBA, a licensed real estate broker, and serves 1,000+ clients nationwide, fully remote.
This section describes how Taxstra works. The rest of this page is educational, not individualized tax advice.
FAQ
Common questions about CPA fees
How much does a CPA cost for taxes?
For individual tax preparation, a realistic specialist range is $400 to $1,200 depending on complexity: a simple W-2 return sits at the low end, while returns with rental properties (Schedule E), self-employment income (Schedule C), equity compensation, or multiple states can run $1,000 to $3,000 or more. Business returns (S corporation Form 1120-S or partnership Form 1065) commonly run $1,500 to $5,000 or more. Hourly CPA rates generally range from $200 to $500.
How much does tax planning cost?
Proactive tax planning engagements typically cost $5,000 to $25,000 or more depending on income, entity, and strategy complexity. The value depends on the opportunities actually available, implementation costs, and whether decisions can still be made before year-end. Ask for a written scope, the assumptions behind any projected benefit, and a clear explanation of what implementation is included.
Is a CPA worth the cost?
For a simple W-2-only return, tax software is often enough. A CPA becomes more useful when your situation involves self-employment income, rental property, equity compensation, multiple states, or business ownership, situations where elections, classification, basis, and timing require professional judgment. The value should be evaluated against the work included and the realistic benefit in your facts, not assumed from the credential alone.
Why do CPA fees vary so much?
Four drivers: complexity (number of forms, states, and entities), the quality of your records (clean books cost less to work with than a shoebox of receipts), the firm's service model (once-a-year filing versus year-round advisory), and timing (returns dropped off in April cost more than ones prepared from organized January records).
What is the difference between a CPA hourly rate and a flat fee?
Hourly billing charges for time spent, typically $200 to $500 an hour depending on the CPA's experience and specialization, and the total is unknown until the invoice arrives. Flat-fee pricing quotes the full engagement upfront based on a defined scope, so you know the number before work begins. Most firms that do proactive planning, rather than pure compliance, price engagements flat because the scope is knowable in advance.
Does CPA cost vary by state or city?
Yes. Fees are often higher in high-cost metro areas and for firms with a narrow specialty. Remote, CPA-led firms can narrow some of the location gap, but complexity, service model, and scope usually matter more than zip code. Compare the same deliverables rather than assuming two firms mean the same thing by “tax planning.”
What does Taxstra charge?
Individual tax preparation engagements at Taxstra typically start around $1,200 to $2,000, tax preparation combined with a strategy engagement typically runs $5,000 to $12,000 in the first year, and monthly accounting typically starts around $750 to $2,500 per month. Final pricing depends on complexity, and we quote it flat and upfront after a free consultation, so there are no hourly surprises.
Should I choose a CPA based on price alone?
No. For straightforward compliance work, comparing qualified providers on price is reasonable. For planning and advisory work, compare the included analysis, meetings, implementation, return preparation, bookkeeping coordination, and post-filing support before comparing numbers. Ask what the firm proactively evaluates before year-end and who is responsible for implementation.
Rental owners: compare the reporting and planning scope
Use the Schedule E reporting guide to organize your records. If you operate an STR, read the STR classification framework and compare it with the scope of our STR CPA services. Ask whether each proposal includes preparation, participation analysis, bookkeeping, or implementation.
Related Comparisons
Discuss the scope and next steps
Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team. Tell us what you need, learn how Taxstra can help, and explore whether our services are a good fit. Tax advice, document reviews, and analysis require a paid engagement.Your tax plan and specific advice come after you engage. The call is about fit and next steps.
Tax planning slots are limited before year-end.
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