We have gathered and analyzed the data from our 2018 Tax Professional Fee Survey. Inside, you will find a compilation of the most critical details relating to what you charge for your professional services. When data was available and signifi-cantly different from 2018 results, 2016 data was included.
The information provided in this study gives you a a distinct advantage over those tax professionals in your area who are not NATP members. Knowledge is power and knowing what your peers charge gives you the power to be competitive with your pricing and still earn what you’re worth.
When it comes to tax preparation fees, how do you compare to your competition?
2018 Tax Professional Fee Study
The survey was administered electronically to a 50% stratified random sample of NATP’s membership population as well as a random sample of nonmembers. (n = 29,419 ). A total of 2,258 participants completed the survey for an overall response rate of 8% and a member response rate of 15%.
2 2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study
Designations (more than one could be checked)
Years in Tax Business
Respondent & Business Profile
Less than one year equaled zero.
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 3
Total Number of Employees Number of Total Employees that are Preparers
Employment Role
Respondent & Business Profile
Tax Office employees consist of administrative staff and tax preparers. In 2018, 63% of employees consisted of tax preparers.
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Tax Client Target MarketClient Community Size
Respondent & Business Profile
Percent of Revenue Derived from Tax Prep
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 5
Services Offered: Percent of Gross Revenue
Overall Gross Revenue
Gross Revenue Earned
Respondent & Business Profile
Types of Tax Consulting Offered
Amending previous tax returns 3.57%
Calculating proper W-4 witholdings 0.67%
Estimated tax projections 1.76%
Filing a paper return 1.96%
Reviewing returns done by someone else 1.33%
Tax consulting 3.70%
Tax examination protection 0.61%
Tax examination representation 2.61%
Tax planning 3.02%
Tax preparation 70.08%
Tax reform consulting 0.93%
Other 9.75%
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Looking to Expand Services
If Yes, Services Being Considered
Business Plan
Respondent & Business Profile
Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the following statements.
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 7
Services Being Considered, by Designation
AFSP CPA EA No Designation
Amending previous tax returns 49% 39% 40% 54%
Calculating proper W-4 withholdings 25% 26% 20% 31%
Estimated tax projections 36% 36% 33% 30%
Filing a paper return 17% 11% 11% 24%
Reviewing returns done by someone else 44% 37% 34% 47%
Tax consulting 49% 63% 53% 53%
Tax examination/representation 47% 44% 58% 49%
Tax planning 48% 63% 48% 49%
Tax preparation 50% 50% 46% 51%
Other 21% 24% 26% 11%
Respondent & Business Profile
Average Number of Tax Returns Prepared by Your Office
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Respondent & Business Profile
Preparation TrendChange in the number of tax returns prepared over the last two years
Expected impact each of the following factored into the decrease in number of returns prepared
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 9
Respondent & Business Profile
Projected Impact of Tax Law Changes on Business, by Designation
RevenueRepresenting clients
Services offered
Complexity of tax returns
Other
AFSP Increase 25% 18% 24% 37% 16%
Stay the same 52% 66% 72% 42% 76%
Decrease 23% 15% 5% 21% 8%
CPA Increase 32% 15% 23% 68% 14%
Stay the same 50% 73% 73% 5% 80%
Decrease 18% 12% 4% 27% 6%
EA Increase 29% 21% 26% 40% 20%
Stay the same 45% 71% 71% 37% 73%
Decrease 26% 8% 3% 23% 7%
No Designation Increase 5% 3% 5% 8% 4%
Stay the same 11% 15% 14% 9% 24%
Decrease 3% 2% 1% 4% 1%
Projected Impact of Tax Law Changes on Business
Other impacts noted were tax planning, payroll, and client questions.
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Method for Pricing 1040 Tax Prep Services
Overall average charge for Individual return regardless of method
Average set dollar rate per hour
$216.31
$126.43
Set Dollar Rate per Hour
Fee Structure: 1040 Individual Returns
1040 return (without schedules)
Schedule A Schedule C Schedule D Schedule ESchedule EIC/EITC
Form 8962
$127 $127 $223 $163 $190 $126 $126
Form 1040 Schedule A Schedule C Schedule D Schedule ESchedule EIC/EITC
Less than 10,000 people $106 $106 $191 $127 $159 $106
10,001 to 50,000 people $117 $117 $188 $152 $152 $117
50,001 or more people $136 $136 $231 $177 $218 $136
Set Dollar Rate per Hour by Client Community Size
(Average per hour rate of $126.43 was multiplied by average total hours. Total is identified below.)
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 11
Minimum fee plus cost based on complexity of return
2018
New client $174
Returning client $162
Set Fee per Form and Schedule (Average)
Form 1040 (with-out schedules)
Schedule A Schedule C Schedule D Schedule ESchedule EIC/EITC
Form 8962
2016 $114 $60 $101 $60 $81 $86 N/A
2018 $115 $49 $87 $40 $59 $38 $28
Fee Structure: 1040 Individual Returns
Minimum Fee by Client Community Size
Individual ReturnsNew client Returning client
Less than 10,000 people $139 $127
10,001 to 50,000 people $167 $155
50,001 or more people $188 $175
Form 1040 Schedule A Schedule C Schedule D Schedule ESchedule EIC/EITC
Less than 10,000 people
$98 $42 $83 $34 $53 $37
10,001 to 50,000 people
$116 $47 $83 $37 $58 $37
50,001 or more people
$120 $50 $89 $42 $61 $39
Set Fee per Form by Client Community Size
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Fee Structure: 1040 Individual Returns
West East Southeast Midwest Great Plains
South Central
Rocky Mt Northeast
Form 1040 (without schedules)
$140 $118 $110 $108 $104 $125 $124 $119
Schedule A $59 $53 $51 $40 $42 $52 $58 $49
Schedule C $119 $87 $90 $76 $85 $90 $85 $90
Schedule D $55 $39 $43 $35 $35 $41 $42 $39
Schedule E $78 $63 $63 $51 $57 $54 $65 $62
Schedule EIC/EITC $42 $36 $37 $37 $53 $35 $33 $40
Overall fee for federal forms
$77 $61 $62 $54 $60 $60 $64 $68
Fee plus cost based on complexity of return for new clients
$194 $190 $174 $154 $138 $160 $188 $182
Fee plus cost based on complexity of return for returning clients
$184 $175 $159 $144 $138 $153 $172 $167
Set dollar rate $154 $150 $116 $104 $100 $121 $129 $118
Fees for Forms and Schedules, by Region
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 13
Fee Structure: 1040 Individual Returns
Average Set Fee for Form 1040 (without schedules) by Designation
How do you charge for individual state tax preparation services?
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Fee Structure: Business/Fiduciary Returns
Overall average charge for business/fiduciary return regardless of method
Average set dollar rate per hour for all business/fiduciary returns
$471.65
$144.73
Set Dollar Rate per Hour
Form 1041 Form 1065 Form 990 Form 990-EZ Form 1120S Form 1120
$439 $577 $674 $365 $653 $624
How do you typically charge for your business/fiduciary returns?
Form 1041 Form 1065 Form 990 Form 990-EZ Form 1120 Form 1120s Form 8962
Less than 10,000 people
$272 $442 $498 $215 $566 $532 $106
10,001 to 50,000 people
$439 $546 $692 $439 $559 $612 $117
50,001 or more people
$469 $626 $688 $329 $673 $688 $136
Set Dollar Rate per Hour by Client Community Size
(Average per hour rate of $144.73 was multiplied by average hours. Total is reflected below.)
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Fee Structure: Business/Fiduciary Returns
Minimum fee plus cost based on complexity of return
2018
New client $380
Returning client $369
Set Fee per Form and Schedule (Average)
Form 1041 Form 1065 Form 990 Form 990-EZ Form 1120S Form 1120
2016 $297 $388 $349 $220 $446 $494
2018 $317 $387 $370 $227 $451 $496
Form 1041
Form 1065
Form 990Form 990-EZ
Form 1120
Form 1120s
Form 8962
Less than 10,000 people
$237 $375 $295 $185 $460 $405 $27
10,001 to 50,000 people
$311 $379 $356 $222 $489 $447 $26
50,001 or more people
$345 $400 $406 $247 $508 $462 $30
Set Fee per Form by Client Community Size
Business/Fiduciary ReturnsNew client Returning client
Less than 10,000 people $304 $291
10,001 to 50,000 people $361 $352
50,001 or more people $413 $398
Minimum Fee by Client Community Size
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Fees for Forms and Schedules, by Region
Fee Structure: Business/Fiduciary Returns
West East Southeast Midwest Great Plains
South Central
Rocky Mt Northeast
Form 8962 $34 $29 $28 $27 $41 $22 $28 $28
Form 1041 $454 $312 $275 $285 $345 $353 $321 $298
Form 1065 $551 $390 $351 $341 $419 $415 $368 $409
Form 990 $480 $319 $307 $349 $263 $437 $499 $421
Form 990-EZ $325 $200 $236 $212 $110 $239 $228 $212
Form 1120S $601 $482 $379 $413 $434 $461 $390 $527
From 1120 $646 $518 $415 $449 $356 $496 $450 $643
Overall fee for business/fiduciary returns
$518 $387 $338 $346 $337 $410 $374 $422
Fee plust cost based on complexity of business returns for new clients
$471 $381 $392 $344 $316 $368 $392 $385
Fee plus cost based on complexity of returns for business returning clients
$461 $370 $378 $325 $306 $362 $384 $375
Set dollar rate for business returns
$171 $187 $143 $125 $125 $129 $141 $135
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Fee Structure: Business/Fiduciary Returns
How do you charge for business/fiduciary state returns?
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 17
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Payment for Services
Payment Methods Accepted Frequency of Tax Preparation Fee Increases
Percent of Revenue from Automatic Payments
Fee and Payment Information
9%(such as credit card or bank account on file)
2018 NATP Tax Professional Fee Study 19
Discounts Offered
Percentage of gross revenue for other billed services
2016 2018
I do not offer any of the discounts
38% 13%
Free consultation for prospective clients
64% 59%
Family or friends of a tax preparer
59% 45%
Family or dependents of client
64% 49%
Students 53% 39%
Senior citizens 45% 3%
New clients 27% 14%
Returning customer 20% 0%
Advertised coupon 20% 9%
Discount for a past service error
42% 29%
Filing before a specific date 5% 4%
Charities or non-profits 17% 12%
Pro bono work 32% 23%
Vocation or affiliation (veteran, clergy, police, etc.)
19% 10%
Other 19% 7%
2018
I do not charge separate fees for the tax services listed below
6%
Amending previous tax returns 88%
Tax examination/ representation
66%
Tax planning 43%
Reviewing returns done by someone else 38%
Estimated tax projections
32%
Calculating W-4 withholdings
16%
Filing a paper return 18%
Tax consulting 54%
Other 5%
Amount paid for referral
$36.98
Fee and Payment Information