Rates

Disclaimer : The following rates are estimates for tax year 2023 (for returns filed in 2024). All estimates include electronic filing! These estimates are only for the Federal Forms filed with Internal Revenue Service. Other forms that that may be required by states will be additional. Our actual fees could be more or less than these rates depending upon the number of forms or schedules and the level of difficulty in obtaining all of the necessary information that may be required to properly complete your income tax return. 

Also please remember that we offer a couple of payment options. We accept personal checks, money orders, cash, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. And we also offer a “deferred payment” option. We realize that it’s tough out there  and sometimes it’s difficult to budget for having your taxes prepared since it only happens once a year. If you are expecting a refund, we will be happy to hold your check to us until after your refund due date! And if you owe taxes, we’ll work with you to allow you time to generate the funds necessary to cover our fees.

Following are a few scenarios of various tax filing status and situations. Please review them to see if one of them fits you exactly, or at least very closely, to get an approximation of what our rate will be to prepare and e-file your tax return! HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING TOO MUCH?

Your dependent student’s 1040 forms are FREE! That’s right! As long as we prepare your income tax return, and you claim a dependent that is still a student, we’ll prepare and e-file your dependent’s 1040 form for free. If your dependent’s tax situation requires either additional forms or schedules, such as self-employment forms or investment reporting, then we will charge you only the difference between our basic fees for a 1040 and whatever forms are actually prepared.

Now for the various scenarios:

It’s just me. I’m single, I work at a regular job and have my W-2 form from my employer. I was not in school at all last year, don’t have any investment income, and don’t own any real estate. Our estimate for this return is $95.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. We worked at several jobs last year, but everywhere we worked we were employed there and we have our W-2 forms from our employers. Neither of us was in school at all last year, we don’t have any investment income, and don’t own any real estate.  Our estimate for this return is $120.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. We’re retired now. We live off of pension income and social security. We have modest interest income, but not enough to require any extra forms.  Our estimate for this return is $120.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

It’s me, my spouse and our two children. Both of our kids are in elementary school and we did not pay any child care expenses for them.  Both my spouse and I worked at regular jobs for which we have all of our W-2 forms from our employers. Neither of us was in school at all last year, we don’t have any investment income, we don’t own any real estate, and we make too much to qualify for the Earned Income Credit. Our children qualify for the child tax credit. Our estimate for this return is $145.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

I’m a single parent with two children that live with me. I paid child care expenses for both of my children last year. I worked at a regular job and have my form W-2. I was not a student at all last year, don’t have any investment income, and don’t own any real estate. My income is low enough such that I qualify for the Earned Income Credit, and my children do qualify for the child tax credit. I  file as head of household, a form 2441 child care credit, and a Schedule EIC for the Earned Income Credit. Our estimate for this return is $175.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.) Remember our deferred payment option! (see above)

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. We worked at several jobs last year, but everywhere we worked we were employed there and we have our W-2 forms. Neither of us was in school at all last year, and we don’t have any investment income. We make too much to qualify for the Earned Income Credit, but our children do qualify for the child tax credit. We do own our home, and we are able to claim our mortgage interest, property taxes, sales taxes (when deductible), and church tithes. We normally file a form 1040 along with a Schedule A for itemized deductions. Our estimate for this return is $175.00 to 195.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. We’re retired now. We live off of pension income, social security, and we draw interest and dividends from a fairly substantial investment portfolio that generates dividends and capital gains. We normally file a form 1040 and Schedule B to report investment income. Our estimate for this return is between $145.00 and $165.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. We worked at several jobs last year, but everywhere we worked we were employed there and we have our W-2 forms. Neither of us was in school at all last year, and we don’t have any investment income. We make too much to qualify for the Earned Income Credit. We do own our home, but we never have enough to itemize our deductions. We also own a separate house that we have rented out for several years. We normally file a form 1040 along with a Schedule E for rental property and a form 4562 to claim the depreciation allowance on our rental property. Our estimate for this return is between $180.00 and $200.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. My spouse has a regular job and receives a form W-2. Neither of us was in school at all last year, and we don’t have any investment income. We make too much to qualify for the Earned Income Credit. We do own our home, but we never have enough to itemize our deductions. I am self employed as a carpenter. I work for a general contractor and he issues me a form 1099-NEC every year that shows non-employee compensation. I deduct all of my self-employment expenses, such as small tools and mileage on my truck. I don’t have any equipment set up on depreciation and I don’t have an office in my home. I am responsible for my own income and social security taxes. We normally file a form 1040, a form Schedule C as a sole proprietor,  a form Schedule SE for my social security and medicare tax, and I need help calculating and filing my estimated taxes for next year via forms 1040-ES.  Our estimate for this return is between $195.00 and $225.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

Same as above except I do have several pieces of equipment that I use in my business that are set up on depreciation, and I have an area in my home that I use regularly and exclusively as an office-in-home. We normally file a form 1040Schedule C as a sole proprietor, form 4562 to claim depreciation, form 8829 to claim office-in-home expenses, Schedule SE for social security and medicare tax and I need help calculating and filing my estimated taxes for next year via forms 1040-ES. Our estimate for this return is between $235.00 and $265.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

Same as above except I just don’t have time to add up everything for my business deductions. I save everything, but I have some receipts in envelopes, and the rest of my business expenses are in my business account checkbook register or in my credit card statements. I need bookkeeping help! I need someone to sort, categorize, and add everything up for me that is needed in order to prepare my tax return. Our estimate for this return is between $295.00 and $600.00  (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.) – and if you bring this to us in April we’ll probably ask you to file an extension!

Same as above plus more! We’ve just got a lot going on. I’m self employed. We own several pieces of rental property. We itemize deductions. We’ve got kids in college and pay tuition. We sell stock every year. We’ve got investment income and also need a state tax return prepared. We need bookkeeping help to add all this stuff up because we just don’t have time for it. We’d rather pay somebody once a year than spend our time on it. Our estimate for this return is between $400.00 and $900.00  (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.) – and if you bring this to us in April we’ll probably ask you to file an extension!

It’s just us – my spouse and myself. We worked at several jobs last year, but everywhere we worked we were employed there and we have our W-2 forms. Neither of us was in school at all last year. We make too much to qualify for the Earned Income Credit. We do own our home, but we never have enough to itemize our deductions. We also own three more houses that we have rented out for several years. This year we sold one of our existing rental houses and bought another one. We also sold some shares of stock. We normally file a form 1040 along with a Schedule E for rental property, a form 4562 to claim the depreciation allowance on our rental property, and a form Schedule D along with forms 8949  and 4797 to report the sale of investments. Our estimate for this return is between $295.00 and $345.00. (Not including any Affordable Care Act required forms.)

State Income Tax Returns for those states that have a state income tax (other than Tennessee) and require a return to be filed – as long as we have first prepared your federal form 1040 – our estimate for state tax returns are between $59.00 and $79.00 additional charge over and above your regular federal return, per state.

If you didn’t see a scenario above that is close enough for you to get a good idea, then give us a call at 865-977-8356 and we’ll give you a “ballpark” estimate over the phone!