Average Cost for Tax Prep

Originally Posted by MZ DAIZY

Hey, I think the $500 you paid was more than reasonable. I respect you for taking the high road even though you didn’t have too.

As far as “a bad debt”, don’t worry about it, there is nothing she can do once she accepts your payment. Collection agency’s have no legal authority until they go to court and get a judgment. That will never happen as it will cost more for filing and legal fees. Also, a CPA is not going report you to a credit agency for basically the same reasons. The only thing she COULD have done was file a “theft of services” complaint, but that ship sailed when she took your payment.

I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this, as you did everything you should have. Actually, you even went overboard, but at least you won’t lose any sleep over it.

PS: I hope she got you a decent refund?

Originally Posted by babyzilla

she explained how she had to do all these extra steps for us...

She emailed me "one final time" with all the reasons why it was $950 again and how she was rightful to charge that much and ended with "I will write off $450, the balance of your invoice, as a bad debt."

Originally Posted by JARblue

Tell her that she is incompetent at her job if it really took her that much time to do your return. A competent CPA would have done it for less than half the amount she charged you. Fùck that bitch.



I'd be interested to see her reasons excuses why she charged so much.

Originally Posted by babyzilla

Like I said before, I'm not too competent with the tax world, but she threw every excuse/reason at us. None of it sounded right to us. She bragged about all her degrees and how low her rates are (the rates we didn't even see). Honestly I feel so stupid about this whole thing. I should have known better and I usually make calculated decisions...I supposed I was due for a bump in the road. Mind you, she complained to us about having about 7 turn overs because the admins she would hire to help all sucked apparently. She even made fun of someone for being fat. I can't even believe I'm saying that and complaining about doing business with her. However, I make note of the turnovers because the admins were getting confused with out paperwork. They reached out to us at least twice asking for the same thing that we had already submitted, and one time I even dropped in to make sure they had our stuff and didn't lose it - you will see her response to this below. She probably had no idea about her admins reaching out to us in redundancy.
Anyways, you asked about her "reasons:"

Before I close your account, I feel the need to respond to some of your comments below . . .

You mention that you “aren’t feeling good about this at all and we are very concerned.” I’m not clear on what you are “concerned” about.
I don’t know why you were expecting to pay $300 for your returns. I never quoted you this amount. Nor did I tell you that your return would be somewhere between my minimum of “$150 and 1000s”.
Me, “as the expert in this field,” could not have given you an appropriate estimate for your return at our first meeting, as you neglected to bring all required documents, including things you were specifically instructed to bring with you. When you unexpectedly showed up at my office on another day with additional documents, I was meeting with another taxpayer and couldn’t review anything with you. There was still information missing that was important and relevant which we only found out after subsequently e-mailing you on several occasions. As I recall, I never did receive the health insurance forms we asked you for. I can only give an accurate cost estimate if I have all required information.
May I remind you that you signed a legally binding contract to have me prepare your returns. My obligation to you is to prepare the returns accurately. Your obligation to me is to pay me for the work completed. How the billing is determined is detailed in the engagement letter and is based on the time and complexity involved in the preparation of complete and accurate tax returns. Taxpayers are not invoiced based on their ability to pay, what they think they should pay, or what they want to pay.
This same engagement letter also specifies that you are allowed 15 minutes of my time to answer any questions about your return. I have spent way more than that amount of time trying to explain to you what is involved with your returns and why I charged what I did. Maybe when you get the package you will better understand what is involved.
And finally, I recall you telling me you gave me your business because you read my good reviews online. Those are reflective of my professional services. I feel I need to share with you that you are the ONLY client that has complained about my invoice this year.

That being said, I will mail your package out to you in the morning. I will transmit your federal return today. And I will write off $450, the balance of your invoice, as a bad debt.

This will be my last e-mail as I can’t incur any more time on your behalf. Good luck to you both.

Originally Posted by babyzilla

This same engagement letter also specifies that you are allowed 15 minutes of my time to answer any questions about your return. I have spent way more than that amount of time trying to explain to you what is involved with your returns and why I charged what I did.

Originally Posted by babyzilla

I'm confused and lost AF right now and could use some feedback. Straight to the point: my tax lady just invoiced me $950 to file our taxes...this is nuts and I'm livid.

In my early 20s I would file with my parents. Mid 20s I filed myself using Turbotax. When I got married last year, I decided to use a CPA because I didn't want to mess anything up. Our (wife and I) financial portfolio is very straight forward...I'll leave it at that, trust me. Honestly, I've never heard of anyone paying over $300 for preparing taxes and we're just average middle-class citizens. Am I missing something? I emailed her back saying she must have made a mistake. This is my first time using her and definitely last. I even asked her, on average, how much it would be to file our taxes. She told us anywhere between $150 to thousands depending on assets and whatnot. Trust me, I'm no Warren Buffet. I provided her all our information, in an extremely organized manner, early this year way before the global pandemic and she just got back to me tonight saying our taxes are done and invoiced us the $950. I refuse to pay this, but I'm willing to amicably resolve this with her. Please help and/or provide suggestions. Can I back out of this and re-prepare my taxes with someone else??

THANK YOU.

Originally Posted by cv129

One way to get a quick idea on amount of work done is to see the forms that needed to be filed. However, assuming you’ve accurately summarize your 2019 info, I don’t see a $950 amount of work.

The only thing that hasn’t been asked is, did this CPA ask for your prior years’ returns? Did she file amended returns for your previous DIY ones? Highly unlikely I would think.

If she gives a detail breakdown, please post it, would love to see the reasoning.

FYI, you are entitled to get your paper work back without paying a cent. And the engagement letter doesn’t handcuff you to fraudulent charges.

Originally Posted by babyzilla

This is good to know - thank you.
Yes, she asked to see our 2018 returns, but she did not amend anything, at least not that I'm aware of. The only reason why I wanted to complete the service with her is because I wanted to finish in a professional manner and I wasn't sure what she was/is capable of. Life lesson learned for sure. Last thing I need is the IRS after me.
Her first detailed invoice was basically "2019 tax return" and cost of $950 LOL so I asked for a more detailed one and this what she provided:

Originally Posted by cv129

Ah I see. I am in Texas and no state income tax. I am unsure what typical additional costs are for state tax filing.

I highly suggest for you to consult another local CPA on approximate pricing. Or, go to a CPA forum and provide the same details, should receive honest opinions there.

The “Married filing separately” caught my eyes. Although one is still entering the same amount of info into the system, it may be possible that she is charging your and your wife returns full price for each, as if it’s for two separate person.

$400 for the joint federal is higher than I’ve seen tho....based on what you’ve said

Originally Posted by Rusty

I'm in Pa. with a state income tax. I've never paid over $250 for any tax prep.

Originally Posted by Memphis370Z

@babyzilla - Given that she took the time to provide you with the arrogant and long-winded response you posted, has she provided you with an itemized invoice of the services she performed? I ask because in her message to you, she states, "How the billing is determined is detailed in the engagement letter and is based on the time and complexity involved in the preparation of complete and accurate tax returns." That is, as I like to say, "specifically vague." Meaning it's a way for her to charge whatever she wants without having to be accountable for the actual work she will do before she even does it.

I skimmed over this thread, but haven't read every word, so my apologies if you already mentioned she gave you an invoice. If she did, please post it, if you don't mind sharing.

As far as the "bad debt" that she's "writing off", tell her to kick rocks and get fvcked.