Fees
What a CPA in Woodside actually costs
Published because being cagey about fees wastes everybody's afternoon. These are real starting points, and your engagement letter will carry a firm number before any work begins.
✓ Free first consultation✓ Fixed fees, quoted in writing✓ No charge to read an IRS notice
How we price
Three rules, and we have not found a reason to break them.
Quoted before, not after
You get an engagement letter with the fee on it before we open the file. If something in your situation changes the scope, you hear about it and agree the change before it happens.
Fixed, not metered
Almost everything here is a fixed fee. You should be able to ask your accountant a question without watching a clock, which is the whole point.
The follow-up is included
A letter about a return we filed is part of that engagement. We do not invoice you for answering for our own work.
Personal
Personal Tax Returns
Individual fees
Quoted before we start, from your prior-year return. Includes federal, New York State and New York City filings.
| Basic return W-2 income, standard deduction, no dependents |
from $175 |
| Standard return W-2 income, itemized deductions, dependents, credits |
from $295 |
| With rental property Per property, added to the return |
+$150 |
| With self-employment Schedule C, one business |
+$225 |
| With investments Schedule D, brokerage reporting, cost basis review |
+$125 |
| Multi-state return Per additional state |
+$110 |
| Prior-year return Per year |
from $250 |
| Amended return — Form 1040-X Per year |
from $325 |
Business
Business Tax Returns
Typical fees
Quoted in writing before any work starts. Books in reasonable order; reconstruction is quoted separately.
| Schedule C sole proprietor Filed with the personal return, one business |
from $450 |
| Single-member LLC Schedule C plus the state filings |
from $550 |
| S corporation — Form 1120-S Federal, NYS, NYC, K-1s to shareholders |
from $1,150 |
| Partnership — Form 1065 Federal, NYS, NYC, K-1s to partners |
from $1,250 |
| C corporation — Form 1120 Federal, NYS, NYC and MTA surcharge |
from $1,450 |
| Prior-year or amended business return Per year, per entity |
from $850 |
Business
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping fees
Monthly, fixed, agreed in writing. Volume tiers are transaction counts across all accounts.
| Micro Up to 50 transactions a month, one bank and one card |
$225 / month |
| Small Up to 150 transactions, up to three accounts |
$395 / month |
| Growing Up to 400 transactions, AP and AR ledgers maintained |
$750 / month |
| Catch-up work Per month of backlog, quoted after a file review |
from $175 / month |
| Chart of accounts rebuild One-off, includes prior-year restatement |
from $600 |
Business
Payroll
Payroll fees
Per pay run, plus a per-employee charge. Quarterly and annual filings are included, not billed separately.
| Base charge Per pay run, any cycle |
$45 |
| Per employee Per employee, per run |
$6 |
| Quarterly filings 941 and NYS-45 |
included |
| Year-end W-2 / 1099 filing Per recipient |
$8 |
| Payroll setup and registration One-off, includes federal EIN and New York registrations |
$275 |
| Prior-period correction Amended 941-X or NYS-45-X, per quarter |
from $195 |
Business
Small Business Accounting
Monthly packages
Monthly fee, agreed in writing, adjusted only when volume genuinely changes. Tax returns quoted separately.
| Essentials Up to 100 transactions a month, quarterly close, quarterly reporting pack |
$325 / month |
| Standard Up to 300 transactions, monthly close, monthly pack, quarterly call |
$675 / month |
| Full service Up to 750 transactions, monthly close, AP/AR, payroll oversight, monthly call |
$1,250 / month |
| Outsourced controller Budgeting, cash forecasting, board and lender reporting |
from $2,200 / month |
| Catch-up bookkeeping Prior periods brought current, per month of backlog |
from $175 / month |
Personal
IRS Representation
Representation fees
Reading your notice and telling you what it is costs nothing. Work beyond that is estimated in writing first.
| Notice review and advice We read the letter and explain it |
no charge |
| Written notice response CP2000 and similar, per notice |
from $450 |
| Correspondence audit Full representation, single year |
from $1,450 |
| Office or field examination Hourly, estimated in advance |
$285 / hour |
| Unfiled return catch-up Per year, per return |
from $325 |
| Installment agreement Financial analysis and negotiation |
from $850 |
| Offer in compromise Only where the facts support one |
from $3,500 |
| Penalty abatement request First-time or reasonable cause |
from $395 |
Everything else
Fee tables for the remaining services sit on their own pages.
NYS Sales Tax
Certificate of Authority registration — $225
Financial Statements
Preparation engagement — from $850
Business Formation
Entity selection consultation — $350
QuickBooks Setup
New file setup — $850
Tax Planning
Individual planning session — $450
Estate & Trust Tax
Decedent's final Form 1040 — from $395
ITIN & Foreign Income
ITIN application — Form W-7 — $175
Retirement Planning
Retirement tax review — $650
General information, current for the 2026 filing season and not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Tax law changes, and the answer for your situation may differ. Speak to us before acting on anything you read here.
Questions about fees
What people ask before they call
How much does a CPA charge for a tax return?
At this office an individual federal, New York State and New York City return starts at $175 for a straightforward W-2 filing, and most individual returns fall between $295 and $650. Business returns start at $1,150 for an S corporation. Every fee is quoted in writing before work starts.
Do you charge for the first meeting?
No. The first consultation is free and runs about twenty minutes, in person or by phone. Reading an IRS notice and telling you what it is also costs nothing.
Are your fees hourly or fixed?
Fixed for almost everything. Tax returns, bookkeeping, payroll and formation work are all quoted as a fixed fee. Only audit representation and one-off consultation are billed hourly, and those are estimated in writing first.
What makes a return cost more than the base fee?
Rental properties, a business schedule, investment reporting, additional states, foreign income and prior-year cleanup. Each one is priced separately and shown on the engagement letter, so you can see what is driving the number.
No charge for the first conversation
Get a fixed quote before you commit
Bring or send last year's return. In most cases that is all we need in order to give you a firm number for this year, and the conversation costs nothing either way.