HRB Guarantee

[Brian EA]

My boss adjust the fees everyday, based on all kinds of factors. Whatever. People might get mad...fine, I have no control over it.

Charging more than $50 for a 1040-EZ is ridiculous, and I don't care if they have 10 W-2's. I'm talking tax prep fees only. The banks charge whatever they want for their product, which should only be 2 fees, and not DD.

EZ is for dependents only. I charge $25. There are no other EZ"s this year. If you qualify for the stimulus you have to use 1040A or 1040.
brian

[David1980]

EZ is for dependents only. I charge $25. There are no other EZ"s this year. If you qualify for the stimulus you have to use 1040A or 1040.
brian

You can use the 1040EZ with Making Work Pay. There's a worksheet to calculate the amount instead of Sch M.

[Black Bart]

Ten W-2s

Originally Posted by powerage

Charging more than $50 for a 1040-EZ is ridiculous, and I don't care if they have 10 W-2's. I'm talking tax prep fees only. The banks charge whatever they want for their product, which should only be 2 fees, and not DD.

I guarantee you that if I am entering 10 W-2s, I'll be charging way more than your imposed $50 limit.

Me too, Dennis. No way I'm entering that many for fifty bucks -- and I'm filing paper entering only figures. Next season when everything's EF all the info on them has to be entered and odds are that with a guy working that many odd jobs, at least half the W-2s won't be rollovers.

[powerage]

I did returns last year for a flat rate of $50, with the fee set by the company I worked for, no matter how many W-2's the client had or how hard the return was, with exceptions. No one had 10 W-2's, but one did have 6. No problem, it did not bother me one bit. So it took a few extra minutes to enter them. No skin off of my back.

[Bees Knees]

Charging more than $50 for a 1040-EZ is ridiculous, and I don't care if they have 10 W-2's. I'm talking tax prep fees only. The banks charge whatever they want for their product, which should only be 2 fees, and not DD.

Charging anyone less than $100 for a return, no matter how simple it is is ridiculous.

I pay over $1,000 for my software. I pay over $1,000 for my CPE each year. I live, breath, and eat taxes. My time is worth alot more than a stinking $50.

[luke]

the man

BEES you ARE the MAN again!
Also everyone be careful about having fees "published" (listed for public view)
because then they cannot be changed "willy nilly"!

[WhiteOleander]

BEES you ARE the MAN again!
Also everyone be careful about having fees "published" (listed for public view)
because then they cannot be changed "willy nilly"!

I don't understand this thought. I can change my fees whenever I choose. I can't discriminate because of race, etc. But, I can charge whatever I like whenever I like. Free Enterprise system.

[Dusty2004]

White Oleander

I am not Willy but I think what he means is if you have a website that says you charge $75 for a 1040EZ and then you charge someone $100 for 1040EZ you are open to an angry customer as you changed the price on them.

Dusty

[KBTS]

Circular 230

I believe he may be referring to practitioners covered under Circular 230 requirements:

§ 10.30 Solicitation.

(b) Fee information.

(1)(i) A practitioner may publish the availability
of a written schedule of fees and disseminate the following
fee information —
(A) Fixed fees for specific routine services.
(B) Hourly rates.
(C) Range of fees for particular services.
(D) Fee charged for an initial consultation.

(ii) Any statement of fee information concerning
matters in which costs may be incurred must include
a statement disclosing whether clients will be
responsible for such costs.

(2) A practitioner may charge no more than the
rate(s) published under paragraph (b)(1) of this section
for at least 30 calendar days after the last date on
which the schedule of fees was published.

So if you advertise a given fee schedule, you must adhere to that for 30 days after it was published.

[Lion]

30 days

...for 30 days AFTER you STOP publishing that fee. In our short tax seasons, that can be problematic.

I don't publish my fees. I don't do anything under $100. Even the last dependent of a current client was $125, mostly because his father is a jerk (I don't prepare father's return; I prepare mother's and she's a sweetheart; but father checked with his preparer first and then had mother bring son's stuff to me!) Most of my dependent returns have kiddie tax, so full price for those. I try to bring new clients on at $500 or more; new entities at $750 or more. Don't always do that. But, I usually show the greater price and provide a discount for continuing clients. PITAs get price increases until I'm happy or rid of them. Nice clients get discounts; nice clients who refer more nice clients get even bigger discounts.

[joanmcq]

I have an 'early bird special' for my really early W-2 only filers. This year $55. I don't do RALs and have very few of these, but it brings in a few bucks in late jan-early feb.

[powerage]

the way i look at it

I'm in Florida, so the 1040-EZ's are pretty darn easy. I think I can fill one out by hand faster than I can using software. I used to do mine back in the day way before I knew anything about taxes. Literally, they are no brainers.

Even if I spend 30 minutes doing a 1040-EZ, and I charge $50, I still made $100 an hour.

[Bees Knees]

Literally, they are no brainers.

If they are literally no brainers, why would anyone pay you to do one? Why can't they just do it themselves?

Answer: What seems simple to you is not so simple to them.

In any business, the price should be set by what the customer is willing to pay...NOT by how simple it is for the service provider to do.

It may be a simple task for a skilled surgeon to cut open an individual and remove a tumor. The surgeon may perform multiple surgeries in a day. Thousands during the course of his/her career. Since it is so simple, should he/she charge a fee similar to the wage a teenager at McDonald’s makes? Or should the charge be based on the fact that not too many other folks know how to do it?

Until we as a profession understand this point, we will continue to undervalue our services. Your fee should not be based on how simple you think you can do it. You have software costs, computer costs, supplies, CPE, and other obvious overhead expenses. You also have a short season in which to make your money. You can't do simple 1040EZ returns full time year round. Maybe two or three months max. You also have to factor in the increasing due diligence the government requires of us. More tax laws to learn. More regulation. Tax preparer registration and licensing will be required for all of us by next year.

I don't care how simple it is to do a 1040EZ in Florida. Simple has nothing to do with it.

[gkaiseril]

It is not that simple if one ca not read, comprehend what was read, and follow instructions. It takes all the teachers' time to teach all the students how to pass the standardized test, so they do not have any time left to teach them the simple everyday skills they will need in the real world. So they can learn how to ask 'Do you want fries with that?' for a minimum wage and then pay someone to fill-in their name and enter a couple of numbers perform some addition, subtraction, and lookup a number in a table so they can get some 'free' money and pay a lot of money to a bank to give them a check. so they can buy a new iPhone.

So it comes down to, if you do not know how to do it, it is not simple!

I read a recent photography blog posting by a well known wildlife photographer and it was about his accountant! After the accountant gathered all of the cost the then 21 year old photographer had spent on equipment, the accountant asked 'Is that all?'. The young man was shocked. He had no more money to spend. The accountant explained 'You have to invest in yourself and your equipment if you are going to be a successful in business!'. And the young man has taken that advice and not only is he successful but he continues to learn something new everyday. We invest in annual training, specialized software, and time to learn not only learn how to do the simple tax returns but also the complex ones.

Maybe we should be going out to local schools and explaining about budgeting, checking accounts, credit, and income tax planning and filing.

Doesn't H&R Block have a community outreach program of some kind? Like having an experienced tax preparer giving a one hour presentation about new tax laws, itemized deductions, education credits.

Doesn't the IRS provide a pamphlet of tax tips that tax professionals can provide to local newspapers, use in fliers, and provide to radio & TV stations. The IRS has freely down loadable pamphlets and posters that you can use to promote your service.

It should be simple to show the community you are worth the price of your services. If you provide free seminars or notice about taxes not only do you provide the community with a local service but you also contribute information to the community as a whole.

Simple:

Invest in your service by taking continuing education.

Invest in promoting your business using free IRS products.

Invest in your potential clients by going into schools, churches, community centers and providing tax talks.

[BP.]

If they are literally no brainers, why would anyone pay you to do one? Why can't they just do it themselves?

Answer: What seems simple to you is not so simple to them.

In any business, the price should be set by what the customer is willing to pay...NOT by how simple it is for the service provider to do.

It may be a simple task for a skilled surgeon to cut open an individual and remove a tumor. The surgeon may perform multiple surgeries in a day. Thousands during the course of his/her career. Since it is so simple, should he/she charge a fee similar to the wage a teenager at McDonald’s makes? Or should the charge be based on the fact that not too many other folks know how to do it?

Until we as a profession understand this point, we will continue to undervalue our services. Your fee should not be based on how simple you think you can do it. You have software costs, computer costs, supplies, CPE, and other obvious overhead expenses. You also have a short season in which to make your money. You can't do simple 1040EZ returns full time year round. Maybe two or three months max. You also have to factor in the increasing due diligence the government requires of us. More tax laws to learn. More regulation. Tax preparer registration and licensing will be required for all of us by next year.

I don't care how simple it is to do a 1040EZ in Florida. Simple has nothing to do with it.

Thank-you for your important post.