Can anybody tell me if $1300 is a reasonable amount to pay my accountant to do my tax return? I received jut over $600 back from the ATO last financial year (after the $1300 was deducted). I supply my accountant with an Excel Spreadsheet of my various totals regarding my income and expenditure. He also has my professionally prepared depreciation schedule supplied four years ago regarding my 2 properties. Thanks for any feedback on this. Regards Theresa
Hi Theresa,
I am still reasonably green with my investing though I believe to have myself a very good property savvy accountant with also currently 2 investment properties. I supply my accountant with everything required with well managed property folders and all the figures also yet pay only a third of that price. It will be interesting to see what others have to say.
Regards
BrentonIt depends on how complex your situation it. HR block only charges around $100 for a simple return. But the more you have in terms of properties, shares, unusual deductions etc then the more work there is.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Hi Theresa,
If your rental property information is prepared by you on a spreadsheet, then $1300 seems high. Are you a salary earner, or are you self-employed?
Generally, the better your information is, the less you will be charged, because it takes the accountant less time, and the accountant will sometimes charge a 'annoyance markup' if they have to dig through receipts and untidy paperwork.
But for two properties with a spreadsheet record, plus a salary with a couple of deductions $1300 is high. We have charged less than half of that for a tax return with similar components. But it really depends on how good your spreadsheet is.
Theresa, I just paid my accountant $375 for both my own and my wifes returns.
I provide a depreciation schedule and an excel spreadsheet summary of all come and expenses.
I have 3 IP's for her to deal with and got $7600 back….
While i think i am under charged, i would have thought $1300 is a little over the top.
joez
mine is $700 but I have shares and property to deal with.
Sounds a bit high for what you got.
We pay about the same – $1500
But in that, he is doing returns for 3 companies, 2 individuals, 4 IP’s.
To us he is worth every penny, very consultative when it comes to our property plans, and most creative when it comes to strategic money handling. This fin year alone, he has helped us achieve a 1% income tax rate.There are real cheap accountants out there that do returns for $40, but they are really stock standard income tax processing.
Most accountants that play advisory role charge by the hour, but it sounds like you did most of the work for him already.
Either he is very slow or very expensive.Best way to find out is to take your previous return to other accountants as if you were doing it new, and see what they quote you.
Sounds steep to me. We pay $240 for our tax returns. We prepare the excel deduction spreadsheet & have our depreciation schedule. If you work for the government let me know & I can give you the details – as it part of a benevolent society.
We are very average wage earners and we are getting around $7500 returni think this is very steep, i would try someone else. let forumites know where you reside, (suburb only LOL) and they may be able to recommend someone near you who they currently use and are happy with
That does sound overpriced, assuming you're a PAYG wage earner (ie. not a business owner etc).
For our last returns, we were charged just over $400 each. That's for PAYG stuff, charitable donations, medical expenses (we both spend over $1500 per year), other deductibles (work clothing for him, work-related study for me) and all the paperwork associated with four IPs.
Many thanks to everybody for your comments and advice. The consensus so far appears to be that I am being well over charged.
I live in Payneham (Adelaide) so if anybody has any recommendations regarding tax accountants in this part of Oz then
I would be most grateful.hey bubba, excluding even the fine amount of effort that you are putting into it,… to put it in plain english, you’re being ripped off !!
Not sure why you want an accountant who operates nearby.
These days you can do everything via email with no need to actually go in to see the accountant. Its not like getting a hair cut where you need to be present. Even if you did go in you would only go once or twice a year and the trip is tax deductible.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
I pay around $300 per tax return and i give my accountant with an Excel Spreadsheet of my various totals regarding my income and expenditure the same as you. i think this is very high.
Slightly off topic of accountant costs… these spreadsheets people are talking about, are they just home jobs banged up, are they professional ones you can download somewhere, or are they software generated? (Financial programs)
Cheers
John
MIne is a excel spreadsheet – I am happy to share. My GF gave it to me – they have 10 properties, I think it originally came from her accountant
maree_bradross wrote:MIne is a excel spreadsheet – I am happy to share. My GF gave it to me – they have 10 properties, I think it originally came from her accountantThanks maree_bradross. I would be interested to share your spreadsheet. Are you happy with the accountant you have?
Dan42 wrote:Hi Theresa,If your rental property information is prepared by you on a spreadsheet, then $1300 seems high. Are you a salary earner, or are you self-employed?
Generally, the better your information is, the less you will be charged, because it takes the accountant less time, and the accountant will sometimes charge a 'annoyance markup' if they have to dig through receipts and untidy paperwork.
But for two properties with a spreadsheet record, plus a salary with a couple of deductions $1300 is high. We have charged less than half of that for a tax return with similar components. But it really depends on how good your spreadsheet is.
Hi Dan42
Yes I am generally a salary earner although unemployed since last April. Sometimes I get some freelance graphic design work but not much lately.no worries email me theresa, [email protected] I will send tomorrow, not on my computer at the moment. My accountant is great – but only accessible if you join whilst in a government job unfortunately. Australian Public Service Tax, it is a benevolent society
Hi Theresa,
I just sent you a PM. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have, or provide you with more details if you wish.
Dan
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