How much should a trust return cost?

[tony100]

I am in the process of preparing information for a tax return for a unit trust.
The bank statement shows around 5 transactions per month and I did not sell the property during the tax year.

So, it's pretty straight forward and I will sumarize everything for my accountant and provide them with a one-page summary.

Based on this infomation can anyone tell me how much I should expect to be charged.

Thanks.

Tony

 

[AmandaBS]

Assuming that your spreadsheet cross adds and it reconciles with the bank account, it should be a pretty straight forward process. I assume the Unit Trust has a corporate trustee, so the Accountant will also need to prepare those accounts also, plus the Company Annual Return.

Most Accounting Partners don't actually do the work, as this is handed down the line to other Accounting staff. Sorry but its a bit hard to give you an exact figure but a Partner will charge upwards of $250 per hour, while accounting staff would be around $100- $150 per hour, and admin staff less again. Including your own tax return, you won't be getting much change from $1000 including lodgement fees, if you head to a big firm, so perhaps try for a smaller firm.

Having said that though you really shouldn't be choosing an Accountant based on price. An Accountant experienced themselves in property can give you sound tax planning advice and is well worth the $ in the long run.

 

[tony100]

Thanks Amanda,
I have been quoted around 1000-1500 per trust - and that does not include my personal return.

Consdering the amount of work I am doing to facilitate the process this seems a bit high to me.

Tony

 

[trajik]

Hi Tony,

There is no reason why your trust return should be dramatically higher cost than a rental property return in an individuals name. There are some other things that need to be done with a trust, such as minutes, distributions, accounts, etc. But, anyone who deals with trust returns regularly should have no more difficulty in completing the return than just a wage earner with a rental property.
Accordingly, the cost should reflect the time involved in preparation which includes the level and quality of your bookeeping. Based on what you've said, I would not expect to pay any less than about $400, but also probably not more than about $800. But of course every accountant has different charge rates and the right to charge whatever they wish, if you'll pay it, and you have the right to shop around. But remember that cost is not the only thing that should guide you on choosing an accountant. What about complimentary and additional advice, availability, etc

Good luck.

Ross