How much should Tax returns cost?
- Thread starter DanielG
- Start date
Daniel
The price will depend on how much work the accountant has to do.
A friend of mine was paying $550 for 1 property (until I introduced him to my accountant)
I think its hard for someone to give you a quote so if they aren't sure how much work is involved they are likely to quote extra. I think $250 is low so when they give you such a price over the phone you should question the quality of the service.
Here are a few accountants if you want to give them a call
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59314
The price will depend on how much work the accountant has to do.
A friend of mine was paying $550 for 1 property (until I introduced him to my accountant)
I think its hard for someone to give you a quote so if they aren't sure how much work is involved they are likely to quote extra. I think $250 is low so when they give you such a price over the phone you should question the quality of the service.
Here are a few accountants if you want to give them a call
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59314
it's one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions. When you find a good accountant you will be happy to pay them 'lots' although they probably wont charge you that... Knowing what to pay a new, untested one, ah well... maybe ask them about their own property investing experience. IMHO you want someone who really understands (from personal experience) what you are doing
Can never understand why people choose accountants who are cheap. Cheap means they dont have much demand for their services usualky because their knowledge is poor and customer service appalling. And you want to work with that ?
Remember if you are in small business a good relationship with your accountant can lead to introductions to internal clients and work. I have introduced a number of clients who now do deals together and they have been very happy. One clients turnover increased by 500k one year thanks to new purchases from another client who buys from the other.
If you dont look for this value you will never get it. If you are just payg with a few properties then cheap charlies are probably ok as there isnt really much that can be done until you move into a bigger arena.
Remember if you are in small business a good relationship with your accountant can lead to introductions to internal clients and work. I have introduced a number of clients who now do deals together and they have been very happy. One clients turnover increased by 500k one year thanks to new purchases from another client who buys from the other.
If you dont look for this value you will never get it. If you are just payg with a few properties then cheap charlies are probably ok as there isnt really much that can be done until you move into a bigger arena.
I provide a spreadsheet for each property with all outgoings, rent etc for all properties. So in fact, I do most of the return by putting the information together. They simply lodge my numbers. They also keep on their records health insurance letter, land tax bill.
I may have some questions to clarify, but in essence, my taxes whilst there are a few properties are pretty vanilla.
I paid ~$700 but that was last year. Rates may have gone up. They did for SMSF tax returns & audit fees.
I may have some questions to clarify, but in essence, my taxes whilst there are a few properties are pretty vanilla.
I paid ~$700 but that was last year. Rates may have gone up. They did for SMSF tax returns & audit fees.
I'd suggest that applies to a lot of us.
This year I asked an acuaintance friend who's an accountant to have a chat and look at my figures etc.. I did what buzzlightyear did, wrote it all out on a s/sheet, and rough as guts calculated my tax return.
He confirmed there was nothing wrong, reminded me of a couple of tiny items and that was it.
I asked him whether I ought ot be looking at doing anything else, I don't know trusts etc ? he explained not really and why
so last night I entered the figured into etax and now.. I'm going to netbank to see if the ATO's paid me yet
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Exactly Jaycee. For payg with one property etax is fine. Accountants dealing with simple stuff will be out of business anyway once the ato brings in a standard deduction for simple taxpayers.
Thank Mike
Perhaps it might be because expensive accountants don't necessarily have great knowledge and excellent customer service. They might be one of the worst accountants in an area with higher demand than is supplied by other accountants. My experience with accountants left me feeling that there is little connection between quality of accountant and price.
Agreed Bruce. But I have never seen an accountant provide quality advice, high levels of customer service and a low price. If they exist then they are a poor business person because there is a high demand for such services. I do agree however that price does not always reflect quality and service but very rarely does a low price provide that. A high price is not guarantee of it either but you have a better chance of getting it.
Nothing!
A good accountant makes you much more than their fees.
A good accountant makes you much more than their fees.
