Tax Return costs?

how much do you guys pay for your returns assuming you have a fair few ips?

our regular accountant who does a good job has a flat fee of $800 for a tax return that is self employed ABN with 2 IPs, (they also advertise $800 flat fee for as many ips as you want)

the customer in question has 25 ips, naturally, they dont expect it to to be a flat $800 as that would be taking advantage of a generous offer, but theyve turned around and said $250 per property additional, so they want close to $7k for a return which is a joke,. Ive done tax returns myself before and if they are standard resi Ips with no renovations or dep scehdule, its a matter of plugging in like 3 numbers (total rent, expenses, + another) and is literally a 30 second job. so its taking advantage of the customer

I know (not very well) of people who have 10-20 IPS and their returns are less then $1000 per year

what sort of costs is everyone here doing?
 
Who in the right mind owns 25 IPs personally. Its likely a business. Why not use a company esp if IPs are long term holds ? The ownership on title can possibly be disregarded when you have 25. ie a spouse not on title may have a 50% interest if they operate as a partnership. Lots of strategy being missed here I can bet. Whether is $800 or $2K you would be consumed in the compliance and not the advice. Comparing with prior year alone could take 2 hrs.

If someone came to me with 25 IPs and reasonable summaries it would still be several thousand dollars as I can guarantee there would be annual CGT costs + borrowing costs + CGT issues (one day) and interest problems with blended loans and refinance problems + repair issues.

No depn schedule ? Crarp. Everyone does repairs that fall under the capital allowance regime or replaces a HWS, AC etc. Problem sign already. Even a 50 year old property with no apparent cap allowances. The depn issues get bigger with age not easier.

30 seconds - Sure. Call ITP they advertise $79 returns. :D
$7K is a joke too. Unless they know the client record quality ?

What is needed is a practical property focussed accountant that quotes a fixed fee. That's why I do a lot of property.
 
You could also do it yourself.

It would only cost you the value of the deductions missed by a specialist.

Oh ... and any penalty tax and interest for claiming things incorrectly.

Better shop around the agents who specialise in property as well as look to an estate planning lawyer given the size of the portfolio !

Seriously though, with that many properties I would go to night school and study up on the subject even if it is just so that I could get the best value out of my advisers.
 
Seriously though, with that many properties I would go to night school and study up on the subject even if it is just so that I could get the best value out of my advisers.

Good point! It's knowing the questions to ask and being able to consider the answers.
 
You could also do it yourself.

It would only cost you the value of the deductions missed by a specialist.

Oh ... and any penalty tax and interest for claiming things incorrectly.

Better shop around the agents who specialise in property as well as look to an estate planning lawyer given the size of the portfolio !

Seriously though, with that many properties I would go to night school and study up on the subject even if it is just so that I could get the best value out of my advisers.

Tax Institute courses / seminars on theme would be a good idea. Even if you didn't sit exams.
 
how much do you guys pay for your returns assuming you have a fair few ips?

our regular accountant who does a good job has a flat fee of $800 for a tax return that is self employed ABN with 2 IPs, (they also advertise $800 flat fee for as many ips as you want)

the customer in question has 25 ips, naturally, they dont expect it to to be a flat $800 as that would be taking advantage of a generous offer, but theyve turned around and said $250 per property additional, so they want close to $7k for a return which is a joke,. Ive done tax returns myself before and if they are standard resi Ips with no renovations or dep scehdule, its a matter of plugging in like 3 numbers (total rent, expenses, + another) and is literally a 30 second job. so its taking advantage of the customer

I know (not very well) of people who have 10-20 IPS and their returns are less then $1000 per year

what sort of costs is everyone here doing?

Depending on entities their IPs were held in so it's much more involvement than just a numbers game...
I pay in thousands, but it also depends on the accountant's advice you wish to get.
Also various tax returns as the structures are all different. It really depends case on case basis not on how many IPs you have!
 
Back to the original question. Seven grand sounds like a lot, but it depends on a number of factors. How good is the record keeping, how many calls are required to gather up all the information, how the loans are structured, the level of advice required etc.

My estimate would be in the $2500 - $3500 mark, but you wouldn't get a quote until AFTER I'd looked at your record keeping.
 
Agreed Dan, we have a client with about 10 IP's and they get charged between 2-3k, which is because their record keeping is almost non existent and their loans are crazy. Of course, not all clients keep an immaculately maintained spreadsheet.
 
Too many unknowns to make a proper quote. Are they in trusts, companies etc or in their own name? If they bought it in their own name, did they realise by IP #10 that land tax kinda sucks (unless they are all NT properties)? What sort of record keeping? Do previous years need to be checked (that no depreciation schedule comment is worrying)?

It isn't 30 seconds per property, I can assure you, regardless of the paperwork.
 
If you think it takes 30 seconds and 3 entries then you are an awful accountant. Maybe a nurse trained in a 2 weeks ITP course doing it as a side job. What a joke.
 
If you think it takes 30 seconds and 3 entries then you are an awful accountant. Maybe a nurse trained in a 2 weeks ITP course doing it as a side job. What a joke.

Don't knock that training Mike. They and another franchise each bring me around 10+ new clients a year. By the time I amend and correct the errors I have loyal and happy clients.

I wish they offered 2 week courses in dentistry too but laws in this country prevent unqualified dentists not tax preparers. Nanny state.:D
 
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