Guides
Tax preparation quote template: the page, section by section
A tax preparation quote template laid out as one page: header, priced lines, assumptions, exclusions and client duties, with wording and example fees.
What to take away
- Lay the quote out as one page with sections in a fixed orderheader, priced lines, assumptions, exclusions, and what the client brings.
- Name the forms on the pageForm 1040, Schedule C, Schedule E, Form 8949 and each state return. A flat fee means little until they appear.
- Word each line so the client can point to it in Aprilthe form, what the work includes, one fee.
- Put the out-of-scope list in writing before the client signs, because most disputes start with a client assuming a form was included.
- If the return turns out to be more complex, the client approves the new scope before you continue.
- Every paid preparer needs an individual PTIN before preparing or assisting on a federal return.
Practice operations are not tax positions. For advice on a specific return, a client should speak with a licensed CPA or Enrolled Agent. Filing requirements and deadlines come from the IRS and the client's state tax authority.
The header: client, year and preparer
Open the quote with the client, the tax year and the name of the person who will prepare the return. The credential behind that name matters, because the rules on who may prepare a paid return apply to the person, not to the firm.
Anyone paid to prepare or substantially assist in preparing a federal return generally needs a Preparer Tax Identification Number. The IRS says anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal returns for compensation must have a valid PTIN before preparing returns.
Does This Person Need a PTIN?
Paid to prepare or substantially assist a federal return?
Needs a PTIN
Bookkeeper gathering and organizing only
The number is individual, not firm-wide, so an owner cannot prepare under an employee's PTIN. A bookkeeper who only gathers, organizes and records client information generally does not need one. Renew the PTIN each year through the IRS Tax Pro Account, because a lapsed number stops e-filing.
The priced lines: one form, one wording, one fee
Each form the return needs becomes a numbered line with its own fee. The client reads the lines and sees what they are buying, so a quote that names every form lets the client check scope before they check price. Vague quotes invite arguments in April.
Quote Lines by Return Item
- Form 1040 baseintake, interview, entry, review, e-file
- Schedule Csole proprietor bookkeeping review
- Schedule Erental property income
- Form 8949capital gains, scales with trades
- Form 1099-R, 8606, 8962retirement and credits
- State returnsseparate line per state
Line one is the Form 1040 itself: the intake, the interview, the data entry, the review and the e-file transmission. That is the floor price of the engagement, and every schedule is added to it as a separate line. A Schedule C carries its own bookkeeping review, and a part-year resident return takes longer than a full-year one.
The figures below are illustrative for a solo preparer in a mid-cost market. They are not benchmarks. The middle column is the wording the client reads, so copy the shape and substitute your own hourly cost and your own time per line.
| Quote line | Wording the client reads | Illustrative fee |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1040 base | Intake, interview, data entry, review, e-file | $150 |
| Federal e-file transmission | Software charge billed per return, separate from prep time | $0 to $25 |
| Schedule C | Sole proprietor business income and expenses | $125 |
| Schedule E | Rental income, one to three properties | $100 |
| Form 8949 | Capital gains, up to 20 transactions | $75 |
| Each extra 8949 block | Every additional 20 transactions | $25 |
| Form 4562 | Depreciation on equipment or a rental | $50 |
| Form 1099-R with Form 8606 | Retirement distributions and nondeductible IRA basis | $50 |
| Each additional state return | Non-resident or part-year state filing | $75 |
| Prior-year amendment, 1040-X | Rebuild of a filed return plus corrected forms | $200 |
| Extension request, Form 4868 | Filing the extension and scheduling the fall appointment | $50 |
| Bookkeeping, monthly | Categorizing transactions, reconciling accounts | $200 per month |
The e-file charge is its own line on many quotes. Professional software such as Drake Tax, Intuit Lacerte, ProSeries and Thomson Reuters UltraTax CS sells unlimited packages or per-return blocks. For the cost-and-margin math behind each fee, see fair-margin pricing.
Totalling the quote for two clients
The same template produces very different totals depending on the client. A client with one W-2 and nothing else gets the base line alone. A sole proprietor adds the schedule and a state return, and the total moves with each line the return needs.
Illustrative Quote Totals
- $150Simple W-2 return
- $350Sole proprietor with Schedule C and one state
- $500+Two rentals, brokerage sales, two states
| Client | Lines on the quote | Total |
|---|---|---|
| One W-2, no schedules | Form 1040 base | $150 |
| Sole proprietor, one state | Form 1040 base, Schedule C, one state return | $350 |
Assumptions and changes in scope
State what the fees rest on and what happens when the return turns out to be different. A flat fee of $450 means little to a client unless the Schedule C, the Schedule E and the state return appear on the page.
Fixed per-return pricing works when the return rarely surprises. It fails on one messy Schedule C. For a return you have never seen, quote a range based on the forms the client names, then confirm in writing once the documents arrive. If the return is more complex, the client approves the new scope before you continue.
If the quote says "from $150," that claim has to be truthful and supported. A low teaser price that no real client pays is a complaint waiting to happen, so publish the base price and the conditions that move it.
What the quote must say is out of scope
List what the fee does not cover, and list it before the client signs. Notice letters, audit representation and amended returns are the usual surprises. Write each exclusion as a plain line the client can point to in April, not as fine print.
What the Fee Excludes
- Notice letters
- Audit representation
- Amended returns
- Monthly bookkeeping, $150 to $400
Representation before the IRS is separate work. It is often priced hourly and belongs in its own engagement letter. The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility disciplines violations of Circular 230, the Regulations Governing Practice before the Internal Revenue Service, which is why the work is scoped apart.
Bookkeeping is not tax preparation. A client who wants monthly categorization and reconciliation is buying a recurring bookkeeping line with its own price. Put it on the quote as its own row.
What the client brings
The quote should state what the client must bring and what they must keep afterward. The IRS recordkeeping guidance covers the supporting documents behind income, expenses, payroll and assets. Spell this out in the quote, not at the appointment.
Ask for last year's return, the W-2 and 1099 forms, Form 1098 mortgage interest and the receipts behind a Schedule C. A client who arrives without last year's return or a brokerage statement burns an hour of your calendar and pushes every later appointment.
The close: signature and scope approval
End the page with a signature and date line for the client, placed after the exclusions and the client duties. A signature below the out-of-scope list means the client has agreed to the boundary before any work starts.
Keep the signed page in the client file. When a return grows, send the new scope as a short written addendum with the added lines and fees, and wait for the client's approval. That keeps the original quote readable and the changes visible.
Common questions
What belongs on the first line of a tax quote?
The base Form 1040: intake, interview, data entry, review and e-file. Everything else is a separate line with its own price, because each schedule adds its own labor.
Where does the quote show what is not included?
In a short out-of-scope list placed before the signature line. Notice letters, audit representation and amended returns belong there, so the client has agreed to the boundary before work starts.
How do I price a return I have never seen before?
Quote a range based on the forms the client names, then confirm in writing once the documents arrive. If the return turns out to be more complex, the client approves the new scope before you continue.
Can I advertise a price I do not always charge?
Only if the claim is truthful and you can support it. State the base price and the conditions that raise it, so the advertised figure matches what most clients actually pay.
