Is a Cpa Required to Disclose Fee Charges?

That sucks! I would ask for an itemized list of what the charges are for. I agree that charges for the past review should have been mentioned and agreed to before the review was done. Maybe pay him the $300 for this years and try to barter down the price of the rest?

ETA: If you have a signed contract for $300 - then you need to get an itemized bill/invoice for the additional $480. I would ONLY pay the set amount for the $300.

AK:

ANY consultant worth their weight will give you their fees upfront.

Most CPAs have you sign a form disclosing the costs/fees involved and what they will do for you. The CPA I know is also accredited or something like that from the IRS and is insured that if he makes a mistake on your tax return, it will be covered and not your problem.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you didn't get a reputable CPA and you will have to pay those fees. next time - ask questions - get a signed consent form that states fees and if it appears he/she will be going over that amount to call and get approval.

Sorry!

Did you sign an engagement letter? I used to work for a CPA and we sent out engagement letters that had the base fee and stated that there would be additional fees for additional forms and we didn't start on anyone's taxes until they returned the signed letter. How many returns did he amend? 480 dollars is a LOT just for amended returns. I'd ask for an itemized bill and explain that he didn't tell you beforehand about the extra fees.

I work in a CPA office. Most charge at least $200 per hour for a true CPA with a CPA license to work on your taxes. We tell our clients our hourly rate and provide them with a bill that states exactly how much time was spent on their return. This includes the CPA's time to do your tax return, meet with you if needed, and the administrative assistant's time to input the information into the accounting software and upload it to the IRS. The bill our clients receive is very very detailed.

You did not say how many past tax returns he reviewed and whether he filed any amended returns. It takes almost as much time to review a past tax return and file an amended return as it does to do the current one. I think your state also has state income taxes? For each amended federal return, there would have been an amended state return.

I am sorry that you got a bill larger than you expected, but it sounds like you expected him to work for free on your past returns. Call him and tell him that you will pay the $300 now but you need a payment plan for the rest. I hope you are getting enough back from your amended returns to justify the charges.

C.

Did he charge you $780 just to look at your past returns? Did he get any money back from past years for you?
Regardless, you should have ask him up front how much it would cost to look at the past returns.
I would however tell him you are not happy with his fee given he only got you $X back (your post is not clear) and ask him for a reduced fee.

Okay so let me get this straight. He amended past returns, therefore you got more money back, but you don't have the money to pay him? Give me a break! Pay the guy!

You want a return filed yes, you pay for each return. The only way an accountant would file an amended return for free is if they were correcting a mistake *they* made, not *your* mistake.

It isn't the accountants fault you already spent the money he got you by amending your old returns.

It's been my experience that the more you "have" for them to "do" for your return, the higher the fee. So I would expect amending returns to = more of a fee. I think you certainly can ask for a breakdown of the charges.
Can you pay with your refund? Maybe he'll wait?

Was he able to justify the expenses? Just because he writes it on the invoice doesn't mean you just have to shut up and pay it. Ask him why the bill was more than 250% of what he originally quoted you! Did he actually file amended returns, or just look over your past returns? Was he able to get you any money back from those past returns? All of that would make a difference in whether his expenses are justified or not. I asked our bookkeeper if he thought our CPA's prices were justifiable, and he was telling me that the software that CPAs have to maintain costs thousands of dollars per year, and that the good ones do charge $200/hour for this reason. However - if your CPA didn't generate any new returns because there was no additional money to be had from those returns, then he shouldn't be billing you an outrageous amount. (It probably didn't take all that long to look over them and determine there was nothing else to itemize.)

Like I said, just because that's what he wrote on the bill doesn't mean that you have to pay it without complaint. He needs to justify the extra billing to your satisfaction.

Before any work was done on it, before you even retain him for his services, you should have asked him how much his fees are.

See what other CPAs charge in your area.

Well, there are all sorts of groups that do this....

Hubby was laid off back in 2008, (I believe...) .... one of the guys that was laid off with him wanted to file a lawsuit against the company claiming age discrimination.... hubby didn't really agree.... but agreed to talk to a lawyer.

He found one that said "Free initial visit" ...... talked to the lawyer for a bit, and the lawyer asked some questions, and then asked to see the paperwork that accompanied the layoff....

the lawyer did say, basically, "I usually charge $150 for this service" .... hubby thought he was getting this initial visit free....

At the end of the visit, the lawyer presented him with a bill for $150... for looking over the paperwork!

Needless to say, we don't really trust lawyers very much.. I know there are good ones, but we haven't had many dealings with them.....

btw... the lawyer said that maybe he would have a case for age discrimination, but it could stretch out for several years, and at the end, he wouldn't get much anyway, except a big bill.......