What Are Typical CPA Fees?

[Jake Thompson]

I'm curious what people are seeing as typical fees for CPA's? I recently listened to the podcast with Brandon Hall (19...8?) and was pretty impressed with his knowledge. After looking on his website his fee for a basic plan is $150/mo. To me,that seems pretty steep, however I have nothing to compare it to. I want to minimize my taxes by working with a good real estate cpa, but I just want to make sure I'm not getting an overpriced service. A little background on my portfolio, my wife and I have one duplex in California, but file personal taxes in Oregon. Thanks!

[Natalie Kolodij]

Brandon is doing things differently than most... but it makes a lot of sense. 

I work for a firm that's a financial advisory and CPA firm. 

Our finance side bills a flat rate the way Brandon does- for the same reason. People want to discuss their investments as they happen, they want to be able to ask questions, run scenarios, ect ...without getting invoiced for your time each and every time they have an idea. 

Now think about real estate....kind of relates more to a financial investment than most businesses. You want to be able to ask questions, run models, and talk to your CPA about stuff before you make HUGE decisions. 

If you own a petstore- you're selling birds and puppies and nothing really changes. Paying $800 once a year to havea  tax return filed is kind of all you need. 

If you have one rental and that's all you plan to do....pay $500 once a year and call it a day. 

If you want growth, advising, and extra services. You'll pay a little more but you get a lot more