LLC tax return: How much should it cost? Seeking Bay Area CPA

[Scott Carrillo]

Formed a 3-way LLC partnership in 2018 but no business was conducted. How much should it cost to file and does each partner need to file separately? I received a quote for $600 and this seems outrageous. Also, does anyone have any bay area CPA referrals?

[Eamonn McElroy]

@Scott Carrillo

Is the CPA you received the quote from located in the bay area (i.e. the number one COL area in the US right now)?  If so a base fee of $600 for a partnership federal and state return sounds very reasonable.

As @Brandon Hall mentioned, if the partnership had neither items of income nor items of loss during the tax year, a federal return is generally not required.

However, you will generally not be able to avoid a CA Form 568 obligation if the LLC is registered in California, even if it had no activity. Because of this the firm/practice/CPA you received the quote from will usually need to prepare the federal return anyway to get the CA return filed.

Highly encourage taxpayers obtaining a CPA/EA for the first time to obtain proposals from multiple CPA/EAs and ascertain the value they'll receive for each fee.  You might find this CPA is very reasonable compared to others in your area and/or a good value...