Tax filing k-1 costs

[Peter Bizios]

My business partner and I received a bill for $3,000 through our CPA for filing k-1s on three properties in 2019. I wanted to get a second opinion on the bill before using them again on our 2020 returns. Does this amount seem fair for three single family homes? We do straight line deprecation, no cost segregation, and all other expenses/income are pretty standard. Our books are not off the walls crazy or anything. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Christopher Smith]

A number of things go into determining a charge for services so it's difficult to even ball park without knowing exactly what was done.

1) Was this the first year of the engagement?

2) Is your partnership agreement simple and straight forward or does it have allocation complications

3) What is the billing rate of the person or persons who actually worked on your account

4) Was there any tax research time required beyond basic return preparation

5) Are the basic tax preparation activities being delegated to the appropriate personnel if not prepared by a sole practitioner?

6) Does the charge include any individual return preparation work?

and so on