Service Guide & Fee Schedule
This guide explains what our practice does, how each engagement runs, when the key filing deadlines fall, and what our services cost. It is a reference document — there is nothing to fill in or return. Fees and dates below are indicative; the figures that bind us are the ones stated in your signed engagement letter.
Section 1 — Services We Offer
- Federal individual income tax returns (Form 1040) and all supporting schedules
- Resident, part-year and non-resident state returns, including multi-state allocations
- Quarterly estimated tax calculations (Form 1040-ES) and safe-harbour planning
- Extensions (Form 4868), amended returns (Form 1040-X) and prior-year catch-up filings
- Partnership and multi-member LLC returns (Form 1065) with K-1 preparation
- S-corporation (Form 1120-S) and C-corporation (Form 1120) returns
- Entity selection reviews, S-election filings (Form 2553) and reasonable-compensation studies
- Business extensions (Form 7004) and franchise / annual report filings
Bookkeeping and monthly close
- Transaction categorisation, bank and credit-card reconciliation
- Monthly or quarterly financial statements — profit & loss, balance sheet, cash flow
- Chart-of-accounts clean-up and opening-balance corrections for new engagements
- Accounts payable / receivable tracking and 1099-NEC year-end preparation
- Payroll setup, pay-run processing and direct-deposit administration
- Quarterly federal returns (Form 941) and state unemployment filings
- Annual Form 940, W-2 and W-3 preparation and distribution
- Sales & use tax registration, nexus review and periodic return filing
- Mid-year and year-end tax projections with written planning recommendations
- Cash-flow forecasting, budgeting and pricing reviews
- Retirement-plan and owner-compensation structuring
- IRS and state notice responses, and representation in examinations
Section 2 — How an Engagement Runs
- Consultation. We meet for 30 minutes, at no charge, to understand your situation and confirm we are the right fit.
- Intake. You complete a short intake so we can capture entity details, filing history and the services you want.
- Engagement letter. We send a written scope and fee. Work begins once it is signed by both sides.
- Document request. We send a checklist of exactly what we need. You upload it to the secure portal.
- Preparation and review. We prepare the work, then a second reviewer checks it before anything leaves the office.
- Your review. We walk you through the draft, answer questions and make any corrections.
- Filing and delivery. You e-sign the authorisation, we file, and you receive final copies plus a payment voucher schedule.
- Follow-up. We check in after the season with planning points for the year ahead.
Section 3 — Tax Season Calendar
Deadlines that fall on a weekend or federal holiday move to the next business day.
| | |
|---|
| Q4 estimated tax payment for the prior year | |
| W-2 and 1099-NEC distribution and filing | |
| Partnership (1065) and S-corporation (1120-S) returns or extensions | |
| Individual (1040) and C-corporation (1120) returns or extensions; Q1 estimate | |
| Q2 and Q3 estimated tax payments | |
| Extended partnership and S-corporation returns | |
| Extended individual and C-corporation returns | |
| Year-end planning window — last chance to act before the year closes | |
Ranges reflect typical engagements. Complexity — multiple states, rental or investment activity, disorganised records, late filings — moves a fee toward the upper end. Your engagement letter states the fee that actually applies to you.
| | |
|---|
Individual return (1040 + one state) | | 10 business days from a complete file |
Each additional state return | | Filed with the federal return |
Business return (1065 / 1120 / 1120-S) | Flat fee, scoped after review of the books | 15 business days from a complete file |
| Monthly retainer, banded by transaction volume | Close by the 15th of the following month |
| Base fee per pay run plus a per-employee charge | Two business days before each pay date |
| Flat fee per jurisdiction per filing period | Filed by the statutory due date |
Advisory, planning and notice response | Hourly, or a fixed project fee agreed in advance | |
Rush handling inside 5 business days of a deadline | Surcharge on the base fee, quoted before we start | |
Section 5 — Billing, Retainers & Turnaround
- Tax return work is billed at a flat fee agreed before we begin. Half is invoiced at engagement, the balance on delivery of the draft.
- Recurring bookkeeping and payroll are billed monthly in advance and may be paid by card or bank transfer on autopay.
- Advisory work draws against a retainer. We report hours used and top up the retainer only with your written approval.
- Invoices are due 14 days from issue. Returns are filed only after the balance is settled.
- Turnaround starts when your file is complete — not when the first document arrives. Missing items pause the clock.
- If we cannot meet a deadline with the information available, we file a valid extension. An extension delays the return, never the payment.
- Scope changes are quoted in writing and never billed as a surprise line on an invoice.
Section 6 — Working With Us
- Email is answered within one business day outside of filing season, and within two during January to April.
- Send documents through the secure portal. Please do not email tax documents or identification numbers.
- Tell us early about a new state, a new entity, a property purchase or sale, a marriage, a birth or a large one-off transaction.
- Forward every IRS or state notice on the day it arrives, envelope included — most have a short response window.
- We keep engagement records for seven years and return your original documents on request at any time.
This guide is general information about our practice and is not tax or legal advice for any particular situation. Please contact us to discuss your circumstances.