learn what other users had to say about

the Cost of Personal Accounting Services

Price 
Location 
Submitted by  
Description
$ 510
Mar 2008
New York, NY
Long standing relationship with accountant  more... close row
$ 450
Mar 2008
Seattle, WA
State and Federal Tax Preparation for a 1099 Contractor  more... close row
$ 500
Mar 2007
Blue Bell, PA
Tax preparation services  more... close row
$ 500
Mar 2007
Forks, Washington
Expensive but adequate tax preparation  more... close row
$ 250
Feb 2008
Tustin, CA
Payment for preparing state and federal returns  more... close row
$ 150
Apr 2007
San Diego, CA
Personal tax filing and amendment  more... close row
$ 180
Mar 2007
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
E-filing taxes through a CPA  more... close row
$ 106
Mar 2006
Columbus, OH
Tax Accountant
Tax preparer made life much easier  more... close row
$ 125
Apr 2008
Myrtle Beach, SC
Preparing tax returns and reviewing old ones  more... close row
$ 175
Mar 2007
Clarksburg, WV
Accounting firm for tax return  more... close row
$ 120
Feb 2008
WIchita, KS
Accounting service for income taxes  more... close row
$ 125
Jan 2007
Northeast Arkansas
Local accounting service for income tax filing  more... close row

Description of service

We used a local accounting service to file our income tax return.

The $125 fee included all the forms, electronic filing, and a refund anticipation loan. The latter allows one to collect any returns within two weeks, via electronic deposit, instead of waiting for a check to be cut and mailed.


Review of Service

We used this service for years to file our taxes, without incident. Later, new people were hired and we were assigned a new clerk rather continuing to be served by the owner. We didn't have a problem with it, until we wound up with someone else's tax information on the CD that was supposed to contain our information.

We sent back the CD, wondering if someone else had copies of our personal information (Social Security numbers, birth dates, etc. for our whole family).

We received a new CD, and this one contained the information for a small, local business. Again, we sent back the CD, this time contacting the owner to voice our concerns. When we once again received someone else's information, we showed up in person to speak to the owner.

He apologized profusely, and the person handling our account was apparently let go. We felt bad, but we considered the situation very serious.

With so much personal information compiled on a CD, identity theft was a real concern. We had no idea who might have received our information and apparently the accounting service didn't either. If someone else received our CD, he or she did not return it.

Despite the originally cordial relationship, and years of satisfactory service, we felt we had no choice but to hire a new accounting service this year.


Tips

It's probably better to go directly to the accounting service to pick up your CD or files so you can check them for accuracy.


$ 115
Feb 2008
Richmond, MN
Possibly overcharged for tax preparation  more... close row