Why there is no price list
Two people on similar salaries can need very different amounts of work at tax time. One bought a rental property this year and brings settlement papers, loan statements and a depreciation schedule. The other has an income statement and a few receipts. Any published price would be wrong for one of them.
So we quote once we know what the job involves. The quote is a fixed fee, agreed with you before any work starts. It does not creep up because something took longer than expected.
What shapes a quote
Most quotes turn on only a couple of these.
- How many entities are involved. You, your partner, a company, a family trust and an SMSF are separate sets of records and separate lodgements, even in one household.
- The state of the records. Reconciled books in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks take far less time than a folder of receipts and a bank export.
- How far behind you are. Catching up on unlodged years means rebuilding each year's figures, usually against what the ATO holds for them.
- Property and investments. Each rental property brings its own income, expenses, loan interest and depreciation. A sale adds a capital gains calculation, and the cost base can reach back to the day you bought.
- Australia and New Zealand. Residency, income in both countries and foreign income tax offsets mean working under two sets of rules. See trans-Tasman taxation.
- Deadlines. A notice with a due date, or a lender waiting on financials, changes how the work is scheduled. If that affects the quote, the quote says so.
What a quote covers
The quote describes the work in plain words: which returns, statements or accounts, for which entities, for which years. For a tax return that normally means preparing it from the information you give us, asking whatever we need to ask to get it right, and lodging it with the ATO.
Some work is quoted on its own, because it can't be sized until we look at it or it sits outside the routine:
- an ATO audit, review or payment arrangement (see strategic tax advisory)
- setting up a company, trust or SMSF (see structures and wealth)
- advice before a property sale, a restructure or a move across the Tasman
- bookkeeping to bring the records up to date before a return can be done (see accounting and operations)
- lodging overdue years
If you are not sure whether something is in the quote, ask before we start.
If the job changes
Jobs change. A second rental statement turns up, or a trust distribution nobody mentioned, or an ATO letter arrives mid-return. When something falls outside what we agreed, we stop and tell you what it is, what it would involve and what it would cost. Nothing extra is done until you say yes.
You will not get an invoice for work you did not agree to.
Can you claim the fee?
Usually, under Australian rules. The ATO lets individuals claim the cost of managing their own tax affairs, which includes lodging a return through a registered tax agent and getting tax advice from a recognised tax adviser. Advice from someone who isn't registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (or with ASIC as a qualified tax relevant provider) can't be claimed. Tax Doctorz is a registered tax agent.
You generally claim the fee in the income year you pay it. If you pay for your 2025–26 return in October 2026, that fee goes in your 2026–27 return. Where one invoice covers your return and your partner's, the fee has to be split between you, and you need to be able to show how you split it.
For a business, registered tax agent and accountant fees, bookkeeping, and preparing tax returns and activity statements are listed by the ATO as tax-related operating expenses.
One thing that no longer counts: interest the ATO charges on late or underpaid tax. General interest charge and shortfall interest charge incurred on or after 1 July 2025 can't be claimed, so for anyone behind on tax, that interest is now a straight cost.
Getting a quote
Tell us what you need through Get in touch, or fill in the new client form if you already know you want to start. Say which entities are involved, which years, and how your records are kept. Mention any recent ATO letter.
With that we can usually come back with a fixed quote, or with the few questions we need answered first. If it is a personal return, the tax return questionnaire shows what we will ask for.
Common questions
No. Work is quoted as a fixed fee once we understand what it involves, and the fee is agreed before we start. If the job grows, we tell you and agree the change with you before doing any more.
Because the work behind two similar-looking jobs can differ a lot: the number of entities, how tidy the records are, whether there is property or New Zealand income, and how many years are outstanding. A starting price would fit almost nobody, so we quote once we know which of those apply to you.
For individuals, the ATO allows a deduction for the cost of managing your own tax affairs, including lodging through a registered tax agent, generally in the income year you pay the fee. For a business, tax agent and accountant fees are a tax-related operating expense. Whether a specific fee qualifies depends on what the work was for.
We stop, explain what we found and what it would take to deal with it, and agree any change to the fee with you first. Nothing outside the agreed scope is done or invoiced without your say-so.