Raising Fees for Next Season?

[ETax847]

Are you going to be raising your fees for the upcoming tax season or holding them constant?  It seems like the cost of software and materials increasing it would only make sense to increase the fees as well.  Curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

[rfassett]

I can not remember the year that I did not increase fees.  Akin to that - there has never been a year that my costs of doing business have not increased.  The trick sometimes, has been making sure the increased fees surpassed the increased costs.  How else could I get the raise that I so justly deserve every year?  I have no interest in earning the same amount of money every year - or even two years in a row.  If it came to that, I would close the doors on this practice.

[Possi]

My SEHI increased by almost $1500 this year, my tax prep fees jumped, too. I always increase my prices. Always.

[Catherine]

They will be increasing but I have not determined how much.  Office rent is up, utilities are up, CPE prices are up, supplies are up.... if prices don't go up I will be making even less than I do now which is already less than it should be.

[michaelmars]

I generally raise fees every 3 years. 

[JMovichEA]

I raise mine every year, how much varies by client, but I find it easier to raise each year.

[Lynn EA USTCP in Louisiana]

I do the same as JMovichEA.

 

[SaraEA]

We raised our fees $20-25 last year, mostly to cover the ACA reporting.  (Yea, a lot of people only needed a check in the box that they had health insurance all year, but it took us tons of hours in classes to learn the rules and how to handle them.)  Some of our increase was due to the fact that some clients haven't had an increase in years.  After reading these responses, I have no problem going up a bit more again this coming season.

Today a client called who has an $800 return--multiple Sch Cs, Sch Es, K-1s.  He said that his return seems to have gotten "simpler" over the years and wondered why we were still charging so much.  Clearly this client does not place value on our services so Good Bye!  Not one of the clients who experienced our increase last year complained.