What preparers charge, on average
The same return prepared by an enrolled agent averages $228, and by a non-credentialed preparer about $185.
The national average hourly rate across credentialed and non-credentialed preparers.
Most practices set a floor below which an engagement is not worth opening. Ask what this one's is.
An entity return — an S-corp, a partnership — starts well above an individual one and is its own engagement.
Source: National Association of Tax Professionals, 2025 fee study, reported by Accounting Today, December 2025
