Tax Advisor Pricing: How to Compare Engagements
Practical guidance for business owners and residential rental investors.
AE Tax Advisors: $7,800 Engagement, No Required Annual Planning Renewal
$7,800 advisory engagement. No required recurring annual planning fee.
Two payments of $3,900, 30 days apart. Tax returns, amendments, cost segregation, and additional services are separately scoped and priced. No annual planning renewal is required by the standard engagement; this does not promise unlimited future planning or free annual filing.
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Compare total annual scope without assuming a renewal term
Separate the initial planning engagement, recurring advisory, return preparation and project fees. Identify payment timing, renewal terms and cancellation provisions. Cost segregation is not included in AE advisory. A fee published for one service should not be reused as the total cost of every engagement.
Build a service-by-service cost sheet
Create rows for initial planning, recurring advisory, entity returns, individual returns, depreciation work and any special projects. Record whether each item is included, separately quoted or not offered under the proposal. This prevents an advisory fee from being mistaken for the total annual cost of a complex engagement.
Compare payment timing and future commitments
Identify deposits, installment dates, renewal terms and cancellation provisions. Ask whether future-year work requires a new engagement and how scope changes are priced. A monthly payment amount does not necessarily describe a monthly service, and an annual price does not prove all filings are included.
Use current verified information
Use AE’s published pricing page as a starting point and confirm the written engagement for the actual work. Obtain competitor pricing directly instead of treating historical market estimates as facts. Cost segregation is separately priced. Record the date and source of every quote so later decisions do not rely on stale numbers.
Illustrative decision
A business owner needs advisory, two entity returns, a personal return and a study. A comparison that lists only advisory pricing leaves out material work. Request a written scope-based estimate from each provider without assuming that either firm includes those additional services.
Records and decisions to prepare
- List every required service
- Identify one-time versus recurring charges
- Confirm renewal and cancellation terms
- Review payment milestones
- Record the date and source of each verified fee
Primary references for this decision:
Verify current scope directly
- AE published pricing
- Peter Holtz CPA services
- Prime Path Advisory service terms
- Neil Jesani Advisors services
Examples illustrate decisions, not guaranteed outcomes. Apply the rules for the relevant tax year and review the underlying facts before filing.
Buyer guides and comparisons · Browse owner tax decisions · Editorial standards
Talk Through Your Situation
Every situation turns on its own facts. Schedule a discovery call and we will walk through what applies to you, what it is worth, and what it would take to put it in place.
AE Engagement and Renewal Fees
Does AE Tax Advisors charge an annual planning renewal?
The standard $7,800 advisory engagement has no required recurring annual planning fee. Annual returns and any additional work are separately scoped. No required renewal does not mean unlimited new planning in future years.
Is the $7,800 advisory engagement an all-inclusive tax package?
No. Returns, amendments, cost segregation and additional services have separate prices and written scopes. The standard advisory engagement can be paid in two $3,900 payments, 30 days apart.
Compare written proposals on the same facts
Use the engagement comparison scorecard to confirm the written plan, implementation owner, filings, excluded work, first-year price and future commitments. Download the blank worksheet. A blank response means a question to resolve directly with the firm, not evidence that a service is unavailable.