PRICING, FEES & BILLING RATES

Outlook 2026: NATP Shows Tax Prep Prices Surging and Diverging

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Experience, complexity, and scarcity redefine the market

Volume and consulting drive growth: Of the 48% of firms reporting advances, 78% credit more business and 54% credit higher-grade services. Source: NATP

By CPA Trendlines

Tax preparation is getting markedly more expensive in 2026, and not in the slow, incremental way many firms have long assumed they can explain away.

In a widely used pricing model, the National Association of Tax Professionals reports the average base charge for a Form 1040 with Schedules is $236, up from a 2024 average of $162 reported in the same study series. That’s a 45.7% nominal increase in two years for the profession’s signature product, before a single schedule, state filing, or complexity premium is added.

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MORE TAX and PRICING

The U.S. tax preparation market is not merely more expensive.  It is increasingly stratified, with pricing that clearly distinguishes between complex professional work and the lower tiers of retail and do-it-yourself alternatives.

Across multiple independent pricing measures, certified public accountants and credentialed tax professionals command fees that are substantially higher than the base costs advertised by major retail chains, software platforms, and dwindling government-sponsored free filing options. The result is a world of tax preparation pricing that reflects not only the complexity of engagement but also client expectations, risk management, service delivery models, and clear segmentation of value. READ MORE →

Cornerstone Report: CPA Billing Rates, Tax Return Fees, and Client Accounting Pricing at CPA Firms | 2026

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CPA Trendlines Research Cornerstone Reports deliver instant situational awareness on the day’s hottest topics.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Tax return pricing in 2026 is best understood as a structural repricing rather than a routine inflation adjustment. Firms are charging more, charging differently, and narrowing capacity.

MORE on Pricing.

In this Cornerstone Report, CPA Trendlines finds a 45.7% rise in the national average base fee for a 1040 with Schedules 1–3 (2023 to 2025); benchmark add-on prices for common schedules; national averages for entity and fiduciary returns; fee-increase cadence and the dominant 6%–10% increase band; a median typical-client fee level of $1,263; a common unbilled-work leakage estimate of 6%; and large-firm benchmarking metrics that show how higher rates interact with realization and income per partner.

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Dunn: Time’s the Wrong Growth Metric | Gear Up For Growth

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Stop counting minutes. Start creating meaning.

Originally published May 2025
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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

In a re-energizing episode of Gear Up for Growth, Paul Dunn makes the case that the billable hour isn’t just outdated—it’s holding firms back. The four-time TEDx speaker and cofounder of B1G1 challenges accounting leaders to rethink how success is measured and to lead with purpose, not punch clocks.

Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and efficient growth in today’s competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth here | More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts here

Talking with host Jean Caragher, Dunn reframes the profession’s obsession with time as a distraction from what clients actually value. “It’s not about the inputs,” he says. “It’s about the outcomes.” When firms anchor their work to results—and to the human impact behind those results—growth follows naturally.

More than two decades after coauthoring “The Firm of the Future,” Dunn remains a vocal critic of six-minute increments. While some firms are inching toward value pricing and advisory-led models, he argues the real shift requires courage. Measuring work by time, he notes, is “the opposite of human flourishing.” Measuring by impact, on the other hand, elevates both clients and teams.

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Why Offer Three Service Levels?

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Hand drawing a rainbow-colored 3

You still can add on other services.

By Jody Padar
Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA

A tiered service offering should provide your clients with three options. According to experts in mindset and pricing, if you provide three options, people will usually choose the one in the middle. That’s the one you are aiming for them to buy.

Also, don’t forget that people buy the payment, not the car. There’s an entire mentality around monthly pricing. If you tell a client it’s a $24,000 engagement, they will balk. They would rather pay $2,000 a month than the full amount all at once. Of course, some clients will offer to give you the full engagement amount up front if the price is discounted. From a cash flow perspective, you can offer a small discount if a client is willing to pay this way.

Creating your service packages is not a one-size-fits-all activity. There should be different tiered service options for each client persona. It is also important for clients to know that they can upgrade or downgrade their service level when needed.
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The Three-Step Formula for Setting Your Monthly Fee

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Hand moving triangle along beam to indicate balance between price and value

How to create price packages.

By Jody Padar
Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA

Packages are the first step toward productizing your services. Your packages define your services as discrete offerings with defined parameters around what they include and what’s excluded.

MORE by Jody Padar
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The secret sauce to creating a fixed price package with a value add consists of combining several variables:

Deliverables + Client Persona = Well-Priced Packages

Client-Specific Price Point + Market Price Point = Well-Priced Packages

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