How much does a CPA cost?
The average base charge for a Form 1040 with schedules is $236 per NATP data reported in January 2026, up from $162 in 2024, a 46% rise in two years. Business returns, multi-state filings and advisory hours quote well above the base.
$236
avg base 1040-with-schedules charge, 2026NATP · 2026
$162
the same average in 2024NATP · 2026 report
+45.7%
two-year fee inflationNATP · 2026
Per-form shape
What adds cost: the last public per-form schedule
The most recent per-form averages with public figures come from the NSA's 2016-17 survey, printed here as shape, not price: itemized 1040 with Schedule A and state $273; non-itemized $143; Schedule C adding $205; a Form 1120-S at $717NSA · 2016-17 survey. A decade of fee inflation sits on top of every line (the NATP base-charge series above rose 46% in the last two years alone), but the ratios hold: business schedules roughly double a return, an entity return costs several times a personal one.
Indicative fee floor
Mixed vintages by necessity: the base charge is the NATP 2026 average; the add-on shape is the last public NSA per-form schedule (2016-17) and understates current prices. Treat the total as a floor for a straightforward return. Disorganized records, multi-state filings and amendments all quote higher.
Drivers
What moves a quote up
- Record quality: a shoebox of receipts bills at cleanup rates before preparation starts. Clean books are the cheapest fee reduction available.
- State count: each additional state return adds a filing and its apportionment questions; remote work made this the quiet quote-inflator.
- Entity structure: S-corp and partnership returns (1120-S, 1065) price several multiples of a personal return, per the NSA shape above.
- Amendments and notices: fixing prior years and answering IRS letters bill hourly. Error cost is the hidden comparator: the worth-it math prices it.
Alternatives
The software floor
TurboTax's published 2025-26 tiers: Free Edition $0 for simple 1040s (Intuit says roughly 37% of filers qualify), do-it-yourself up to $149, Expert Assist $89 to $209, Full Service from $200, state filing extraTurboTax · 2025-26 season. The crossover analysis, when complexity makes the professional cheaper than the software, lives on CPA vs tax software; the cheaper-credential option on CPA vs EA. Every figure on this page carries its vintage because fee data ages fast; the register holds the pull dates.