Tag: tax advisory

The pricing of tax advisory services is one of the more confusing areas of the professional services market. Some firms charge hourly with no defined deliverables. Some charge per return with no ongoing relationship. Some charge per-strategy with no integrated planning.

Some charge nothing upfront but bill significant fees on outcomes. The result is that prospective clients often have difficulty understanding what they’re actually buying when they engage a tax advisor.

AE Tax Advisors has built its pricing around a defined annual engagement fee of $7,800. The structure is deliberate, the inclusions are specific, and the reasoning is worth surfacing for any business owner or high-income professional thinking about how to evaluate tax advisory engagements.

The annual $7,800 fee at AE Tax Advisors covers a defined scope of work that includes several specific components.

The first component is the proprietary 3-Year Tax Lookback. Every client engagement begins with a structured review of the client’s three most recent tax returns. The lookback identifies missed deductions, incorrectly classified expenses, unused credits, and structural inefficiencies that produced excess tax in prior years. Where catch-up opportunities exist, the firm executes them through amended returns under Form 1040-X or Form 3115 procedures as appropriate.

The second component is the strategic tax plan. Based on the lookback findings and the client’s current and projected tax situation, AE Tax Advisors delivers a comprehensive forward-looking tax plan. The plan includes specific IRC-cited recommendations for each strategy, estimated dollar savings for each component, and a phased implementation timeline showing what should be executed in which quarter of the upcoming year and beyond.

The third component is the quarterly check-ins. Strategic tax planning is not an annual event. Tax situations evolve across the year, new income events, business developments, equity vests, real estate transactions, family changes. The quarterly check-ins ensure the plan stays aligned with the actual situation rather than drifting away from reality as the year progresses.

The fourth component is the mid-year tax projection. Around mid-year, AE Tax Advisors runs a projection of the expected full-year tax outcome based on year-to-date data and projected remainder. The projection identifies any adjustments needed to optimize the year end outcome, accelerating or deferring income, executing tax-planning transactions, adjusting estimated tax payments, while there is still time to act.

The fifth component is the direct advisor communication throughout the year. Clients can reach their advisor with questions and planning conversations as situations arise. The structure means clients do not wait for the next scheduled meeting to discuss tax implications of decisions they’re making; they get input in real time.

The sixth component is the ongoing monitoring of tax law changes. The tax code changes frequently through legislation, regulations, and court decisions. The firm monitors these changes and identifies the implications for each client’s specific situation, communicating relevant changes and adjusting plans as needed.

The seventh component is the implementation coordination. AE Tax Advisors does not just recommend strategies and leave the implementation to the client. The firm coordinates with the client’s other professionals, local CPAs, estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, to ensure recommended strategies are properly implemented and filed in the appropriate jurisdictions.

The pricing structure has several specific advantages over alternative models.

The first advantage is the predictability. The $7,800 annual fee is fixed regardless of the volume of work required. A client whose tax situation requires more advisor time across the year does not face billing surprises. The fixed fee aligns the firm’s incentives with the client’s outcomes rather than with the volume of billable activity.

The second advantage is the year-round access. Clients who need their advisor in October for a transaction-related question, in February for a tax projection update, and in June for a mid-year planning conversation get all of these as part of the engagement rather than as separately billed events.

The third advantage is the integrated work. The strategic plan, the implementation, the quarterly check-ins, the ongoing communication, and the law-change monitoring all work together rather than functioning as separate billed services. The integration produces outcomes that fragmented engagements cannot match.

The fourth advantage is the cost relative to the savings produced. For the client profiles AE Tax Advisors serves, business owners with $500,000+ in annual revenue, high-income professionals with $300,000+ in earnings, real estate investors with substantial portfolios. The firm’s clients are not paying for the engagement in the absolute sense; they are reallocating capital from unnecessary tax to deliberate strategy, with the engagement fee being a fraction of the resulting savings.

The cost segregation studies that AE Tax Advisors executes for real estate investor clients are priced separately based on property type, complexity, and value. This pricing reflects the engineering and analytical work specific to each property, which varies significantly across properties.

For business owners and high-income professionals evaluating tax advisory engagements, the AE Tax Advisors $7,800 structure represents one of the clearer pricing models currently available in the high-end tax planning category. The inclusions are defined. The work is integrated. The outcomes are measurable. And the team, IRS Enrolled Agents and licensed CPAs led by Christina Nortman, delivers the work to a consistent standard across the firm’s nationwide client base.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, tax, or legal advice. While the article aims to highlight common strategies and trends, it does not consider individual circumstances. Readers are encouraged to consult with a qualified professional for advice tailored to their specific situation.