Big4 tax team sent eng ltr with estimated fee quote of $120-130k for federal and state returns. They progressed billed $50k twice. Final bill includes $38k plus 5 different line items ranging from $3-23k for extras, some of which they discussed with me first and some they didn’t. I asked them why first ljne is $38k instead of $20-30k max per ent ltr fee quote and they said the return look longer. Am I wrong to be mad that they listed out a bunch of BS extras plus are fluffing the base fee quote?

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Were the 5 different line items out of scope from the original $120-130k engagement? Was the $120-130k an estimate with actual billing based on time and materials? If yes- $8k (6% over) isn’t out of line if the engagement clearly took longer than expected due to the cleanliness of your records and the responsiveness of your team.

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You’re right; the engagement team should have talked with you. You’re also a tiny client for a big 4 firm, so if you want those services to continue, I would suggest taking on the work of managing the fees yourself. I have seen multiple small clients “fired” for being too demanding without paying fees to warrant their demands, so beware.

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The fact that there was a range in the original letter makes me think that was an estimate. Without knowing the details of the overages, nothing you listed sounds egregious. The engagement team should have communicated better, but I’m pretty sure a ~$150k engagement is not a huge priority at any Big 4 firm, so you’re not getting top tier service and probably won’t unless you have more to offer the firm.

Audit fees require pre-approval by the board to maintain independence, so that makes sense. Tax work, unless for an audit client, does not have any similar requirement.

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