​Before I answer that question please take a second and think why you asked that question. Isn’t that because you wanted to find the cheapest accountant in town? Don’t worry, we get asked this question a lot. In fact every time a new client call us, that is the first question they ask. I would like you to stop reading this now. Take a minute and think why would anyone charge less?

Accountants are no different to retailers. They are both sellers and the only difference is that retailers sell tangible goods and accountants provide services. If you go to a retail shop you will be able to see the quality of the product you are going to buy and you will pay a little bit more for a better quality but when you go to a cheap accountant you will miss the opportunity to experience the better service and quality of work that you would have gotten for a little bit extra.

It is not hard to understand why some accountants charge less. The simple reason is that they spend less time on you. This means, if you see an accountant to get your tax return done, you will lose the chance to maximize your eligible refund. When an accountant calculate your tax refund, they can get you the maximum refund by doing the calculation in different ways and use the way that get the client the biggest possible refund. But if the accountant spends only a little bit of time with you, he will probably use only one way of calculation and use that figure without checking the other methods. As an example, when calculating the work related travel expenses, the ATO has approved 4 methods and allow the accountant to use the method that gets the highest deduction for the client. When the accountant uses only one method, you will never know how much money you would have lost because the accountant will never tell you that he did not try the other methods.

Another possible reason for an accountant to charge less is because he does not have many clients. Then the question arises, why he does not have clients during the busiest time of the year? Isn’t that something to think about before going to a cheap accountant? If you call an accountant who charges a reasonable amount you will be able to book in for an appointment at the end of the week or early next week. But try calling a cheap accountant. You will be able to get an appointment definitely the same day or the next day. Doesn’t that tell you that he does not have many clients or he does not spend time with the clients he already have?

Furthermore, if you are still not convinced let me warn you. You need to be careful when you go to a cheap accountant. Over the phone he will tell you a cheap price but after he has done the job you will be handed over a tax invoice which will surprise you. There are different charges that they will add on to the promised price. Their explanation will be “your return was complicated”. Then you will have no choice but to pay whatever they have charged. Hence, you will end up with a poor quality work, disappointing service and a huge bill.

At Taxgate, we provide a much better service than other accountants for a reasonable amount and we look after you not only until we finish doing your tax return but throughout the whole year. Our charges start from $127.50 and we will have to add another small amount if your tax return is truly complicated or if we had to find some information that you failed to provide us which is critical to get you the biggest refund. Since we do not like to surprise you with a huge bill, we are unable to tell you exactly how much it will cost you for the work we have to do without actually having a look. After having a look at your documents we will give a quotation if required and you will not pay anything more than that. Also we will get you the biggest possible refund and we guarantee it or your money back!

Please Call 1300 TAX 365, if you need to know more information on our products and services.