CPA costs to factor in

[Christophe Noualhat]

Hello everyone,

I am looking at creating an LLC (2 partners) to buy my first property in the US and trying to find out costs related to accounting and tax returns.

What is to be expected on this front ? I have a first offer telling me the tax return for a partnership will be 650USD and the accounting itself around 400USD... total about 1K per year.

Is this what is to be expected ? Is the accounting easy enough to do by oneself (is the ration time/effort to cost worth it ?) 

Thanks in advance

[Will Barnard]

If you plan to invest in properties, proper legal entities are highly recommended (particularly with partnerships) in addition to adequate insurance. The costs vary depending on the specific accountant and the specific states in which you plan to invest. For CA, you would have $800 a year to the franchise tax board no matter how much or how little your business does. Then you have the set up costs, accounting costs and the tax return costs. Easily $2000 for CA. Other states don't have the $800 annual fee, so again, it all depends.

Regarding the partnership, I highly recommend you have an attorney draft the operating agreement!