Cost for a Tax Specialist

[Adam M.]

Hi Everyone,

I am relatively new to rental properties and currently own 3 single family properties as rentals. I’m trying to better understand the cost for a tax specialist. With just three properties, do you think it’s worth hiring a CPA or tax specialist who focuses on real estate? If so, what would be the cost? 

Thank you, 

Adam 

[Jonathan Small]

I own 30-40 LTR. mostly SFH. My wife and I have a W2 job. rentals are split between 3 LLCs. We usually have 2-5 properties a year that we buy or sale. I pay one CPA about $5k yr. I pay an accountant about $2k yr. I also hire one of the big national 20 CPA firms to review returns every 2-3 years. That cost me about $1,000 each time. I do this for piece of mind and redundancy. Return is about 210 pages. Accountant is more for double checking return and having in depth conversations about taxes and business. I think my fees are high until I shop around and then I am thankful. Other CPAs and firms have quoted me 5k-10k+ but are no where near as responsive and personable as my current CPA and accountant.