Free tax preparer invoice generator
Bill by return and by schedule, add e-filing, cleanup work and advisory time, and show clients exactly what drove the fee.
Build your tax preparer invoice
Prefilled with a 1040 plus Schedule C and a state return. Swap in your forms and fees, then download.
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What is a tax preparer invoice?
A tax preparer invoice prices work by what was actually filed. The base fee covers the return itself; each additional schedule, state, K-1 or depreciation form is its own line, because that is how the work scales and how clients understand the total.
Preparers who quote one flat number for "taxes" spend the rest of the season explaining it. An invoice that lists the 1040, the Schedule C, the two state returns and the twelve months of cleanup bookkeeping answers the question before it is asked.
Advisory and planning work belongs on separate lines from compliance work, at a different rate. It is the part of the practice clients value most and the part flat-fee invoicing hides.
What to include
Everything below is already in the generator above — this is what each part is for.
Tax year and return type
The year filed and the form — 1040, 1120-S, 1065 — so the invoice matches the engagement.
Base preparation fee
Your fee for the return itself, before schedules and states.
Additional schedules and states
Schedule C, E, D, K-1s and each additional state return, priced individually.
Bookkeeping cleanup
Catch-up or reconciliation hours needed before the return could be prepared.
E-filing and extensions
E-file fees, extension filings and amended returns as their own lines.
Advisory and planning time
Estimated payment planning, entity questions and IRS correspondence at your advisory rate.
Three steps to a finished PDF
Enter the engagement details
Client, tax year, return type and your PTIN or firm details.
Price the return by its parts
Base fee, then each schedule, state, K-1 and cleanup block as a line.
Download and send
Send the PDF with the return package, or invoice at engagement and collect before filing.
Pricing and collecting during season
Price per form, not per hour
Hourly billing punishes speed and invites disputes over how long a return "should" take. A per-form schedule — base return, plus a published price per additional schedule and state — makes fees predictable for the client and rewards your efficiency.
Collect before you file
- Invoice at the engagement letter, with a deposit for returning clients and full prepayment for new ones.
- Never release the e-file authorization before payment clears during peak weeks.
- Charge a stated rush fee for documents delivered inside the final two weeks.
Bill cleanup separately
Reconciling a year of neglected books is not tax preparation, and pricing it inside the return fee makes disorganised clients cheaper to serve than organised ones. Quote cleanup as its own hourly or fixed block, disclosed as soon as you see the file.
Three mistakes that delay payment
One flat "tax prep" line
Clients cannot see what they paid for, so every fee increase becomes an argument.
Filing before payment
Once the return is filed, your leverage is gone. Collect first.
Cleanup buried in the fee
Unbilled bookkeeping work is the single biggest margin leak in a seasonal practice.