I think you’re saying you require form 1040 but no Schedule A, probably a schedule B, Schedule E and depreciation schedules. Yes, that is a great rate. If you are low maintenance and don’t require interview time, that is, you can fill out the yearly update properly and he can just review and input and process, it is a good, fair rate.
You see, he doesn’t function as a tax monkey just inputting your numbers. Professional standards require that he documents each file by xeroxing everything you give him (1098’s, 1099’s, W-2), creating workpapers and tying all numbers, paging, and referencing. That takes some time. He also probably utilizes a tax program online and is charged for each schedule and form he needs. The task is more than jamming numbers in the computer and he has to be able to logically, without the computer, review the final work product, form to form, to ensure both the flow of numbers is correct and that the numbers are on the correct forms. This requires extensive knowledge of tax theory. To draw an analogy, it is like being able to perform a complex algebraic function with pencil and paper versus inputting the numbers and hitting an answer key without conceptualizing how to derive the solution.
