tax consultant rates

[sevenlights]

Hi

Before my solicitor would take on my case he advised me to see a tax consultant about some issues re inheritance tax as he wanted certain things in writing. I sat in front of a tax advisor for 15 minutes and got a bill in the post for 1150 euros. I raised the issue with my accountant and he just said I had to pay it. I think this is extortionate. When I pressed my accountant further he merely said that the tax advisor had new offices that needed paying for! is there somewhere I can go about this to find out what the rate should be?

 

[woods]

Get a friend to call the same office to make an appointment and ask what the charge will be.
Sometimes these people charge a % of what they feel their advise has saved you in tax. Did they save you a lot of money.

 

[ClubMan]

Just curious - why didn't you ask them what the consultation would cost in advance?

 

[bazermc]

I sat in front of a tax advisor for 15 minutes and got a bill in the post for 1150 euros.

This post will be deleted if not edited immediately that is a lot, i use to work in the tax practice of a big 4 firm and the partners were charged out a 900 per hour that was only a year ago, but 1150 for 1/4 hour? thats madness!

The problem is of course what can you do? next time I would recommend asking first what the likely fee will be! Was the advice any good? did it save much tax?

 

[daveccork]

you sat in front of him for 15 minutes but did he have to do work (research etc) after you left his office? Did he have you write a letter or report for you?

I agree it is a lot of money - maybe you should query the tax consultant on the basis for the charge (what time was spent etc). There may have been more involved than you think, if there wasn't then hopefully you may get some discount after you query it.

 

[sevenlights]

Thanks guys, at the time I was in such a hole and had literally no time to shop around. I was told this guy was the best, he did write a report and he did ensure that the 250k I would have had to pay be deferred untill I sold the property I inherited. I still feel its alot of money though. I admit I was completely stupid not to check his rates before hand. I take it there is no set rate then for these consultations then?

 

[daveccork]

no there are no set rates - clients are usually billed on a time basis. The charge out rate of each individual would be based on experience, qualifications etc. quite often these time basis figures are used as a guideline and the person may charge more / less as they see fit.

The meeting, writing the report and the follow up work may have taken a few hours - perhaps it is not as bad as it appears. You may have gotten good value for money but without knowing the specifics it is hard to say

one other minor point is that you mention that this person is thought to be v competent - sometimes it is worth paying for good advice - if it was a complicated case then another professional may have a) taken longer and therefore charged as much or b) not given the same quality of advice.

Whilst you should have checked the rates first, don't beat yourself up about it. You have the piece of mind of knowing that you have (hopefully) minimised your tax bill. you could have got advice for €300 and gone away happy with that while unknowingly paying excessive tax. Hopefully whilst the payment of the tax was deferred you earned interest on the €250k !!!

I work for a medium sized accountancy practice and not many invoices leave our offices for less than that !!

 

[sevenlights]

Thanks for that dave its made me feel a bit better!

 

[Ravima]

did he save you money?

if so, was the saving in excess of the fee?

if so, what's teh problem?

 

[ubiquitous]

Hi

Before my solicitor would take on my case...he wanted certain things in writing. I sat in front of a tax advisor for 15 minutes

If the tax consultant provided your solicitor with a written report (on a matter which by its very nature must have been complicated), the 15 minutes spent in your meeting would normally be a small fraction of the total time commitment. With written reports there is also the added likelihood of litigation if the advice given is incorrect, so everything has to be researched and double-checked to the point of certainty.

For what its worth €1150 is a pittance in the context of a tax bill of €250,000 and the interest costs you presumably would have borne had you failed to obtain the tax deferral.

 

[MandaC]

I would not see that amount as excessive. We charge €500 per hour for consultations and after that have a schedule of charges depending on what the client requires. However, we do complete a letter of engagement for new clients before commencing any work on their behalf setting out the fees and payment terms.

Its not printing a report that cost you the money, its the knowledge of knowing what to print in it.

 

[Graham_07]

This forum has seen the issue of professionals charges on many threads. Unfortunately, there are people who do not appreciate the work and knowledge base, built up over years, which go into the preparation of reports / accounts or whatever. A solicitor or tax consultant or accountant is not charging for that 15 minutes you spend with them but as MandaC said, for the years of work & study and office and related costs which bring them to that position.

For what it's worth I consider a deferral, potentially indefinitely, of a tax bill of €250K for a cost of €1,150 is extremely good value, however the charge was calculated.

 

[MOB]

I am a practicing solicitor. When newly qualified I started to take the Tax Institute exams, and became an expert in Capital Gains and Capital Acquisitions taxes. I found that the senior solicitors in my firm would often wheel me into the room to give on-the-spot tax advice to clients. I found it difficult to persuade either the solicitors or the clients that this was an extra which should be billed for. In later years, I eased back on efforts to keep up to date with every new change in the law. I went from classifying myself as an expert in these taxes to classifying myself as a solicitor with above average knowledge, but falling somewhere short of being an expert. I still get people coming to me for tax advice, but I generally have to research more, and refer out more.

The bottom line for a general legal practitioner is that the amount of tax advice work coming in does not usually justify the time cost of keeping your expertise at the highest level. It is more efficient to buy this expertise when required.