While we draw on significant experience and expertise to provide our high quality tax advisory services, we believe our fees remain significantly lower than those charged by individual tax advisers or advisory firms for publicly available comparable services .
We understand…
That the fees Tax Australia charge is a key factor in determining whether you will choose to use our services, and
That the fees charged must deliver value to your client, and
That you don’t want to be left out of pocket at the end of the process (Our expectation is that you will seek to at least fully recover our fees from your client).
Simple matter
A simple matter may be one where you are seeking confirmation of a position you have reached or where you are needing an answer in writing on a single issue. You would generally provide us with any facts upfront for a simple matter and these facts should not usually need further clarification.
We provide our advice for a simple matter by email rather than in a letter of advice. Advice provided for a simple matter is specific to the circumstances as outlined by you but will not include formal referencing and is provided in a more informal format.
Example of a simple matter
The client of a member had current year capital gains and carried forward capital losses as well as both the general CGT discount and the Small business CGT concessions applying to reduce the net capital gain to be included in their assessable income.
Following general guidance given to the member by the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia helpline service, the member had calculated the net capital gain to be included in their client’s assessable income but was unsure if they had applied each element of the calculation in the correct order. Tax Australia reviewed the calculation prepared by the member and provided them with a written response by email confirming the elements of the calculation that were correct and providing specific details of adjustments needed for the remaining elements.
Typical fee range: $500 - $1,250 (plus GST)
Standard matter
A standard matter will usually involve a single issue on which the facts and tax outcome can be readily determined. You may provide us with some documents or other information to consider, but this will not be extensive and we should be able to provide our advice without needing further information or clarification from you.
The issue being addressed in a standard matter may be more complex than an issue addressed as a simple matter, or you may just require a higher level of support for your position.
Advice provided for a standard matter will usually be a fully referenced letter of advice which sets out the facts, discusses the application of any relevant legislation, ATO views, cases, and other explanatory material to the circumstances, and provides a summary or opinion of where your client stands and, if necessary, what action should be taken.
Example of a standard matter
A member’s client had sold their family business and the member had formed a preliminary view that their client was likely eligible to apply the CGT Small business concessions to reduce the capital gain from the sale but sought the services of Tax Australia to confirm this and provide guidance on which specific concessions could be applied.
Tax Australia prepared a letter of advice which explained the general eligibility criteria for the CGT Small business concessions, including references to the relevant legislation, and discussed how they applied in the circumstances to support the member’s view that their client satisfied the general conditions to access the CGT Small business concessions as well as to provide advice that, relying on the circumstances as outlined by the member, their client was eligible to entirely disregard the capital gain from the sale of their family business using the Small business 15-year exemption.
Typical fee range: $1,250 - $3,750 (plus GST)
Complex matter
A complex matter will potentially address multiple issues, or it may involve complex structures or facts. There may be significant documentation or information to be considered. We may need to make requests for further information or have discussions to clarify the facts and circumstances. The tax issues involved will generally require us to conduct detailed research to provide our advice.
Example of a complex matter
A member contacted Tax Australia for some guidance on how to respond to a position paper which had been issued during an ATO audit of their client.
Tax Australia thoroughly reviewed the ATO audit position paper, researched the relevant legislative provisions as they applied to the client’s circumstances, referred to relevant ATO views and case law, reviewed other documents relevant to the respective positions of the ATO and the member on behalf of their client, and formed a view that we agreed with the position of the member on the relevant technical issues.
Tax Australia then provided written advice in a format suitable to be submitted directly by the member to the ATO on behalf of their client in response to the ATO audit position paper. This advice provided a rebuttal with respect to each issue raised in the ATO audit position paper as well as outlining facts and technical arguments (backed by legislation, case law and ATO views) which supported the member’s position on the relevant technical issues but which had not been considered in the ATO position paper.
Typical fee range: $3,750 - $10,000 (plus GST)
Highly complex matter
A highly complex matter will typically be similar to a complex matter but may involve multiple entities or parties to a transaction, require consultation with other advisers, or involve the consideration of tax issues that remain unsettled at law.
Typical fee range: $10,000 + (plus GST)
Ongoing matters
As any financial professional will appreciate, there are some matters that take an extended time to resolve, and it is not always possible to quote a fixed fee for our services upfront in such cases. If your client has an ongoing matter we are assisting you with, where practical we will give you a quote for a fixed fee for each segment of work as it arises, or we may instead charge our fees on a rate per hour basis.
Current hourly rate: $350 (plus GST)
Meetings
Whilst initial meetings required to understand the scope and nature of advice required are generally included in the fees quoted for a matter, any additional meetings or phone conversations required between Tax Australia , you (and your client if necessary), or other people necessarily involved in the matter are not usually included. Where such meetings are necessary we will generally charge our fees on a rate per hour basis.
Current hourly rate: $350 (plus GST)