Fees
Dr. Dion Gouws, CPA bills hourly, against a retainer, under a written engagement letter. There are no contingent fees, no percentage-of- savings fees, and no "flat fee that grows." Treasury Circular 230 restricts contingent fees for this work for licensed practitioners; more to the point, hourly billing keeps our advice honest — we have no incentive to file an offer that shouldn't be filed.
| Hourly rate | $300 per hour, billed in six-minute increments |
|---|---|
| Initial retainer | $3,000, applied against hourly work; unused balance refunded |
| Typical engagement | 12–25 hours depending on the completeness of your records and IRS response times — itemized statements as work proceeds |
| IRS costs (paid to IRS, not us) | $205 application fee plus a required initial offer payment, unless you qualify for the low-income certification |
What the retainer covers first
Early work is diagnostic: reviewing transcripts, verifying balances and collection statute dates, and computing your Reasonable Collection Potential. If that analysis shows an offer is not viable, we tell you before further costs accrue — that conversation is the single most valuable thing you can pay a preparer for.
The free pre-check on this site and the IRS Pre-Qualifier cost nothing and take minutes. Use them before spending money with anyone.