Like AZUKHiker, my state still has itemized deductions and property tax credits so I still have to enter the Schedule A information anyway, although obviously being in Florida you don't have to deal with that as much.
Being big picture here: all prices are arbitrary. Being accountants, a lot of us want to make it feel more scientific or math-based, so we try to tie our fees to hours spent or to which forms and schedules are involved on a tax return, but really there is nothing inherent that makes an hour "worth" $X or a Schedule E "worth" $Y. And every time we write off a billable hour or discount a form, we prove that the pricing model we pretend to use is in reality a veneer for our judgment.
My judgment is that we're helping our clients navigate the most significant change to tax law in 30 years and I shouldn't be charging less for a slightly simpler tax return when I'm providing more value than ever to my clients.
CathysTaxes wrote:I charge per form so if a client doesn't need Schedule A, they won't be charged. I usually have a small increase on the 1040 each year.
Trust me; don't reduce your fee. If a client who itemizes in 2017 comes back in 2018 for a standard deduction return (all else equal) since they were happy paying $X last year, charge them the same. If nothing else, you're setting up a cookie jar reserve to smooth out the fees for when the client starts a small business or gets an inheritance or starts contributing to an HSA.
Tax software prices are going up (even Drake is increasing their prices this year!). Health insurance, up. Auto insurance, up. Long term care insurance, up. CPE prices, up (and if you're like me, you'll be taking more CPE than last year). Gasoline, up. Strawberry preserves, up. You'll be an even stronger professional next year than you were this year; why should you be the one that eats ramen (which, incidentally, I saw at my grocery store went up from 19c to 20c)?