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Long Form Comparison

Below is an actual example of my Fees versus a national, commercial company that advertises on TV.

Long Form - You are paying for their advertising, Office Rent, Equipment , Staff Salaries, and HUGE CORPORATE BONUSES.

Form	Joe Lilly, CPA Fees	National Commercial Preparer Fees
Federal & State Income Tax Form 1040 includes one W-2 or 1099R Form	$ 40.00	$151.00
Each additional W-2 or 1099R Form	$ 10.00	-
Itemized Deduction Entries	$ 50.00	-
Electronic Filing Fee	None	$ 38.00
Total Long Form Fee with Electronic Filing	$ 100.00	$189.00

Refund Anticipation Loan Fees (RAL)

Because I care about my clients, and act in their best interest, I will not participate in a program which will loan a client his or her own money for three weeks, and charge the client an excessive fee.

Below is a true example of the RAL Fees associated with the "Long Form" listed above.

Refund Account Fee (they set up a bank account to deposit your refund).	$ 24.95
Finance charge - the cost that the client incurs to borrow their own money for 3 weeks.	$ 35.00
Total cost for a "Long Form," electronically filed, with the "RAL"	$248.95

Joe Lilly, CPA's fee charged for the same service, without the "RAL"	$ 100.00
Difference - The money that the client could have saved =	$153.95

The Annual Percentage Rate on this Tax Return was 117%

Also: This client did not have enough deductions to itemize, however, this National Firm charged the client for a "Long Form" instead of a "Short Form."

I would have immediately noticed this issue, and charged the client $25.00.

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