The Tax Preparer Referral Conversation For High-Net-Worth Retirees
Episode 21
The Tax Preparer Referral Conversation For High-Net-Worth Retirees
Published on February 4th, 2026
Episode 21 of Retirement Tax Matters is Part 2 of our series exploring the shift high-net-worth retirees face when moving from DIY tax filing to using a professional tax preparer. (Here’s a link to Part 1 discussing the difference between Tax Planning and Tax Preparation.) As a portfolios grow between $2M and $8M we discuss why the desire to save a few hundred dollars on software can miss opportunities and unnecessary stress for a surviving spouse. This episode provides a transparent anecdotal look at the 2026 pricing landscape, noting that established CPA firms’ prices are increasing for a basic 1040 return and why. Garrett explains why your expectations are an important piece to the decision of using a tax preparer, clarifying that while a CPA ensures technical compliance and filing, they often do not default to providing the deep, forward-looking strategy found in tax-return driven financial planning. Listeners will learn why the synergy between an accessible tax preparer and a fiduciary planner is beneficial to prevent costly IRMAA surcharges or missed Roth opportunities.
Key Tax Planning Questions
Question 1: CPA vs Enrolled Agent: which is better for a High-Net-Worth retiree?
There is often confusion surrounding the alphabet soup of tax credentials, but here is the main takeaway for a retiree with a net worth between $2M and $8M: Either designation can be an excellent fit, provided they pass the accessibility test.
While I won't bore you with the technical details of each, here are the high-level distinctions:
CPA (Certified Public Accountant): This is often considered the gold standard of tax. These professionals have passed rigorous comprehensive exams that cover a broad scope, including auditing, business financial accounting, and corporate law. You will often find CPAs as the partners or owners of established firms. While many do tax preparation, many specialize in other areas of tax that are not applicable to HNW Retirees.
EA (Enrolled Agent): These are federally-licensed tax practitioners who specialize specifically in personal and business taxation and representation before the IRS.
Many high-net-worth retirees assume they need a CPA because of their wealth level. I would argue this is a misconception. An experienced Enrolled Agent is often just as qualified—sometimes even more focused—to handle personal and business tax returns for retirees.
Finding The Best Fit: Instead of focusing solely on the letters after their name, I recommend using these three filters to vet a professional:
Must Have a Credential: Ensure they are either a CPA or an Enrolled Agent.
Retirement Focused: Can they demonstrate familiarity with the specific tax hurdles of your $2M–$8M portfolio? Do they speak fluent about Roth Conversion, Medicare IRMAA, and Net Investment Income Tax?
Accessibility: Tied with having integrity, this is the most critical factor. I would choose an accessible Enrolled Agent who returns calls and collaborates on tax projections over a highly qualified CPA who is difficult or near impossible to reach.
As a non-tax person, it can be difficult to know how to evaluate the right tax preparer professional for yourself. Just like a primary care doctor refers you to a specialist, a tax-focused financial planner can often refer you to a local CPA or EA who aligns with this philosophy. Don't let the EA designation feel like the lesser of the two. If they are accessible and competent in retirement tax planning, they are a winning partner.
I also understand that cost is a major factor to the clients I work with. While there may be a significant cost difference in hiring a CPA or EA to help you with your tax (rather than DIY’ing with Turbo Tax) I encourage clients with sizable portfolios between $2M-$8M to consider if that’s the highest and best use of their time, and if they’re married, with a surviving spouse want to pick up the pieces you left? It may be you’re clinging to old habits, and this additional annual expense could be worth it and inconsequential to your overall financial standing.
Question 2: Average cost of CPA tax return for $5M net worth?
While fees vary significantly by region and firm size, here is an anecdotal benchmark I am seeing for 2026 based on my work with clients in the Southeast United States: Expect a starting point of around $750 for a standard, high-quality basic retiree tax return. Tax preparers typically charge based on complexity and forms, not on how large your portfolio is.
The $750+ Baseline: Usually covers a standard Form 1040 with typical retiree schedules (Social Security, Interest/Dividends, 1099-Rs, standard deductions, etc.).
The Variables: If you have a small business (Schedule C), rental properties (Schedule E), or complex K-1s from private investments, the fee will naturally increase because the workload increases.
The Consulting Gap The $750 fee usually covers filing the return correctly but not necessarily the forward-looking planning that many High-net-worth retirees are looking for.
Projections & Questions: If you call your CPA mid-year for a complex projection or a what-if scenario, many firms will bill this hourly on top of the preparation fee. I’ve interacted with some firms where if it’s a quick question, it may not result in additional costs. But as the complexity of your question increases, the hourly rate starts to kick-in.
The Financial Planner Synergy: This is where having a tax-return driven financial planner pays off. By handling the heavy lifting of tax projections and organizing your data (Roth conversions, RMDs, capital gains) before it goes to the CPA, they can often save the tax preparer time. Once you provide the written authorization for your financial planner to communicate, they can deliver this information directly to them so you don't have to be the messenger. This can reduce your hourly consulting bill and ensures the CPA can focus on what they do best: filing a compliant return.
Question 3: My CPA keeps telling me to defer income to lower my tax bill this year, but my financial planner is telling me to accelerate income through Roth conversions to save money over my lifetime. How do I get these two professionals on the same page so I’m not stuck in the middle trying to decide who is right
You likely hired the right person, but your expectations for when and how that planning happens may need to be adjusted.
Many high-net-worth retirees assume that hiring a premium tax firm means they will automatically receive deep, forward-looking strategy sessions during tax season. The reality is that from January through April, even the best tax firms must prioritize one thing: accurate, timely filing. Their internal processes are streamlined to gather your data and ensure you remain compliant with the IRS. My experience has been if you simply follow their standard intake steps, you will likely get a standard result— a correctly filed tax return —rather than a proactive planning meeting.
The Value of Accurate Filing It is important not to undervalue the service of filing the return itself. There is immense value in having a reputable professional ensure your return is technically accurate and filed on time. For many of my clients, the peace of mind in knowing that a professional is handling this essential task—and is there to support a surviving spouse if something happens to you—is worth the fee alone.
How to Get the Planning You Want If you want forward-looking strategy, you often have to ask for it. And you might have to push a little bit more than you expect. Most tax professionals enjoy doing proactive planning, but because their primary deadline is filing the return, they may not offer that additional service unless you explicitly request it.
Be an Advocate: You or your financial planner may need to step outside the standard process and let the tax office know you are looking for additional tax planning, not just tax filing.
The Best Timing: I have found that the Fall (September–November) is the ideal time to engage your tax preparer for this work. This is when the urgency of tax season has passed, and they have the capacity to review the end-of-year projections that your financial planner has prepared. The best news for those working with a tax-return driven financial planner is that the fall is also the time they want to work with your tax preparer.
Full Episode Transcript
Adam: Good morning and welcome to Retirement Tax Matters. I’m Adam Reed, and this is Garrett Crawford, our resident CFP® professional. We are back in business! The holidays were a little all over the place, and we prerecorded some content, but having recorded last week and this week, it feels like we’re on a streak. Watch out for the rest of the year!
Garrett: Streaks are not meant to be broken.
Adam: No, we’re going straight through to the end of the year now. I’m glad to be back with you all today. To get the classic stuff out of the way: follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Like, subscribe, and all that fun stuff. One of the main things we want to remind people of is our website. Under the "Free Resources" tab—or in the description below if you're on YouTube—we have a five-point checklist for do-it-yourselfers, people who work with an advisor, or those who work with us. These are important things to keep in mind as you journey through tax-return-driven financial planning. We want to ensure the IRS isn't your biggest beneficiary in retirement.
We’ll jump into the meat of it today. Last week, we started part one, talking about the difference between tax preparation and tax planning. Now, we want to talk more practically about what it looks like to work with a tax preparer, whether that’s an Enrolled Agent or a CPA.
Many people looking for content like this are do-it-yourselfers who have done their own tax returns their whole lives. You might be frugal and have saved well—many high-net-worth retirees in the $2 million to $8 million range have done the hard work themselves. But now there is a paradigm shift. Garrett, what does it look like when clients who have worked hard for 65 or 70 years finally decide to delegate this?
Garrett: This is a great topic. It’s a conversation I have behind closed doors with clients all the time. As we’ve gotten deeper into tax-return-driven financial planning, the necessity to partner with clients' tax preparers has grown. My knowledge here is anecdotal based on what I experience. I’m not trying to create an umbrella stereotype for every firm because every firm is different. However, I’ve noticed that 2020 was a big catalyst for change in this industry regarding cost and inflation.
Many people enter retirement doing their own taxes. Some still do it by hand with a pencil, while many have shifted to TurboTax. About half of our clients do their own taxes, while the other half work with a preparer. Early on, people do it themselves because their situation is simple—mostly W-2s and a little interest.
Adam: It’s much simpler when you’re getting started. It's not too complex early on.
Garrett: Exactly. TurboTax is great for that; you upload your forms and have a high degree of confidence. But the idea of doing it yourself vs. feeling like you're leaving something on the table usually comes to a head in your 60s or 70s. For high-net-worth retirees, old habits die hard. This applies to spending, saving, and tax prep. You might have started with nothing, built great habits, and suddenly your accounts have grown from $500,000 to $2.5 million. It’s hard to break the habit of thinking you can't afford to delegate.
Eventually, you realize you're getting older and want to ensure that if something happens to you, your spouse won't be overwhelmed by tax forms. They need a name and a face to go to. More importantly, the light bulb goes off when clients realize, "I have the funds. Why am I stressing over my tax return and wondering if I’m doing it right?" Whether it costs $500 or $750, they realize it's long overdue to hand that task off.
Adam: You just alluded to the next topic: cost. If someone is 65 or 70 and decides they can "swing an accountant," what does it cost these days? What is the baseline for a DIY solution versus a professional with all the bells and whistles?
Garrett: Most people want a lot of hand-holding and service for just a couple hundred dollars. But things have changed. In the tax world, 2020 was the marker. Tax preparation costs have gone up. Since I started in 2013, I've seen the spectrum of options evolve. At the bottom, you have the $30 to $50 solution, like TurboTax. If your financial situation is simple—some 1099-Rs, Social Security, and an investment account—that can work well for people.
As you go up, the next step is usually a retail or franchise tax prep office. You’re looking at maybe $300 or $400 for a basic return. It gets the taxes filed without you touching a computer, but the challenge there is often turnover; the person you like this year might not be there next year. Then you have the local, established CPA firms. This is where many high-net-worth retirees end up. For a basic 1040 tax return in 2026, $750 is a good starting benchmark. It can escalate from there if you have a small business or extra forms, but that’s where you get that established competence and a professional process.
Adam: It’s important to note that more money doesn’t always mean more complexity. You can have $8 million and have a very simple return, or $100,000 and have a very complicated one involving real estate or business ownership.
Garrett: Right. A local CPA office provides established competence and a professional process. They are also more personable. If you are working with a financial planner like us, you want someone your planner is comfortable with to ensure a seamless experience. While you pay more for a CPA, the synergy between a planner and a tax preparer is invaluable. A planner handles the long-term tax planning, while the CPA handles the compliance and filing.
Adam: And a shameless plug: our firm actually pays for tax preparation for clients with over $3 million in assets. To wrap up, let's talk about expectations. If someone reaches out to a CPA for the first time, what should they expect during that first tax season?
Garrett: Expectation is everything. I learned this the hard way. I referred a client to a great local CPA. Later, the client told me the experience wasn't spectacular. Why? Because he expected the CPA to sit down for an hour and discuss his "grand life plan" like we do. Instead, the CPA’s office felt like a high-end version of the retail experience: a checklist, an interview, and the filing. They did a great job on the taxes, but the client wondered why he was paying $750 for the same "process" he got for $400 elsewhere.
I had to explain that most CPAs are designed for tax preparation—getting the forms right and staying compliant. They are on a "highway" of filing during tax season. If you want deep tax planning, you have to be very clear with them, and they may charge extra for that. The real value is the "coordination of care" between your planner and your CPA.
Adam: One last pro tip: if you’re shopping for a new CPA, do it in the summer. If you try to interview someone in February, you aren't going to get much attention because they are in the thick of it.
Garrett: Exactly. I just had a situation where a client had a family emergency during tax season. I talked to the CPA, and we simply filed an extension. It allowed the client to focus on their family instead of a deadline. That’s the benefit of having an accessible professional.
Adam: Well, speaking of expectations, you can expect many more episodes from us this year. Check out the website—Garrett gave it a facelift, and it looks very professional. We have categories for financial psychology, Roth conversions, and tax planning. Don’t forget to grab the five-point checklist in the description. Thanks for tuning in. I’m Adam Reed, with Garrett Crawford. This is Retirement Tax Matters.