Here is the honest answer about fee disputes. Almost none of them are really about the number. They are about a client who thought one thing was included and a preparer who thought it was extra, and neither one of them wrote it down in January.
So by the time February hits and the return has grown a Schedule C, two states and a rental, you are having a conversation you cannot win. Not because you are wrong, but because there is nothing on paper to point at.
What your intake has to capture before you quote
- Every filing status, dependent and state that touches the return.
- Business activity, even if the client calls it a side thing.
- Rental property, crypto, foreign accounts, and any year that is still unfiled.
- Who else has worked on this return, and what they left behind.
What your engagement letter has to say out loud
- What is in scope, in plain language, and what is billed separately.
- What happens when new information shows up after the quote.
- What you are responsible for, and what stays the client responsibility.
- How records are exchanged, and how long you keep them.
Scope creep is not a client problem. It is a documentation problem, and you can fix it before the season starts.
And go ahead and say the uncomfortable part in writing. A fee can change when the work changes. Clients almost never argue with that sentence in January. They argue with it in February when they are hearing it for the first time.