What an accountant costs
What does an accountant cost in Canada
Every starting fee published: personal tax from $65, bookkeeping from $500/mo, corporate year end from $2,500. Fee agreed in writing before paid work.
Prepared by HBT Accounting, a CPA led firm in CalgaryUpdated 5.0 on Google, 59 reviews
The number most firms will not put in writing
Most Canadian accounting firms answer this question with a conversation rather than a figure. HBT publishes the whole schedule. An individual personal return starts at $65. A business owner or self employed return starts at $350. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $500 per month. A corporate year end with the T2 return starts at $2,500.
What moves a fee above the starting price is the condition of the records and the volume of work, never a surprise at the end. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business put the 2024 regulatory compliance cost for all Canadian businesses at 51.5 billion dollars, and said the average small business spends about 32 business days a year on red tape. Knowing the accounting number in advance is the part you can actually control.
What moves a fee above the starting price
The state of the records
Reconciled books cost less to work from than a year of unsorted receipts. A cleanup is priced separately so you can see it.
Volume, not complexity alone
Transaction count, number of accounts, employees and properties drive the work more than the type of business does.
How many filings are involved
A single return is one price. A corporation with payroll, GST and a year end is a bundle, quoted as one.
How the work begins
Step 1: A free first conversation
What you run, what is filed, what is late. No charge and no obligation.
Step 2: A written fee
The scope and the price confirmed before any paid work starts.
Step 3: No moving target
If the work changes, you hear the new number before it is done, not after.
How much does an accountant cost in Canada?
At HBT Accounting an individual personal return starts at $65, a business owner or self employed return at $350, monthly bookkeeping at $500 per month, and a corporate year end with the T2 return at $2,500. GST returns start at $175 and payroll at $150 per month. All amounts are starting prices plus GST or HST where it applies, and the final fee is confirmed in writing before any paid work begins.
Personal tax from $65+. Bookkeeping from $500/mo+. Corporate year end and T2 from $2,500+. Final fees depend on scope, and we quote a fixed fee once the work is clear. The first conversation is free and takes about 10 to 15 minutes.