Tax Preparation Time & Cost Planner
Use IRS Form 1040 burden averages as a starting point, then adjust for the number of returns, tax years, state returns, and your own pace.
Total estimated preparation time10
- Federal recordkeeping time
- 3
- Federal tax-planning time
- 1
- Federal completion and submission time
- 3
- Other federal tax tasks
- 1
- State-return time
- 2
- Work sessions needed
- 5
- Estimated weeks needed
- 2.5
- IRS average out-of-pocket cost benchmark
- $160.00
- Value of preparation time
- $300.00
- Combined planning burden
- $460.00
Federal time breakdown
| Activity | IRS hours per return | Adjusted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Recordkeeping | 3 | 3 |
| Tax planning | 1 | 1 |
| Completion and submission | 3 | 3 |
| Other tasks | 1 | 1 |
Federal time and cost use IRS Form 1040 burden averages for the selected return type.
State-return time is added from your estimate and is not part of the IRS federal benchmark.
How to use this calculator
- Choose the federal return type that best matches the returns you expect to prepare.
- Enter how many federal and state returns you will work on for each tax year.
- Adjust the pace factor if your records are unusually organized, complex, or incomplete.
- Set your work-session length and sessions per week to turn the hours into a schedule.
- Enter an hourly value for your time if you want a planning cost, or use zero to leave it out.
How the estimate is calculated
The planner starts with the IRS Taxpayer Burden Model averages shown in the Form 1040 instructions. For a nonbusiness return, the federal benchmark is 8 hours total: 3 hours for recordkeeping, 1 hour for tax planning, 3 hours for completion and submission, and 1 hour for other tasks. For a business return, the benchmark is 21 hours total: 10 hours for recordkeeping, 4 hours for tax planning, 5 hours for completion and submission, and 2 hours for other tasks.
The calculator uses the same split to show where the federal time goes. Let F be federal returns per year, Y be tax years, M be the pace factor divided by 100, S be state returns per year, E be hours per state return, H be hours per work session, W be sessions per week, and V be the hourly value of your time.
The federal workload is:
adjusted federal hours = IRS total hours × F × Y × M
State time is entered separately because the IRS federal table does not estimate state returns:
state hours = S × Y × E
The headline is total hours = adjusted federal hours + state hours. Work sessions are ceiling(total hours ÷ H), and estimated weeks are sessions ÷ W.
How costs are handled
The IRS table also reports average out-of-pocket costs. This calculator uses $160 for each nonbusiness federal return and $610 for each business federal return, then multiplies that benchmark by federal returns and tax years. That figure can include software, professional preparation, postage, and related expenses, but it is not a quote from a preparer.
The time-value line is separate: time value = total hours × V. The combined planning burden is the IRS cost benchmark plus that time value. Set the hourly value to zero when you only want the IRS out-of-pocket benchmark and the schedule.
What moves the result most
The return type usually has the largest effect because the IRS business benchmark is more than twice the nonbusiness benchmark. The pace factor matters next: a 150% setting turns an 8-hour federal benchmark into 12 hours before state returns are added. Multiple federal returns and prior-year returns multiply the federal burden directly.
What this calculator leaves out
This is a planning tool, not a tax calculation. It does not decide whether you must file, which forms are required, whether a return is complete, what deadline applies, or whether hiring a preparer is better. State-return hours come only from your input, and individual returns can take much more or less time than a population average.
Worked example
Suppose you prepare one nonbusiness federal return for one tax year, expect one state return, work at 100% of the IRS average, spend 2 hours per state return, work in 2-hour sessions, schedule 2 sessions per week, and value your time at $30 per hour.
The federal benchmark is 8 hours, made up of 3 hours of recordkeeping, 1 hour of planning, 3 hours of completion and submission, and 1 hour of other tasks. State time adds 1 × 1 × 2 = 2 hours, so total estimated preparation time is 10 hours. At 2 hours per session, that is 5 sessions, or 2.5 weeks at 2 sessions per week.
The IRS cost benchmark is $160. The time value is 10 × $30 = $300, so the combined planning burden is $460.
Common questions
How long does the average tax return take to prepare?
The IRS Form 1040 burden table lists 8 hours for an average nonbusiness return and 21 hours for an average business return. This calculator multiplies those federal averages by the number of returns, tax years, and your pace factor, then adds state-return time from your own estimate.
What makes a return a business return in this table?
The IRS burden table treats a return as a business return when it includes business-related schedules or forms such as Schedule C, E, or F, or Form 2106. If different returns in your household have different complexity, estimate them separately instead of averaging them into one entry.
Does tax-preparation time include gathering records?
Yes. The IRS benchmark includes recordkeeping as one activity, and the calculator shows it separately from planning, completion and submission, and other tasks. Recordkeeping can dominate the workload when documents are missing or spread across several accounts.
Are state tax returns included in the IRS burden estimate?
No. The federal burden table is for federal Form 1040 work, so this planner asks for state returns and estimated state hours separately. Enter zero state returns if your state has no income tax return or you do not expect to prepare one.
Can this compare self-preparation with hiring a preparer?
It can frame the workload side of that decision by showing hours, sessions, IRS average out-of-pocket costs, and the value you assign to your own time. It does not quote professional fees, judge tax quality, or measure the risk of mistakes.