At some point, most small business owners in the Metro East ask us the same question, usually in the first five minutes of a call: “What does this actually cost?”
It’s a fair question, and we’d rather answer it straight than make you sit through a sales pitch to find out. CPA pricing varies more than people expect, and the range depends on what you actually need, not just how big your business is.
This guide breaks down the accountant cost in Metro East. Illinois, in 2026, what drives the price up or down, and how to figure out which service level actually fits where your business is right now.
What Does a CPA Charge per Hour in Metro East Illinois?
Most CPAs in the Metro East and greater St. Louis area bill somewhere between $150 and $300 per hour for standard advisory and tax work, depending on the complexity of what you bring them.
That range sits below the national average, which the National Association of Tax Professionals pegs closer to $180-$400 per hour for CPA services.
Metro East is a mid-market, and pricing reflects that. If someone’s quoting you $400 an hour for routine bookkeeping review, that’s a mismatch.
If someone’s quoting you $80 an hour for a complex multi-entity tax strategy, ask questions.
Hourly billing is common for advisory work, one-off projects, and situations where the scope is genuinely hard to pin down in advance. For recurring work like bookkeeping or tax prep, most firms, including ours, move toward flat fees because it’s easier for everyone to budget.
How Much Does Tax Preparation Cost for a Small Business?
Small business tax preparation in the Metro East typically runs $500 to $2,500, depending on your entity type, the condition of your books, and how complicated your return is.
A sole proprietor with clean books and a straightforward Schedule C is on the low end. An S-corporation or partnership return with multiple owners, depreciation schedules, and year-end adjustments is on the high end. The IRS Statistics of Income data confirms that business return complexity is the single biggest driver of prep cost, not firm size or geography.
Let’s look at an example. We worked with a Metro East contractor who had been paying $350 to a national chain for his return for three years. When he switched to us, his return was more involved (S-corp election, vehicle expenses, a subcontractor he’d started using), and his fee went up to $900. But we also caught a depreciation method that wasn’t working in his favor and restructured it, which put real money back in the right place. The fee went up, and so did the return.
The cheapest tax prep is not always the least expensive option when you add up what gets missed.
What Does Monthly Bookkeeping Cost for a Small Business in Illinois?
Monthly bookkeeping for a small business in Metro East Illinois generally runs $300 to $1,500 per month, depending on transaction volume, payroll complexity, and whether you need financial statements prepared alongside the books.
A solo consultant or freelancer with 50 transactions a month is closer to $300-$500. A retail shop with multiple employees, vendor payments, and inventory tracking can push $1,000-$1,500 or higher. The BLS breaks out bookkeeping as a distinct occupational category with a median national hourly rate of around $23 for bookkeepers without CPA credentials, but that’s not what you’re buying when you hire a CPA firm for this work. You’re buying the oversight layer, the catch-it-before-it-hurts step, and the person who sees the pattern in your numbers before you file.
Year-round small business accounting, where the CPA keeps the books current and uses them for ongoing tax strategy, is where the pricing conversation shifts from “what does bookkeeping cost” to “what does a CPA partner cost.” Those are different questions.
What’s the Difference Between a Bookkeeper and a CPA, and Does It Affect Price?
Yes, it affects price, and the gap matters more than people realize when tax decisions are involved.
A bookkeeper categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, and keeps your records current. They’re essential, and good ones are worth every dollar. But they can’t sign your tax return, give you licensed tax advice, or represent you in front of the IRS. A CPA can do all of that. When you hire a CPA firm for bookkeeping, you’re getting a bookkeeper’s work product reviewed by someone with a license on the line, which means things get caught that a bookkeeper might not flag because it’s not in their lane.
The price difference between a bookkeeper-only service and a CPA-firm-managed accounting relationship is real, but for most Metro East small businesses doing $500K or more in revenue, the CPA layer pays for itself in tax positioning alone. That’s not a guarantee of any specific number, it’s just what we see consistently when businesses come to us after running standalone bookkeeping for a few years.
Do CPAs Charge Differently For S-Corps vs. LLCs?
In most cases, yes. S-corporation returns (Form 1120-S) are more involved than a single-member LLC’s Schedule C, and most CPA firms price them accordingly.
A single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietor files a Schedule C on the owner’s personal return. That’s one return. An S-corp files a business return (1120-S) plus a K-1 for each shareholder, plus the owner typically has to run a reasonable salary through payroll, which means payroll filings too. More forms, more moving parts, more time. Business tax planning for an S-corp also tends to require more year-round check-ins to make sure owner compensation is set correctly and estimated payments aren’t creating a cash problem.
That said, the S-corp structure often saves Metro East business owners meaningful money in self-employment tax once net profit clears a certain threshold, typically somewhere in the $50,000-$80,000 net profit range, depending on the owner’s full picture. The added CPA cost is usually a fraction of those savings.
What Factors Make CPA Fees Go Up?
Several things push CPA fees higher, and most of them are controllable on your end.
Messy books are the biggest ones. When a CPA has to reconstruct six months of transactions before they can even see what the tax situation looks like, that time gets billed. It’s not punitive, it’s just accurate. If your books are clean and current every month, your year-end cost goes down. Incomplete records, missing receipts, and accounts that haven’t been reconciled in a year all add time.
Multiple entities compound the work fast. If you own two LLCs and a holding company, that’s potentially three returns. Real estate activity, rental income, depreciation schedules, and cost segregation studies all add layers. Filing late or needing a rush turnaround in March also adds cost because it disrupts a firm’s whole schedule, not just yours.
The cleanest way to keep CPA costs predictable is to keep the books clean and communicate early. That sounds obvious, but it’s the number we see drive the most variation in bills from client to client.
Is it Worth Paying for a Year-Round CPA Relationship vs. Just Tax Season?
For most small business owners in Metro East, the year-round model costs more upfront and saves more overall, though we’re not going to promise a specific number because every situation is different.
The case for year-round: tax decisions don’t happen in April. They happen when you buy equipment, hire a W-2 employee instead of a contractor, change your owner comp, or elect S-corp status. All of those decisions have tax consequences that need to be made in real time to actually work in your favor. A CPA you only talk to in March can file accurately, but they can’t go back and fix a decision you made in August.
The owners who tell us they feel like they finally have a handle on their taxes are almost always in a year-round relationship. Not because we’re magic, but because there’s time to actually do the work.
What Does Thompson Flaherty Charge?
We price based on the scope of your situation, not a one-size-fits-all rate card, so the honest answer is: it depends on what you need.
For individual tax returns with some complexity, we start around $400-$600. For small business returns, it depends on entity type and book condition, but most clients land somewhere in the $800-$2,000 range for annual tax work.
Monthly bookkeeping and year-round advisory relationships are priced per engagement after we understand the volume and what you’re trying to accomplish. The first call is free, and there’s zero pressure, which is something we actually mean.
If you want a real number for your specific situation, the fastest way to get there is to sit down with us and walk through what you’re working with. We can usually give you a clear range in the first conversation.
Ready to find out what makes sense for your business?
Reach out to Thompson Flaherty, and we’ll walk through your situation together, no commitment required.
Until next time.
