Every year around January, CPA firm owners start the same scramble. Returns are piling up. Staff is working weekends. That experienced senior who handled your complex clients just took a job at a tech company for 40 percent more money. And you are staring at a stack of 1040s wondering how you are going to get through April 15.
This is not a workflow problem. You already have the processes. You know how to prepare returns. What you do not have is enough people to do the work.
That is exactly the problem tax outsourcing solves. You send the source documents and prior-year returns to an offshore team. They prepare the draft return. Your onshore CPAs review it, make adjustments, and deliver it to the client. The work gets done. Your staff stops working 70-hour weeks. Your clients stop getting pushed to extension because you ran out of capacity.
We do this at Madras Accountancy. We prepare thousands of returns every tax season for CPA firms across the US. If you want the full picture of how outsourcing tax preparation to India works, we wrote a detailed guide on that. And we are not the only ones who do it well. Here are the providers we know, what they charge, and where each one is strong or weak.
Chennai, India. Individual return preparation starts at $50 to $80 per return. Business returns (1120S, 1065) start at $100 to $200 depending on complexity. Multi-state returns priced separately.
We prepare returns under your firm's review process. You send us the organizer, source documents, and prior-year return. We prepare the draft in your software (Lacerte, UltraTax, Drake, ProConnect). Your CPA reviews it, makes adjustments, and signs off.
Our team includes CA-qualified accountants trained on US individual and business taxation. We handle 1040s, 1120S, 1065, 1120, 990, and multi-state returns. For the past three tax seasons, our average turnaround on individual returns has been 48 to 72 hours after receiving complete source documents.
Where we focus: we are not trying to be the cheapest. We price for quality review and accuracy. Our first-pass accuracy rate (returns that go through CPA review with fewer than 3 review notes) is above 92 percent. We would rather price at $60 per return and get it right than price at $35 and create more work for your reviewers.
Ahmedabad, India. Tax preparation pricing reportedly starts at $40 to $60 per individual return. Business returns higher. Dedicated staffing model also available.
QX is the largest provider in this space by client count. They handle a massive volume of returns and have built a scaled training operation around US tax preparation. Their technology integration covers all major US tax software.
The volume is both their strength and their weakness. They can ramp up 20 preparers for your firm in a few weeks. But when you are one of 800+ CPA firm clients, your firm's specific processes and preferences can get lost. Multiple firm owners have told us that QX works best when you have a strong internal manager who can enforce your quality standards rather than relying on QX's default processes.
Pricing not publicly disclosed. Requires annual contract.
Thomson Reuters offers outsourced tax preparation as part of their broader software ecosystem. If your firm already uses UltraTax CS, there is a natural integration. Their preparers are US-based and offshore, depending on the engagement.
The advantage is seamless integration with the Thomson Reuters platform. The disadvantage is cost. This is generally the most expensive option on this list, and the annual contract locks you in. Worth evaluating if you are already deep in the Thomson ecosystem and value the single-vendor relationship.
India-based. Individual returns reportedly priced at $35 to $65. White-label capability.
PABS has been doing tax preparation outsourcing for a long time and has built solid processes around it. Their white-label capability means your clients see your firm's branding throughout. Turnaround times are generally competitive, and they handle volume well during peak season.
If you are looking for a cost-effective option with proven processes, PABS is worth a conversation. Their pricing tends to be at the lower end of the market, which can be attractive for firms with high volumes of straightforward returns.
India-based. Staffing model primarily. $1,200 to $1,800 per month per dedicated tax preparer.
Entigrity's model for tax season is to assign you a dedicated preparer who works on your returns throughout the season. Rather than per-return pricing, you are paying for a person who becomes familiar with your clients and your processes over time.
This works well when you need someone for the full January-to-October cycle (including extensions). It works less well if you just need surge capacity for February through April. You are paying for a full-time person even during the slower months.
India-based. Tax preparation is one of their service lines. Pricing not publicly disclosed.
Fino offers tax prep as part of a broader outsourcing relationship. If you are already using them for bookkeeping and want to add tax season capacity with the same provider, that integration can be valuable. Getting standalone tax prep pricing requires going through their sales process.
US-based marketplace. Per-return pricing. Connects CPA firms with credentialed tax preparers.
Taxfyle is different from the other providers on this list. It is a marketplace that matches your returns with individual CPAs and EAs who do the work on a freelance basis. Pricing varies by return complexity and is generally higher than offshore options.
The advantage is that your returns are prepared by US-credentialed professionals. The disadvantage is consistency. You may get different preparers for different returns, which means less familiarity with your specific clients and processes over time.
US-based. Premium pricing. Focus on automation-assisted preparation.
SurePrep's 1040ScanVerify product automates document extraction and populates the return. It is less an outsourcing service and more an automation tool that reduces the prep work. Some firms pair SurePrep's automation with offshore review to get the best of both.
Worth looking at if you handle a high volume of individual returns with standard W-2 and brokerage statement income.
India-based. Tax preparation alongside audit support and bookkeeping. Pricing competitive with other India-based providers.
Datamatics has been in the BPO space for decades, and their accounting division has built credibility with US CPA firms. They handle individual and business return preparation with a focus on accuracy and turnaround.
India-based. Focus on tax preparation outsourcing for US CPA firms. Per-return and dedicated staffing models available.
Newer entrant but building a reputation for competitive pricing and solid onboarding support. Worth including in your evaluation if you are comparing multiple India-based providers.
Here is a realistic pricing table based on what CPA firms are actually paying in 2026. These numbers come from our own pricing, publicly available data from competitors, and conversations with firm owners.
Form 1040 (simple, W-2 income, standard deduction): $35 to $60 per return
Form 1040 (itemized, Schedule C or E, one state): $60 to $100 per return
Form 1040 (complex, multiple states, K-1 income, AMT): $100 to $175 per return
Form 1120S (S-corp, single state): $100 to $200 per return
Form 1065 (partnership, single state): $100 to $200 per return
Form 1120 (C-corp): $150 to $250 per return
Form 990 (nonprofit): $100 to $200 per return
Multi-state add-on: $25 to $50 per additional state
These prices are for preparation only. Review, client communication, and signing remain with your onshore team.
If you have never outsourced tax prep before, here is what a typical engagement looks like at Madras Accountancy. Most providers follow a similar process.
Your client sends their documents. Your onshore team reviews for completeness and uploads to a secure portal or directly into your tax software. The offshore preparer picks up the engagement, reviews the prior-year return, inputs current-year data, and runs the return through a self-review checklist. The prepared return goes into your review queue. Your CPA reviews it, makes adjustments, and finalizes.
The entire cycle from document receipt to draft return in your review queue takes 48 to 72 hours for a standard individual return. Complex business returns with multiple states take 3 to 5 business days.
Your client never interacts with the offshore team. They send documents to you. They get the finished return from you. Nothing about the client experience changes.
Turnaround time promises that evaporate in March. Every provider promises 48-hour turnaround in December. Ask what turnaround looks like in the last two weeks of March. That is when capacity matters. Get SLA commitments for peak season specifically, not just off-peak.
Quality drops when volume spikes. Providers that ramp up seasonal preparers may assign people with less experience to your returns during the busiest period. Ask your provider how they handle peak season staffing. Do they hire temporary staff, or do they have year-round capacity?
Software compatibility issues. Make sure your provider can work directly in your tax software (Lacerte, UltraTax, Drake, ProConnect, GoSystem). If they prepare in a different platform and you have to import, you are adding an error-prone step to the process.
Data security during tax season. Your clients' Social Security numbers, income data, and financial information are flowing to an offshore location. This is a non-negotiable requirement: SOC 2 Type II certification, encrypted VPN access, no local storage of client data on offshore machines, multi-factor authentication. Do not compromise on security to save $20 per return. Our vendor risk assessment guide covers the SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO 27001 standards you should require.
We also published an offshore tax preparation guide that covers the operational details in more depth.
If you are reading this in September or October, you are in the right window. The best time to onboard an outsourced tax prep team is October through December. That gives you time to set up technology access, train the team on your processes using prior-year returns, and run a few practice returns before the real volume hits in late January.
If you are reading this in February, you are late but not out of luck. Our guide on conquering tax season with offshore teams is specifically written for firms in this situation. Most providers, including Madras, can do accelerated onboarding for firms that need help now. But your first outsourced tax season will be rougher than it needs to be.
Reach out to us at madrasaccountancy.com if you want to talk about what tax season support would look like for your firm. We will give you straight pricing, realistic timelines, and an honest assessment of whether outsourcing makes sense for your return volume and complexity.
Generally 75 or more individual returns, or 30 or more business returns. Below that threshold, the onboarding cost and management overhead are hard to justify. Above it, the math gets compelling fast. We wrote about how outsourcing can cut costs by 50 percent on bookkeeping and tax prep with real examples. If you are preparing 200 individual returns at an average internal cost of $150 per return and you can outsource prep for $70, that is $16,000 in savings per season.
Yes, but it depends on the preparer's training level. At Madras, we have preparers who handle complex individual and business returns daily. They work with K-1 flow-throughs, passive activity loss limitations, multi-state apportionment, and AMT calculations. The key is making sure your provider assigns experienced preparers to complex returns, not entry-level staff learning on your clients.
Most providers offer seasonal engagements. At Madras, we have firms that only work with us from January through October (including extension season) and pause during the quiet months. Per-return pricing naturally handles this since you only pay for returns you send us. If you are on a dedicated staffing model, ask about seasonal contracts with defined start and end dates.
Yes. Always. The offshore team prepares the return. A licensed CPA at your firm reviews and signs it. This is not optional under Circular 230 and state board rules. The outsourced team is doing preparation work under your supervision, not practicing independently. Your review is what ensures quality and maintains your professional responsibility. Our article on staying compliant when outsourcing tax and accounting work covers the regulatory framework in detail.
At minimum: SOC 2 Type II certification from the provider, encrypted VPN connections, no local data storage on offshore machines, multi-factor authentication for all users, and background checks on all staff who touch client data. At Madras, we also use virtual desktop infrastructure so no client data ever resides on a local hard drive. Ask your provider for their SOC 2 report. Not a marketing page about security. The actual audit report.
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