Accounting fees climb amid rising business costs, report finds
Most accounting firms plan to increase their prices this year as rising business costs and growing regulatory complexities bite, a new report has revealed.
Accounting firm fees have gone up across the board in 2025, revenue and billing automation platform Ignition found in its annual Tax and Compliance Pricing Benchmark report.
“It’s no surprise that mounting cost pressures are driving firms to raise prices this year,” Greg Strickland, Ignition’s CEO said.
“While firms are planning ahead to cover rising costs, the real opportunity is adjusting pricing to maximize revenue and profitability. Only 11% are increasing fees to improve profit margins, and even fewer (5%) are doing so to increase revenue.”
A majority (80 per cent) of firms planned to raise fees across all services in 2025, Ignition found. Over half (64 per cent) of them cited “covering rising business costs” as their main reason for their decision to increase prices.
“More firms are moving to higher brackets, reflecting rising delivery costs, growing complexity,
and, importantly, stronger pricing confidence,” Rebecca Mihalic, Ignition’s APAC head of accounting said.
“The industry is moving away from survival pricing, with more firms embracing structured, value-led models that support sustainable growth.”
The report found that just over half of firms (55 per cent) charged $200-300 for individual tax returns, but the share charging over $300 jumped from 16 per cent to 26 per cent in 2025.
Half of firms charged $2,000-$3,000 for company annual tax returns and 23 per cent now charged more than $3,000.
Ignition found that tax planning had continued to grow as a staple service, with 30 per cent of firms charging $750-1,000, up from 22 per cent in 2024.
Regulatory changes have driven heightened demand for deeper advisory input, Ignition said. Client expectations around service quality and responsiveness also continued to rise, necessitating a shift away from ‘survival pricing’ in accounting firms.
For firms looking to increase their prices but unsure how to go about it, Ignition said that conducting an annual price evaluation could be a simple way to stay competitive and manage rising business costs.
They also encouraged firms to give clients sufficient notice to prepare for any price changes, and ensure that prices adequately reflected the value of their work.
“The 2025 data shows a clear shift: firms are finally pricing compliance work in line with its value,” Mihalic said.
“While common fee bands for services like BAS, tax planning, and corporate compliance remain similar to 2024, the distribution is changing—fewer firms are undercharging, and more are confidently stepping into higher brackets. This not only reflects rising labour and delivery costs, but also the growing complexity of even routine engagements.”
