True to Form : Tax preparers’ fees depend on schedules, time and complexity.

You’ve heard your co-workers, neighbors, even passersby. They’re mumbling about short forms, 1040s, W2s, deductions and appointments with the tax preparer.

It may seem as though Christmas was just yesterday, but alas, it’s beginning to look a lot like tax season. H&R; Block ads are more prevalent, do-it-yourself computer software programs have their own special displays at office supply and computer stores and post offices are stocked with tax forms and booklets.

For taxpayers smart enough not only to figure out the basic tax forms but also to determine which of the 824 new tax laws implemented this year and last are applicable to them, tax preparation can be done at home with a calculator, a pencil and a nice fat eraser.

But for others, professional help is a must.

Tax preparation service is no different from any other commodity in that it pays to shop around.

Different tax people have different rate scales. Some charge by the hour, some have a base fee and add to that depending on the complexity of the filing and others have standard fees for different forms--the more complex, the more costly.

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Some preparers offer electronic filing, some offer rapid refund filing (a three-day turnaround for an extra fee) and some stick to the postal service for delivery.

When talking tax, H&R; Block has to be mentioned. The international tax firm, which boasts of preparing one of every seven tax forms filed in the United States, has about two dozen offices in Ventura County.

Offices in Oxnard, Ventura, Fillmore, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Port Hueneme, Thousand Oaks and Ojai all charged $53 or $54 for the 1040 short form, with additional charges depending on the complexity of the filing.

Although H&R; Block may be the most recognizable name in the tax business, many other names fill the county’s roster of tax preparers. There is a wide selection of certified public accountants, enrolled agents, certified financial planners and others who feel at home with an adding machine and understand the ways of the IRS.

The Ventura County tax folks with whom we spoke generally base their rates on level of complexity and the increased time it takes to sort out and calculate the more complex issues.

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Marsh Thulin, proprietor of Golden State Realty and Tax of Oxnard, charges $50 for the short form and $150 for an itemized return with schedules A and B.

Marie Estes-Pratt of Ojai begins with a base fee of $60 for the short form and $120 for the long form.

The fee increases as schedules are added and as the difficulty grows.

In Thousand Oaks, tax preparer Robert Riveles handles few simple forms. His clients own businesses or rental property or have more complicated tax situations.

Riveles said the 1040 forms range from very simple to very complex, with his fee based on difficulty.

The average charge, he said, is about $175.

Ron Cohn of Moorpark has a bit more difficulty estimating an average fee for his clients.

“The cost of a return depends on the nature of the return,” Cohn said. “If there is depreciation, you have to include the cost of depreciation. If there are a lot of fixed assets, all things being equal, it will take more time than if there aren’t any. If there is a lot of interest, that takes time.”

Cohn cited a recent client with more than a dozen savings accounts as an example of a more complicated return.

“In addition to a charge for each schedule and application, I charge a fee for overhead,” he said.

“I couldn’t even give you a bad guess [on an average fee].”