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Historically, we at Integrated Tax Consultants have been fairly conservative when it comes to raising our accounting service rates year to year. Prior to 2022, we kept our billing rates relatively flat for three consecutive years in consideration of emergent client circumstances in navigating the pandemic and its aftermath.
In 2022 and 2023, our rates were increased 8% - 15% each year in accordance with rises in insurance and labor costs, and the Social Security Administration (SSA)'s Cost of Living adjustment (COLA) reports. For tax year 2024, our clients saw an only 3% increase in our base costs.
It is for this reason, and for the sake of transparency, that we wanted to inform our clients that in there will be a more significant jump in our billing rates in 2026 than previously seen: about 20% - 40%.
There are a variety of contributing factors to this increase:
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Healthcare costs and insurance account for a large factor of this change, with analysis showing that ACA marketplace insurers are raising premiums by about 20% for 2026 [1]. In a public forum held August 15th, Bob Kerry of the Maine Bureau of Insurance reported that insurance premiums for Maine individuals may increase up to 25%. [2]
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Projections show a 2.7% increase to the SSA's Cost of Living Adjustment for 2026, an upward trend from a previously suggested increase of 2.5% [3]
- The prices of tax and accounting software across the board have been increasing year to year. Our tax software alone will be 28% more expensive for tax year 2025 than it was for tax year 2024.
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Intuit has steadily increased the cost of their QuickBooks software over the last 5 years by 52% - 89% depending on the plan, all in the name of investment in AI and automation that in theory streamlines accounting processes. [4]
- The current administration is pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, even while the current inflation rate is already above target, about 2.7%. This has historically caused inflation to increase further, not decrease.
The final reason has to do with trends in Maine's accounting market at large: that many accounting firms and private practices are closing at the same time that the accountant labor force is shrinking, meaning that there are often not enough qualified Certified Public Accountants (CPA's) or newer small-to-medium size firms to accommodate this gap in the market. [5]
This speaks to the reality that many firms in Maine (ours included) are working at or beyond their client capacity. As a consequence, ITC needs to work to attract, train, and retain the best staff possible to continue providing the same service, find these qualified employees to account for this demand, as well as adapt to all the aforementioned challenges in the market.
We hope that this change in our rates is recognized for what it is: A necessary step for ITC to continue to provide productive and actionable guidance and service while meeting the demands of the industry as it continues to change.
In lieu of a mailed holiday post-card, we ask that clients be on the lookout for a digital dispatch that we will be uploading to clients in the next couple months that will re-iterate the service rate increase. It will also give clients the opportunity to provide the typical information included in the post-card: Changes in filing status, new dependents, document delivery preference, and, in the case that these bill rate changes are untenable, notification that you will no longer require ITC's service for 2026.
Again, this price increase will be in effect starting in 2026.
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