How our flat-fee pricing works
We do not bill by the hour. Every engagement with Xelvon Tax Advisors LLC is priced as a flat fee, and you receive that fee in writing before we begin any work. The quote is not an estimate or a starting point: it lists every return, state, schedule and add-on on its own line with its own price, then a single total. If something is not on the quote, it will not appear on an invoice later.
Unless your quote says otherwise, that total includes electronic filing, unlimited secure uploads to your client portal, a review call before anything is transmitted, questions during the year, and extension filing. There is no separate e-file charge and no per-document fee. Published prices and the full add-on schedule are on the pricing page.
When payment is due
| Type of engagement | When you pay |
|---|---|
| Tax return preparation | A 50% retainer when you accept the quote, balance before we transmit the e-file. Nothing is transmitted until you have reviewed the return, signed the e-file authorization, and the balance has cleared. |
| Monthly bookkeeping and payroll | In advance on the first business day of each month; your first invoice is prorated by day from the start date. |
| Catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping | A 50% retainer on acceptance, balance when the final period is reconciled and reports are delivered. |
| One-time items — notice responses, penalty abatement letters, EIN applications, Form 2553 elections, transcripts, planning sessions | In full on acceptance. |
Invoices are due on receipt unless the invoice states a different date.
How you can pay
We accept major credit and debit cards, ACH bank transfer, and check by mail on request. Card and ACH payments run through a third-party processor that maintains PCI DSS compliance; we do not store card numbers or bank credentials ourselves. To pay by check, email billing@xelvontax.com for current mailing details; work begins once it clears.
Tax-season payment scams and impersonation. Criminals impersonate both tax preparers and the IRS heavily between January and April. Four things are always true of us:
- We will never ask for payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer to a personal account, or a peer-to-peer app such as Zelle, Venmo or Cash App.
- We never create urgency about a payment or say something terrible happens within the hour.
- Every invoice comes from an address ending @xelvontax.com and also appears in your client portal. Treat an emailed invoice as unverified until you see it there.
- Our bank details never change mid-engagement. An email announcing new payment instructions is a fraud attempt until you confirm it by voice on (435) 341-4014.
The IRS is equally direct: on its tax scams page it states, "We never ask for or accept gift cards as payment." Report an IRS impersonation call to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484 or via the IRS page on reporting fake IRS or tax-related messages; report other fraud at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If someone has impersonated us, tell security@xelvontax.com.
We never take our fee from your refund
We do not offer, arrange or accept payment through a refund transfer, refund anticipation check or any similar bank product, and we never will. Your refund goes straight from the taxing authority to your own bank account.
This is better for you in two ways. It is cheaper: a refund transfer opens a temporary bank account in your name, routes your refund into it, deducts the fee and forwards the rest — and the bank charges its own fee for doing so, on top of what you already owe the preparer. Paying us directly skips that fee. And it is faster and safer: the IRS notes that direct deposit is the quickest way to get a refund, your money never passes through a third party's account, and any billing disagreement stays a conversation about an invoice rather than about money already taken out of your refund.
If the scope of the work changes
Sometimes the work turns out different from what the quote described — a second state, an unexpected Schedule K-1, bookkeeping that is six months behind. When that happens we do the same three things, in this order:
- We stop. We do not keep working and add it to the bill.
- We quote the change in writing — what changed, why it moves the price, and the new total.
- We wait. Work resumes only after you approve in writing.
If you decline, the engagement ends there: you pay only for work completed to that point, using the schedule below, and we return copies of everything you gave us. This runs both ways — if the return proves simpler than the quote assumed, we requote it lower without being asked.
Price changes and how long a quote holds
The prices published on this website took effect on August 10, 2026. We honor a published price for 30 days from the day you view it, for the situation it describes, and a written quote is binding for 30 days from its date.
We may change published prices at any time, but never retroactively to a quote you have accepted or an engagement already under way. For monthly bookkeeping and payroll we give at least 30 days' written notice before a price change reaches your invoice, and you may cancel during that period without penalty.
Late payment and suspension of work
On balances more than 30 days past due we may apply a service charge of 1.5% per month (18% per year), or the maximum rate permitted by the law of the state where you live, whichever is lower. Where a state prohibits such a charge we do not apply one, and we email you before applying one for the first time.
We may also suspend work on written notice until the balance is paid. Two things about suspension. We still return copies of your own records promptly and free — we do not hold client documents as leverage. And suspension does not move a filing deadline: penalties or interest arising because work was suspended for non-payment are not covered by our accuracy guarantee.
Refunds on tax return engagements
If you cancel before we have begun substantive work on your return, you receive a full refund of everything you have paid. No questions, no processing fee.
If you cancel partway through, we refund the difference between what you paid and the portion of the quoted fee matching the work completed. We use fixed stages rather than a timesheet, so you can work the number out yourself:
| Stage reached when you cancel | Portion of the quoted fee we keep |
|---|---|
| Quote accepted; your documents not yet reviewed | Nothing — full refund |
| Documents reviewed, organized and questions issued; return not started | 25% |
| Draft return prepared | 60% |
| Draft delivered and the review call held | 85% |
| Return transmitted and accepted by the IRS or the state | 100% — no refund |
Because the retainer is 50% of the quoted fee, cancelling at the second stage returns half of it; cancelling later means the retainer is consumed and any balance you paid comes back. We always show the arithmetic. Once a return has been accepted by the taxing authority the fee is earned and is not refundable, except for a payment under the accuracy guarantee below. Refunds return to the original payment method within 10 business days.
Refunds on monthly bookkeeping and payroll
Monthly bookkeeping and payroll are month-to-month. No minimum term, no annual contract, no cancellation fee. Cancel by written notice — email is fine — to support@xelvontax.com.
Cancellation takes effect 30 days after we receive your notice, and we finish the work covered by that period. Any prepaid months beyond it are refunded in full — not prorated, not credited, refunded. On exit we give you a complete copy of your books and reports in a standard exportable format at no charge. For payroll, tell us before your final run so we can confirm which quarterly and annual filings still fall to us; anything due afterwards is quoted separately first.
The accuracy guarantee
What we guarantee. If we make a mathematical error or a data-entry error in preparing your return, and that error causes you to owe an IRS or state penalty or interest charge you would not otherwise have owed, then:
- We pay that penalty and interest.
- We amend the return at no charge.
- We prepare the written response to the notice at no charge, for you to review, sign and send, and we stay with you until it is closed.
What is guaranteed is our own accuracy in handling the information you give us. This is not a guarantee of any tax outcome. We do not guarantee the size of a refund, the tax you will owe, or that a return will not be selected for examination.
The material limits, stated here rather than behind a link: the guarantee never covers the underlying tax you legitimately owe. It does not cover errors caused by information you did not give us or gave us incorrectly, positions you instructed us to take against our advice, retroactive changes in law, late-filing or late-payment penalties caused by your own delay, or the outcome of an IRS or state examination of a judgment-based position. You must notify us within 30 days of the date on the notice. Payments are capped at the greater of the fees you paid for that engagement or $2,500 per return. Full exclusions and the claim procedure follow immediately below.
What the accuracy guarantee does not cover
- The tax itself. If a corrected return shows more tax due, that tax was always yours. The guarantee covers penalty and interest caused by our error, never the liability.
- Information we were not given, or were given incorrectly. We prepare returns from what you provide. We do not audit, review or compile financial statements, we do not independently verify your records, and we express no opinion or any form of assurance on them. A missing 1099, an omitted account or an overstated deduction is not our error.
- Positions you directed against our advice. If we advised against a position in writing and you asked us to take it anyway, the consequences are excluded.
- Retroactive changes in law applied to a return that was correct when filed.
- Delay on your side. Late-filing and late-payment penalties and interest caused by late documents, missing approvals, unsigned e-file authorizations, or unpaid fees — including work suspended for non-payment.
- Examination outcomes on judgment-based positions. Where the law permits more than one treatment and an examiner takes a different view, that is not a mathematical or data-entry error.
- Third-party and agency failures, including errors in a taxing authority's own processing or in your bank, employer or brokerage documents — though we will help you correspond about them.
- Consequential losses. The guarantee is limited to penalties and interest, not lost income, lost opportunity, or fees you pay anyone else.
The IRS does not remove or reduce interest for reasonable cause — so where interest is genuinely ours, we pay it rather than pretend it can be waived.
How to make an accuracy guarantee claim
- Tell us within 30 days of the date printed on the notice — email billing@xelvontax.com or call (435) 341-4014.
- Send the complete notice, every page. If it allows time to respond, do not pay the penalty before speaking to us; it can sometimes be resolved without anyone paying it.
- We respond within 5 business days with our assessment of whether the notice arises from our error and what we will do about it.
- We pay verified amounts within 30 days of confirming the claim, either to the taxing authority or as a reimbursement to you, whichever is faster.
The cap. Total payments under this guarantee for any single return are limited to the greater of the fees you paid for that engagement or $2,500. Amending the return and preparing the notice response are free and do not count against the cap.
Our no-surprise commitment
We deliberately do not call any part of this policy a "satisfaction guarantee," a "money back guarantee," or a "free trial." Under the FTC's guides at 16 CFR 239.3(a) those phrases mean the seller refunds the full purchase price on request. We do not offer that, so we do not use the words. Refunds work as set out above and nowhere else.
What we commit to is narrower and more useful: a fixed price in writing before work starts; nothing changes it without your written approval; a short question never generates an invoice; nothing is filed until you have seen it; and when we are wrong, we say so first, fix it, and pay for it.
One limit worth repeating here, because it shapes what a guarantee claim can involve: we do not have authority to represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service. We prepare and explain a written response for you to sign and send yourself. Our full scope of practice is on the disclaimers page.
Chargebacks and payment disputes
If something about an invoice looks wrong, please email billing@xelvontax.com before contacting your card issuer or bank. Most disputes are an honest misunderstanding about scope or timing, can be settled the same day, and a direct refund reaches you faster than a chargeback does.
We acknowledge every billing dispute within 5 business days. If we agree, we refund directly; if we disagree, we explain why in writing and show you the quote you approved. Where a chargeback is filed on a valid invoice without contacting us first, we may suspend further work and pursue the disputed amount plus the processor's dispute fee — but we will still return copies of your records on request. And to be clear: we will never threaten anyone with legal action over an honest review or a public complaint.
Questions about billing
Invoices, refunds, guarantee claims and payment disputes: billing@xelvontax.com. Existing clients asking about work in progress: support@xelvontax.com. Anything else, including a quote you have not yet accepted: hello@xelvontax.com. By phone, (435) 341-4014, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time, with extended hours from late January through April 15.
Xelvon Tax Advisors LLC is a Utah limited liability company operating entirely online, so please send written notices under this policy to the addresses above or call us. This policy is effective August 10, 2026, forms part of our Terms of Service, and is governed by the law of the State of Utah with venue in the state or federal courts located in Utah. Nothing here limits any right you have under the mandatory consumer-protection law of your own state.