Updated 8 October 2026
In this guide
What the annual fee covers
A fixed annual fee from an SMSF accountant should cover the whole compliance cycle: the fund's financial statements, member statements, the SMSF annual return and its lodgment, the trustee minutes and investment strategy review, transfer balance account reporting and coordination of the independent audit. If any of those is an extra, the headline fee is not the real fee.
Our own fees sit at $1,700 to $4,000 a year for most funds, fixed for the year and quoted before we start. That band is typical for a chartered firm running funds on Class or BGL with a qualified reviewer signing off each file. Online administrators quote lower, usually by stripping the review and the during-year support out of the package, which is where the problems in the next section come from.
What sits outside the fee
| Item | Who charges it | Why it is separate |
|---|---|---|
| Independent audit | The ASIC-registered auditor | The auditor must be independent of the accountant, so it is a separate engagement and a separate invoice |
| ATO supervisory levy | The ATO, paid with the annual return | A flat government charge, not a service fee |
| Actuarial certificate | The actuary | Needed when a fund has a pension and an accumulation interest in the same year; charged by the actuary, passed through |
| Property valuation report | A valuer | Only funds holding property need one; ours are $245 residential and $550 commercial through SMSF Property Valuations |
| Software subscription | Class or BGL | Usually bundled into the accountant's fee; ask |
A quote that lists these separately is being straight with you. A quote that leaves them out is not cheaper; it is incomplete.
What moves the price
Number and type of investments. Ten listed shares on a broker feed reconcile themselves. A private company holding, a managed fund with a late tax statement or an unlisted unit trust each add hours, because the documents arrive late and the tax components have to be traced by hand.
Property and borrowing. A property adds rent, outgoings, the annual market value evidence and, where it is leased to a related business, the market rent test. A limited recourse borrowing arrangement adds a bare trust, a loan schedule and a stricter audit.
Pensions. A fund paying a pension needs the minimum tracked, the exempt current pension income calculated and, where accumulation money sits alongside it, an actuarial certificate. The tax calculation roughly doubles in complexity.
State of the records. A fund arriving with overdue returns, a missing trust deed or a prior year that was never reconciled costs more in year one than it will in year two. Ask for the catch-up to be quoted separately from the ongoing fee so you can see both.
Two-member fund, both in accumulation, holding cash, two term deposits and a portfolio of listed shares on a broker feed: bottom of the band. The same fund after it buys a commercial property with a loan, leases it to the members' business and starts one pension: top of the band, plus the actuarial certificate and a $550 valuation report each year. Same members, same accountant, roughly double the work.
Setting up a fund: one-off fees
Establishing a new fund is a separate, one-off job: the trust deed, a special purpose trustee company if you use one, ABN and TFN registration, an electronic service address, bank account support and rollovers in from the members' existing funds. Expect $2,500 to $3,500 all-in for that package with a corporate trustee; it is what we charge, and it is in line with the market for a properly documented setup. Our guide to SMSF accounting services walks through the setup sequence.
Whether a fund makes sense in the first place depends on your balance and your appetite for the trustee role. As a working rule the conversation starts around $250,000 of combined balances, because below that the fixed costs eat the return.
The cheap SMSF accountant question
Searches for a cheap SMSF accountant are common and the honest answer is that cheap exists, with conditions. The low-cost providers run a processing model: your data goes in, statements come out, and nobody looks at the fund between year ends. That works for a simple accumulation fund with clean feeds. It fails in three predictable places.
The first is the audit. A processing model produces statements; the auditor wants evidence. When the property valuation is a one-line agent letter or the related party rent has never been tested, the audit stalls and the trustee pays a second time to fix it. The second is the contribution cap breach or missed pension minimum nobody noticed in March. The third is the catch-up year, when the fund moves to a firm that has to rebuild what was never reconciled.
Administrative penalties for a contravention are levied on each trustee personally, and a pension that misses its minimum loses its tax exemption for the year. One missed item can cost more than several years of the fee difference.
GST on SMSF accounting fees
A fund that is registered for GST can claim a reduced input tax credit of 75 per cent of the GST on its accounting and administration fees. Most SMSFs are not registered, because their income is financial supplies and residential rent, so for most trustees there is nothing to claim and the fee is simply a deductible expense of the fund. Funds holding commercial property are the usual exception: they register to claim GST on the property's outgoings, and the reduced credit on the accounting fee comes with it.
Get a fixed fee for your fund
Tell us what the fund holds and we will quote a fixed annual fee in writing, with the audit fee and levy itemised, within one business day.
Start here See the SMSF accounting serviceFrequently asked questions
How much do accountants charge for an SMSF?
A fixed annual fee between $1,700 and $4,000 for most funds, with the independent audit fee and ATO supervisory levy charged separately. Simple accumulation funds sit at the low end; funds with property, borrowing or pensions sit higher.
Is the audit fee included in SMSF accounting fees?
Usually not, because the auditor must be independent of the accountant and bills separately. A quote that includes it should say so explicitly and name the auditor.
Can an SMSF claim GST on accounting fees?
Only if the fund is registered for GST, in which case it can claim a reduced input tax credit of 75 per cent of the GST. Most SMSFs are not registered unless they hold commercial property.
Are SMSF accounting fees tax deductible?
Yes, to the fund. Accounting, audit and administration costs are deductible expenses of the fund, subject to the usual apportionment where part of the fund is in pension phase and earning exempt income.
General information only, current at the date of publication, and not personal tax, legal or financial advice. Fee ranges are indicative and confirmed in writing. Valuation services are provided by SMSF Valuation Reports Pty Ltd. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
