Last Updated: 10/10/2026
What does a Dental CPA Cost?
A dental CPA costs 1% to 2% of collections, as of 2026. The high end includes bookkeeping. Tax preparation and planning are the parts worth the fee. Bookkeeping is a separate decision.
On $1 million of collections, 1% is $10,000 and 2% is $20,000. Use your own collections. It could exceed 2% if the firm also does consulting.
What the fee can include
The return, a mid-year and year-end planning meeting, a review after the year closes, and bookkeeping if the firm includes it. The price moves with what is in the engagement, which is why a dollar quote from another practice is not useful.
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Monthly transaction download + reconciliations
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Preparation of Corporate/LLC tax return
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Mid-Year/Year-End tax planning + meeting
What pushes the fee over 2%
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Full bill paying and check writing
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Payroll services
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Collections reconciliations with practice management software
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Preparation of Personal tax returns, including real estate
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Financial review after year is complete
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Consulting services
The tax work is the part worth a dental CPA
I'll be the first to tell you that many Dental CPAs are really good at what they do. We work with 100s of CPAs, and we see a difference between dental CPAs and generalist CPAs. When a CPA works only with dentists, they can focus their services to better meet your practice's needs.
A Dental CPA knows how to find specific ways to minimize taxes, increase revenue, and improve your practice's health using dental-specific key performance indicators, such as overhead benchmarks.
You may not need all the Dental CPA services offered, but I believe some are worth the extra cost compared to a generalist CPA.
Bookkeeping is the part to separate
Bookkeeping at a dental CPA firm is better than a general bookkeeper, but it is priced like a CPA service and they can often fall behind during busy seasons. Their primary work is tax, and they do it well. A monthly bookkeeping service can maintain the financials a dental CPA uses. Percentology does that part: QuickBooks Online, overhead compared with 100+ practices. We do not prepare the tax return. The CPA does.
Overhead Comparison
Some planning meetings include an overhead comparison. The 2026 averages are 62.2% of collected revenue for general practices, excluding owner and associate pay.
Pay the dental CPA for the return and the planning. Have a dental bookkeeper keep the monthly books. Apply the 1% to 2% to your collections, and remember that the top of that range includes bookkeeping.
Keep the CPA for tax. We’ll keep the books.
QuickBooks Online bookkeeping for your dental practice, compared with 100+ practices. No tax return.
Sona Wegner is the owner of Percentology. She has an accounting degree and an MBA, started at a dental CPA firm in 2007, and has worked with dental practices since. She started Percentology in 2013.