Yeah for individual tax preparation that is pretty high. Most people get away with filing for $20-150. I used to have a CPA do my consulting business, tiny 1 person company, and personal taxes for $500.

I no longer do consulting on the side so I just use online tax software. It is about $150 but I do that more out of laziness as it integrates with my brokerage and payroll company to import everything automatically. Also I have carry forward losses and such that it already knows about.

Most people’s taxes are simpler than mine but I am sure there are lots of folks here with much more complex tax situations

I am not a normal case because I don't live in USA. The USA government estimates 50-80 hours to complete all my forms.

I have foreign income and foreign businesses, my partner has foreign income from two countries. The tax law is then based on tax treaties, most tax preparers do not have sufficient knowledge to complete a return, and tax software doesn't handle these cases.

The tax treaties are not clear, tax professionals will disagree on interpretation, and tax benefits in one country will not apply to another.

Then there is a thing called AMT, alternative minimum tax, which is a second way to calculate your taxes that you need to submit as well.

It's unusual to spend that much even for a small business tax returns except maybe in major cities