Nino vs a traditional CPA

Choose Nino when you want more than a filed return. On every Advisor plan, a CPA files your federal and state returns and answers tax questions all year from your connected accounts, and a financial planner builds your financial plan, for one flat annual fee. A traditional CPA usually prices each return by the form and bills planning by the hour.

For a return alone, yes. NATP’s 2025 fee study puts the average CPA fee for a base Form 1040 at $280, plus a fee for each added schedule, while Nino’s Advisor plans start at $3,600 a year. The Nino fee also covers year-round tax planning, a financial plan from a financial planner, and quarterly check-ins, so compare it with what you would pay a CPA by the hour plus a separate financial advisor.

Not as part of a standard tax engagement, which covers preparing and filing your return. Some CPAs also hold the Personal Financial Specialist credential and offer planning for a separate fee. Every Nino Advisor plan includes a financial plan built by a financial planner in your first two weeks.

Yes. Upload last year’s federal return and Nino builds your document checklist from it and your connected accounts. Our CPA team prepares this year’s return from there, and nothing is filed until you approve it.

Yes, with both. A CPA firm has you review and sign the e-file authorization before filing. With Nino, our CPA team puts the prepared return in your vault, and nothing is filed until you approve it and sign.