How much does a nonprofit audit cost?
Across 16,036 Form 990 filings with a reported accounting fee above zero, the median was $33,607, with $15,005 at the 25th percentile and $73,358 at the 75th (IRS e-file data as of 2026-09-20). That line covers all accounting services bought in the year, so it is an upper bound on the audit alone.
Last verified: 2026-09-20 · Every figure links its source.
How much do nonprofits spend on accounting services?
| Measure | Amount |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $15,005 |
| Median | $33,607 |
| 75th percentile | $73,358 |
| Filings in the calculation | 16,036 |
How we computed this: accounting fees as reported on Form 990 in the returns we parsed from the IRS e-file data, restricted to filings reporting an amount above zero, across 18,430 organizations and 20,321 tax periods. The Form 990 line covers accounting services generally — audit, bookkeeping and return preparation are not separated — so treat it as a ceiling for the audit fee. Data as of 2026-09-20.
Source: IRS, About Form 990 · IRS Form 990 series downloads · Last verified: 2026-09-20
How much does a single audit cost?
No federal source publishes single audit fees, and we will not manufacture one. What we can show is what drives the hours, because in this market the fee follows the hours:
- Number of major programs, which follows from the risk-based determination (2 CFR 200.518).
- Low-risk auditee status — 20 percent coverage instead of 40 percent (200.518(f), 200.520).
- Number of compliance requirement types in play for those programs (Compliance Supplement part 3).
- Subrecipients, which add monitoring testing (2 CFR 200.332).
- Quality of the schedule of expenditures of federal awards when it arrives.
- Prior-year findings, which must be followed up regardless of this year's major programs (200.514(e)).
For scale, the median nonprofit single audit for audit year 2024 covered 4 federal programs and $2,625,160 of federal awards expended.
Source: 2 CFR 200.518 · 2 CFR 200.520 · Compliance Supplement, part 3 (compliance requirements) · 2 CFR 200.332 · Federal Audit Clearinghouse · Last verified: 2026-09-20
How do you reduce audit costs?
- Close the year before fieldwork and deliver a reconciled schedule of expenditures of federal awards on day one.
- Earn and keep low-risk auditee status; it changes required coverage, not just the auditor's opinion of you (2 CFR 200.520).
- Close findings properly so they do not repeat and re-open testing.
- Re-bid on a normal cycle with a written RFP so quotes are comparable; the mechanics are in how to write a nonprofit audit RFP.
- Do not buy two engagements where the single audit already contains the financial statement audit.
Audit costs charged to federal awards are subject to the allowability rules: a reasonably proportionate share of the cost of audits required by and performed in accordance with the Single Audit Act is allowable, while audits of entities below the threshold that were not required are generally not (2 CFR 200.425).
Source: 2 CFR 200.520 · 2 CFR 200.425 · Last verified: 2026-09-20
Questions and answers
How much does a nonprofit audit cost?
There is no published federal fee statistic. As a ceiling, the median accounting fee reported on Form 990 across 16,036 filings was $33,607, and that line covers all accounting services for the year.
How much does an audit cost for a small nonprofit?
Smaller organizations sit toward the lower quartile of reported accounting fees, which was $15,005 in our data. The audit portion is a subset of that figure.
How much does a single audit cost on top of the financial statement audit?
The single audit includes the financial statement audit, so the increment is the compliance work: major program testing, internal control over compliance and prior-finding follow-up.
How much money do nonprofits spend on accounting services?
In our copy of the IRS e-file data, 16,036 filings reported an accounting fee above zero, with a median of $33,607 and a 75th percentile of $73,358.
Can you allocate auditing costs to other programs in nonprofits?
A reasonably proportionate share of the cost of an audit required by and performed under the Single Audit Act is allowable against federal awards; audits that were not required for an entity below the threshold generally are not.
How to reduce audit costs for a nonprofit organization?
Close the books before fieldwork, deliver a reconciled schedule of expenditures of federal awards, keep low-risk auditee status, clear findings so they do not repeat, and re-bid with a written RFP.
Comparing quotes? Build an RFP so the bids are comparable.
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This is public-record information, not accounting or legal advice.