Audit fees · plan year 2024
What does an employee benefit plan audit cost?
Since plan year 2023, Form 5500 Schedule H reports the fee a plan paid its independent auditor. Across 9,826 audited retirement plans that reported a fee for plan year 2024, the median was $19,000; the middle half paid $13,000 to $29,800. A 401(k) plan with 200-499 participants: median $14,500.
Read this first: Schedule H shows the audit fee only when the plan pays the auditor. Plans whose sponsor pays the audit fee directly are not included, and for single-employer 401(k) plans that is most of them (only 8% of audited 401(k) plans with 200-499 participants report a fee). The figures describe the plans that report a fee; treat them as a market reference, not as a quote.
$19,000median audit fee, all retirement plans reporting a fee (9,826)
$12,900median, 401(k) with 100-199 participants (n 964)
$14,500median, 401(k) with 200-499 participants (n 1,461)
+3.9 %same plan, same auditor, 2023 → 2024
Nationwide
Audit fee by plan type and size
Median fee, with the middle half (25th-75th percentile) and the number of counted fees below. Plan year 2024, all states.
| Plan type | 100-199 participants | 200-499 participants | 500-999 participants | 1,000+ participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k) | $12,900$9,500-$16,800 · n 964 | $14,500$10,400-$19,500 · n 1,461 | $16,200$11,700-$22,200 · n 888 | $23,300$16,100-$34,400 · n 2,126 |
| Other DC | $13,600$10,300-$17,500 · n 113 | $13,700$8,800-$19,200 · n 201 | $16,300$11,200-$22,100 · n 167 | $18,400$14,600-$27,600 · n 422 |
| DB | $16,100$11,500-$24,200 · n 174 | $18,300$12,600-$25,900 · n 288 | $23,800$15,500-$29,900 · n 252 | $31,200$21,100-$48,500 · n 739 |
| Multiemployer | $15,300$11,200-$18,900 · n 86 | $15,800$11,200-$21,500 · n 265 | $19,300$14,000-$26,900 · n 363 | $31,500$20,800-$48,000 · n 1,317 |
Reported only when the plan pays the auditor; plans whose sponsor pays the audit fee directly are not included. Most single-employer 401(k) sponsors pay directly, so the figures describe the plans that report a fee.
Who reports
Share of audited plans that report a fee
Audited plans with an amount on line 2i(4). Multiemployer plans almost always pay from the plan; single-employer 401(k) plans rarely do.
| Plan type | 100-199 | 200-499 | 500-999 | 1,000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k) | 6% | 8% | 13% | 26% |
| Other DC | 5% | 7% | 13% | 26% |
| DB | 23% | 28% | 38% | 50% |
| Multiemployer | 90% | 89% | 94% | 95% |
Price trend
Same plan, same auditor
Median change of the reported fee where the plan kept its audit firm, plan year 2023 → 2024.
| Plan type | Median change | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k) | +5.0 % | 2,975 |
| Other DC | +3.9 % | 543 |
| DB | +3.5 % | 1,079 |
| Multiemployer | +2.8 % | 1,869 |
By state
Audit fees in your state
States with at least one plan type and size group of 20 or more reported fees. The number is the count of fees used for the state.
- New York1,039
- California921
- Illinois602
- Texas602
- Pennsylvania567
- Ohio473
- New Jersey451
- Michigan397
- Massachusetts331
- Florida319
- Wisconsin273
- Maryland261
- Virginia253
- Missouri251
- Minnesota249
- Georgia224
- Washington220
- Indiana200
- Connecticut192
- Tennessee166
- North Carolina153
- Oregon151
- Colorado118
- Arizona105
- Kentucky103
- Kansas66
- Utah60
For audit firms: First Audit Radar lists the retirement plans that need their first audit next year, by state, every month, and shows the typical fee range for plans of the same type and size next to every plan. Get a free state sample · plans by state · prices.
Method
How the figures are built
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Form 5500 public datasets, Schedule H line 2i(4) "Audit fees" (field IQPA_AUDIT_FEES_AMT), reported since plan year 2023. We use audited retirement plans (pension benefit code present, audit opinion on Schedule H) for plan year 2024, the latest filing per plan, and leave out direct filing entities. Plan types: 401(k), other defined contribution, defined benefit and multiemployer plans. Participants: for defined contribution plans the participants with account balances at year-end, otherwise all participants; plans under 100 participants are left out.
Outliers: fees below $3,000 (usually partial amounts) and above 4× the national median of the same plan type and size (usually invoices covering several plans) are not counted. A cell is shown only with at least 20 counted fees; otherwise we fall back to the region and then to the national figure. Year-over-year change: same plan, same audit firm in plan years 2023 and 2024, median change.
How much does a 401(k) plan audit cost?
Among 401(k) plans that pay the auditor from plan assets and reported the fee for plan year 2024, the median was $12,900 at 100-199 participants and $14,500 at 200-499 participants; the middle half paid $10,400 to $19,500 at 200-499 participants. Plans whose sponsor pays the fee directly do not report it.
Where does the audit fee appear on Form 5500?
On Schedule H, line 2i(4) 'Audit fees', added for plan years beginning in 2023. It shows fees paid from the plan to the independent qualified public accountant.
How fast are audit fees rising?
For the same plan and the same audit firm, the median fee rose 3.9 % from plan year 2023 to 2024 (6,466 plans).