Paramount Tax & AccountingFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Paramount Tax & Accounting franchise requires a total initial investment of $74K – $166K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $498K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $74K – $166K
- 47th pct Financial Ser…
- Avg gross sales
- $498K
- 18th pct Financial Ser…
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 9th pct Financial Ser…
- Units
- 92
- 40th pct Financial Ser…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Financial Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Financial Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 4.1x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 90 to 51 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $74K – $166K including a $40K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $498K/year (median $204K). Estimated payback in 0.4 years (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 32/100.
- System growing at 76.5% CAGR over 3 years with 92 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Paramount Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Paramount Tax & Accounting CPAS PLLC
- Predecessor
- was Paramount Franchising
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO, CFO and Chief Franchise Development Officer
- Jon Wilhelm
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 12481 South Fort St., Suite 200, Draper, Utah 84020
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.9M
- vs $2.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- company that we form
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Paramount Tax & Accounting franchisees operate seasonal tax preparation and accounting service offices serving individual and small-business clients. Day-to-day activities include client intake, tax return preparation (1040s, business returns, payroll), bookkeeping services, and compliance consulting. The model is heavily dependent on tax season (Jan-Apr) and requires licensed or experienced tax professionals.
- CEO
- Jon Wilhelm
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 19
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Real Estate / Rent | $0 | $12K | |
| Utilities | $0 | $3K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| Initial Marketingnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Startup Packagenot refundable | $20K | $25K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipmentnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $500 | $4K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $300 | $3K | |
| Office Expensesnot refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Supply Inventorynot refundable | $100 | $2K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Dues and Subscriptionsnot refundable | $700 | $2K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Trainingnot refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds (first 3 months)not refundable | $10K | $46K | |
| Total initial investment | $74K | $166K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$50K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
34%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
36 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $74K – $166K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $46K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.4 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $498K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $204K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $275K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Item 19 type
- Historic Performance (Average/Median)
- Sample size
- 30 units
- vs category median 97 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $57K→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 0 / 5 · above
Compared against 58 Financial Services brands
Revenue is 4.1x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Financial Services averages
How Paramount Tax & Accounting Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 92
- Opened
- 15
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.3%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +15.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +76.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Termination rate
- 3.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 32 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-caution risk profile: regulatory compliance issues, unverified financial claims, and high royalty drag on profitability warrant deep validation with current franchisees.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 (Litigation) section not provided in document. No litigation information disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 32 / 100 rating
- 01MEDRegulatory violation: Maryland Securities Commissioner consent order (Feb 2023) for operating with expired franchise registration—indicates compliance gaps
- 02MINORHigh royalty burden: 10% on gross sales reduces net margins; at $497K avg revenue, that's ~$49.7K annually in royalties, impacting the $212.7K net income significantly
- 03MEDItem 19 absent: No financial performance claims disclosed in FDD; average revenue/net income figures are unverified and sourced from analyst data, not franchisor attestation
- 04MEDModest unit growth: 15.4% YoY growth is healthy but small system (92 units) provides limited peer network and economies of scale
- 05MEDHigh initial investment-to-fee ratio: $40K franchise fee represents 54-77% of total startup cost; limited financial cushion for working capital or underperformance period
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | ZIP codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Utah |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 (Litigation) section not provided in document. No litigation information disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 26 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Drake Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Drake Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
84 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Paramount Tax & Accounting · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Paramount Tax & Accounting franchise?
The total investment to open a Paramount Tax & Accounting franchise ranges from $74K – $166K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Paramount Tax & Accounting franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Paramount Tax & Accounting FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $498K. The median is $204K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Paramount Tax & Accounting's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Paramount Tax & Accounting (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Paramount Tax & Accounting franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Paramount Tax & Accounting has 92 total units in the United States, including 90 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 15 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Paramount Tax & Accounting a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Paramount Tax & Accounting as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 32 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Paramount Tax & Accounting, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Financial Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Financial Services category
Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.