On average, taxpayers filing a 1040 form spend 22 hours, the IRS estimates. Those filing a 1040EZ spend seven hours.
On the cost side, filing can be free through the IRS's Free File program. Fees charged by a tax preparer tend to range from the low hundreds for simple returns to more than $1,000 for complex ones. Figuring out what your time is worth might be the only calculation you need to do.