Financial Advisor and CPA for Athletes
A flat-fee CPA and Financial Planner team that gives you personalized, holistic advice across your taxes and financial plan. We plan your contract, endorsements and state returns, and make a short career pay for decades.
What we handle for athletes
A team salary taxed in every state you play, endorsement income nobody withholds on, and a career measured in seasons.
- 01
A return for the states you play in
States tax visiting players on their share of pay, usually by duty days: days in the state over total duty days. Maryland, for example, counts every day from the start of preseason training through your team’s last game, including practices and meetings.
- 02
Your signing bonus
A bonus is wages, often withheld at a flat 22%, or 37% on supplemental wages above $1 million in a year. Some states also spread it across duty days unless it is paid separately, is nonrefundable and does not depend on making the team.
- 03
Endorsements and appearances
Endorsement, appearance and licensing income is usually self-employment income on Schedule C. If your salary already passes the $184,500 Social Security wage base for 2026, that income owes only the Medicare part of self-employment tax.
- 04
Agent fees
Fees on endorsement deals are a Schedule C expense. Fees on your playing contract are unreimbursed employee expenses, which stopped being deductible in 2018, and the 2025 tax law made that permanent. Ask your agent for statements that split the two.
- 05
Prize money and event income
If you compete as an individual, such as in golf, tennis or boxing, nobody withholds on prize money. A state where you compete can tax what you won there, and your CPA sets quarterly estimates around your event calendar.
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Planning for after you play
Your financial planner sets a spending level the money can sustain once paychecks stop, then plans saving, investments and big purchases around it, rather than around this season’s salary.
How Nino helps athletes
Agents negotiate, teams run payroll, and the tax returns land on you. On an Advisor plan your CPA and Financial Planner plan your contract income, endorsements and state filings together, and revisit the plan every quarter.
Book a free consultation-
A plan in your first two weeks
Your CPA and Financial Planner build a tax and financial plan from your last returns, your contract, your deals and your goals, then revisit it every quarter.
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Every state return prepared
Your CPA allocates your pay across the states you worked, prepares your federal and state returns and Schedule C, and files nothing until you approve it. Plus includes up to three states; extra states are $150 each.
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Your accounts in one view
Nino’s AI software connects your bank and investment accounts read-only, so you can ask what a new deal or a bonus adds after tax. Unlike traditional wealth managers, Nino never takes control of your investments. You retain full ownership and decision-making authority.
Which money decisions matter most in a short career?
Four choices that decide how long playing income lasts.
Where you live
Moving to a state with no income tax on wages ends resident tax on your income, but every state you play in, your team’s included, still taxes your duty days there. A real move means your home, your time and your ties, and your old state may check.
How much of each contract to keep
Plan each contract as if it may be the last. Your financial planner sets aside tax first, then a savings rate that funds the decades after your career. See managing a windfall.
Whether endorsement income gets the QBI deduction
Athletics and income from endorsing products or licensing your name or likeness count as specified services. The 20% deduction for them starts phasing out above $201,750 of 2026 taxable income, or $403,500 joint.
Which retirement account to open
Endorsement income can fund a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA. A Solo 401(k) adds a $24,500 employee deferral for 2026, shared with any other 401(k) you defer into. See Solo 401(k) vs SEP IRA.
Pick your plan
Every Advisor plan includes a CPA and Financial Planner team, federal and state tax filing, and our Ultra software.
Essential
- Everything in Ultra software, plus:
- A dedicated CPA and Financial Planner team for you
- Single-filer return, quarterly taxes included
- Retirement & equity planning
- Quarterly advisor access
- Rentals
- 0
- K-1s
- 0
- States
- 1
- Brokerage
- 3
Plus
Most Popular- Everything in Essential, plus:
- A dedicated CPA and Financial Planner team for you and your spouse
- Married filing jointly return, international coverage included
- One coordinated plan for both of you
- Quarterly and ad hoc advisor access
- Rentals
- 2
- K-1s
- 5
- States
- 3
- Brokerage
- 5
Premier
- Everything in Plus, plus:
- Business bookkeeping and tax filings, priced by complexity
- Joint or single return, complex international coverage
- Advanced equity & estate planning
- Priority advisor access
- Rentals
- 5
- K-1s
- 10
- States
- 5
- Brokerage
- 10
Software plans starting from $20 a month
Our AI financial assistant on its own, with a 7-day free trial.
Guides for athletes
Read up on these decisions, or run your own numbers.
Managing a Windfall
How much of a windfall you keep depends on where it came from. Classify it, reserve for the tax, then pay down debt, hold cash, and invest the rest.
Read guideSolo 401(k) vs SEP IRA
A Solo 401(k) beats a SEP IRA at most incomes because it adds a $24,500 employee deferral and catch-ups. See the 2026 math at $60K, $150K, and $300K.
Read guideWhere to Put Cash Above Your Emergency Fund
Keep 3 to 6 months of spending in insured savings. Park cash you need within a few years in T-bills, money market funds, or CDs, and invest the rest.
Read guideTax and Financial Deadlines for 2026 and Early 2027
Every date from October 2026 to April 2027: estimated taxes, December 31 moves, tax forms, IRA and HSA deadlines, and the life-event clocks that run on their own.
Read guideBonus Tax Calculator
Compare the 22% federal withholding on a bonus with the tax it actually adds at your brackets, and what you may owe in April.
Open calculatorRetirement Calculator
Estimate retirement income, how long savings could last, and any funding gap.
Open calculator
More people we work with
See how our CPA and Financial Planner team helps people in situations like yours.