Financial Advisor and CPA for Dentists
A flat-fee CPA and Financial Planner team that gives you personalized, holistic advice across your taxes and financial plan. We plan your associate pay, practice purchase, equipment and retirement plan, and file your returns.
What we handle for dentists
Most dentists go from associate to owner, and the tax rules change at each step. This is the work we do with you.
- 01
Associate pay, W-2 or 1099
Associates are often paid a share of collections or production. Whether you are an employee depends on who controls the work, not the label on the form. On a 1099 you owe self-employment tax and quarterly estimates, and can open a Solo 401(k).
- 02
Buying into a practice
Buy shares of an S corporation and the price becomes your stock basis, with nothing to amortize until you sell. Buy into a practice taxed as a partnership and a Section 754 election can give you your share of a step-up, including goodwill.
- 03
Buying a practice outright
In an asset purchase, you and the seller split the price on Form 8594. Goodwill, patient records and a noncompete are amortized over 15 years under Section 197; equipment is written off much faster, so the allocation sets your deductions for years.
- 04
Equipment write-offs
For 2026, Section 179 allows up to $2,560,000, reduced dollar for dollar once purchases pass $4,090,000, and it cannot exceed your business income. 100% bonus depreciation applies to property acquired after January 19, 2025, and can create a loss.
- 05
A retirement plan for the practice
A 401(k) with profit sharing lets an owner reach $72,000 in 2026, before catch-ups, counting pay up to $360,000. Staff usually need contributions too, so we price the plan with your payroll before you adopt it.
- 06
Dental school loans
Take out or consolidate a federal loan on or after July 1, 2026 and your Direct Loans repay under a tiered standard plan or the new Repayment Assistance Plan. Forgiveness on an income-driven plan is federally taxable for discharges after 2025.
How Nino helps dentists
A practice owner usually has a practice accountant, a broker and a lender, and no one planning the household those decisions feed. On the Premier plan one CPA and Financial Planner team plans the practice and your household together and files both returns, with the practice’s books and return priced by complexity.
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A plan in your first two weeks
Your financial planner and CPA build a plan from your returns, your pay agreement or the practice’s financials, your loans and your goals, then revisit it every quarter and before you sign a purchase agreement.
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Practice and personal returns together
Your CPA prepares your federal and state returns and, on Premier, the practice’s return and bookkeeping, priced by complexity, so your salary, depreciation and plan contributions agree across both. Nothing is filed until you approve it.
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The practice and household in one view
Nino’s AI software connects the practice’s accounts and yours read-only, so you can ask what an equipment purchase or a larger profit sharing contribution leaves for the household this year.
What should a dentist decide before buying or selling a practice?
Four choices that set your taxes for years, most of them in the purchase agreement.
Whether to elect S corporation status
An S corporation pays you a reasonable salary, with payroll tax, and the rest as distributions. Dentistry is a health service, so the 20% QBI deduction is gone above $276,750 of 2026 taxable income, or $553,500 joint, and phases out from $201,750.
When to take the equipment deduction
Section 179 and bonus depreciation front-load the deduction; regular depreciation spreads it out. A write-off is worth more in a high-bracket year, and when you sell, gain on equipment up to the depreciation you took is taxed as ordinary income.
Whether to add a cash balance plan
Paired with the 401(k), a cash balance plan lets an older owner set aside far more than $72,000 a year, toward a benefit capped at $290,000 a year in 2026. It must be funded every year and cover eligible staff, so it suits steady profits.
How you will sell later
Goodwill you built is capital gain to you; gain on equipment you wrote off and payment for a noncompete are ordinary income. Whether you sell to an associate or a dental service organization, agree the allocation in the contract. See selling a business.
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 dentists
Read up on these decisions, or run your own numbers.
Solo 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 guideTax Strategies for High Income Earners, by Income Type
Which tax strategies are open to you depends on where your income comes from. Here are the levers for wages, a business, real estate, and investments, and which to plan a year ahead.
Read guideSEP IRA
A SEP IRA lets a business owner contribute up to 25% of pay, capped at $72,000 for 2026. Here is the self-employed math, the employee rule, and the deadlines.
Read guideA Tax and Cash Checklist for an Equity Liquidity Event
Before a tender offer, IPO-related sale, or acquisition, identify the taxable event, reserve cash, and reconcile your stock records.
Read guideSEP IRA Contribution Calculator
Estimate your 2026 SEP IRA maximum as a sole proprietor or S corp owner, the federal tax it saves, and the Solo 401(k) alternative.
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.