A year-round CPA relationship — proactive planning in the fall, professional tax preparation in the spring — all for a flat annual fee.
No business returns required. Designed for personal retirement tax situations.
If you've built a portfolio of $1 million or more, your tax situation in retirement is more complex than most people realize — and more full of opportunity than most CPAs take the time to find.
You're managing RMDs, investment distributions, Social Security income, and potentially a second home or seasonal residency. The decisions you make — and when you make them — have a meaningful impact on what you keep.
Sentinel Tax is a small, focused CPA firm in Bonita Springs designed specifically for retirees in this situation. We don't do bookkeeping or payroll. We do one thing: help retirees pay less tax through better planning.
Most CPAs only talk to you in March or April. That's too late to change anything. Our model is built around working with you before year-end, when you can still act.
Before the year closes, we sit down together — virtually or in person here in Bonita Springs — to review your income picture and identify every available opportunity to reduce your tax bill before December 31st.
When your tax documents arrive, we take it from there. Your return is prepared by a CPA — not outsourced, not automated — with a thorough review to make sure everything from the fall plan was executed correctly.
A reactive CPA files your taxes accurately. A proactive one helps you pay significantly less — by identifying opportunities that disappear when the calendar turns.
Early retirement — before Social Security and RMDs kick in — often creates a window to convert traditional IRA funds to Roth at historically low rates. Miss the window and it's gone.
A single year of higher income can trigger a Medicare surcharge that costs thousands in extra premiums two years later. We plan around the thresholds before they become a problem.
When you sell, how much you sell, and in which tax year are all choices. Strategic sequencing can keep you in the 0% long-term capital gains bracket — but only with advance planning.
If you're over 70½ and charitably inclined, giving directly from your IRA can satisfy your RMD without increasing your taxable income — a meaningful tax advantage most taxpayers miss.
Required Minimum Distributions add to your taxable income whether you need the money or not. We help you plan around them — or use them wisely — before they start pushing you into higher brackets.
Retirement gives you more control over your income than you may realize. We help you fill your bracket intentionally — taking just enough income each year to minimize taxes over your lifetime.
If you spend October through May in Southwest Florida, you're in the right place at the right time — and working with a local CPA while you're here just makes sense.
We're in Bonita Springs, minutes from Naples, and happy to meet in person during the season. During the summer months, we stay connected virtually — so your tax plan doesn't take a vacation when you head north.
We can also handle your home state return, so there's no need to juggle two accountants in two states.
Bonita Springs, FL Naples, FL Virtual — Year RoundI'm Chris, a CPA and Personal Financial Specialist based in Bonita Springs. After spending two decades helping business owners build and protect what they've earned, I've shifted my focus to what I find most meaningful — helping retirees keep more of what they've worked a lifetime to accumulate.
Most retirees I meet are working with a CPA who does an accurate job of filing their taxes. Accurate is fine. But in retirement, there are planning decisions — made before December 31st — that can save thousands of dollars a year. Those decisions don't happen in April; they happen in the fall. That's what we're here for.
Sentinel Tax is deliberately focused. We don't do bookkeeping, payroll, or business returns. We work exclusively with retirees and pre-retirees who have meaningful assets and want a CPA who thinks ahead alongside them — not just behind them.
Our office is in Bonita Springs, and we serve clients throughout the Naples area and beyond. For snowbirds, we're easy to meet in person during the season — and we stay connected virtually the rest of the year.
We'll spend a few minutes getting to know your situation — your income sources, your goals, and whether our annual package is a good fit. If it is, we'll walk you through exactly how the process works and get you set up.
Schedule Your Free Intro Call →Already have a CPA? Many clients switch to us after realizing how much proactive planning they've been missing.