How much can I sell my CPA business for in Illinois?

SBA and owner-operator lenders

SBA can finance firm acquisitions when cash flow is real and the buyer is a licensed CPA (or has one in the deal). Lenders will ask about client concentration, realization rates, and whether the book is 80% individual 1040s that can walk to TurboTax. They will not treat ‘we’ve always gotten the referrals’ as a contract.

Private equity and platforms

Accounting platforms and regional aggregators buy when there is a team, some advisory or CAS revenue, and a managing partner who is not the entire production. Their LOI will include a retention holdback. That holdback is the price. Read it.

Owner-operators next door

Another Illinois CPA or a small partnership still closes many books. They want the clients, the staff, and a transition through one tax season. They will walk if the seller refuses a reasonable handoff or if the AMS is a shoebox.

Audit-heavy, tax-heavy, and CAS/advisory firms are different products. Peer-review status and independence rules change who can buy. Say which firm you actually run.

The buyer needs a licensed CPA path and, if you do attest work, a peer-review and independence story. Client files and confidentiality are not a Mailchimp announcement. Notice timing belongs with counsel and the engagement letters you already signed.

Asset versus stock sale changes how the firm name, the PLLC or PC, and the Secretary of State filings move. Office leases still need landlord consent. Bulk Sales is less often the headline than in a parts business, but WIP, prepaid retainers, and equipment still need a clean schedule. We coordinate; your counsel and CPA (yes, you still need one who is not you) should review tax.

Realization rates tell the truth about billing. A firm that bills $400 and collects $260 is not a $400 firm. Bring realization and WIP aging. Platforms will. Local CPA buyers will too if they have bought before.

Attest work and peer review change who can legally buy you. Disclose early. Hiding a small audit shop inside a tax teaser is how a spring exclusive becomes a summer apology. Independence rules are not a listing-site FAQ.

Client notice is a planned season, not a Friday email. The book is the asset. A letter that starts shopping in February is how you fund someone else’s growth. We write the notice plan with counsel after a successor exists — not as a marketing stunt.

A 1040-heavy book and a CAS/advisory book are different firms at the same revenue. Platforms pay for the second. Local CPAs buy the first. Marketing both with one paragraph wastes a tax season. Split the teaser or split the process.

Office leases in professional buildings still need landlord consent. Clients will follow a new address more easily than a surprise letter. Sequence notice after a successor exists. The holdback is how the buyer says they do not believe you will.

Educational only — not legal or tax advice. Confirm Bulk Sales, Secretary of State filings, license transfers, and lease assignment with counsel and a CPA. We work on a success fee with no upfront listing fee.

A CPA-firm buyer in Illinois is buying a client list that will still sign engagement letters after the managing CPA’s name leaves the signature block. Tax-season intensity underwrites differently than year-round advisory. A book that is three October-extension families and one construction client is concentration, not a firm. SBA lenders will ask about realization rates, write-offs, and who actually does the work. Other firms buy books they can absorb onto their own license and peer review.

Platforms and regional firms appear when staff, not just the owner, already touch the files. Solo practitioners sell, but they sell a transition plan. Clients who will only talk to the seller support an earnout. Recurring write-up and advisory support a cleaner conversation. A teaser that treats every 1040 as permanent will be sampled. Let buyers sample the part you are proud of.

We recast SDE, run a revenue view, and will not invent a house accounting multiple on this page. BizBuySell’s Q2 2026 2.7× cash-flow and 0.7× revenue averages are market-wide context. If a roll-up letter arrived, read /private-equity-offer/accounting before you go exclusive. Recast at /contact.

Build a client schedule by fee, service line, tenure, and concentration. Tax versus write-up versus advisory should not share one blended story. Owner hours that a hired manager or partner must replace are a wage. One-time 1031 or estate projects are not core SDE. Realization and write-off history tell you whether the billing rate is real. Buyers will test workpapers, not just the P&L.

Busy-season staffing that is the owner plus two tired preparers is a transition risk. Software lock-in is a cost. Do not add “the value of the book” on top of a cash-flow multiple as if it were a second asset. The book is the earnings. Personal returns of the seller’s family that will leave should be tagged before diligence does it with a smile.

We will not invent a house multiple. A planning conversation uses both BizBuySell views and then talks retention. Your own CPA — or a conflict-free colleague — owns tax on the sale and Form 8594. Irony is not a filing strategy. The IRS selling-a-business page is still the federal starting point.