Selling Your Orthodontic Practice Without the Year-One Tax Hit
Smile Doctors, OrthoDent, OrthoFi, Birdeye Orthodontics, regional ortho consolidators — most paying 5-9x EBITDA for high-volume practices. A $1M EBITDA ortho practice = $5M-$9M sale.
Buyer cash → Assignment Co. → A-rated carrier → You, on schedule
Ortho-specific advantage: higher % goodwill than general dental (often 80-90%) → more §453-deferrable gain.
The math — $6M orthodontic practice sale
Assumptions: $6M sale, 85% goodwill, 10% equipment, 5% aligner inventory.
Orthodontic-specific tax wrinkles
- Higher goodwill % than general dental. More §453 leverage.
- In-practice aligner inventory (Invisalign, ClearCorrect). Ordinary income.
- Treatment-in-progress (TIP) WIP. Patients mid-treatment with prepaid contracts; deferred revenue accounting matters.
- Membership / prepaid plan revenue. Deferred revenue, goodwill character.
- State dental board ownership transfer. Each state has rules.
When this fits
- $1.5M+ sale (most ortho qualifies)
- DSO or strategic buyer
When it doesn't
- Mostly solo with small team
- Sale under $1.5M
How I work
Hans Goldstein, IRC §453 specialist. A-Rated Carrier, A-Rated Carrier, A-Rated Carrier, A-Rated Carrier — 50 states. Free fit-check.
📘 Get the free Seller's Guide to §453 + a fit-check
A plain-English guide for sellers: how a structured installment sale defers the tax when you sell a business, practice, or property — the math, the alternatives, and how to know if your deal fits.
Drop your info — instant PDF download + within 1 business day Hans will email a preliminary read on which structure fits your deal. No retainer. Carrier compensates the broker — not you.
📞 Hans Goldstein · 615-808-9731 · CA Insurance License #4322192 · Independent §453 specialist · Goldstein & Co. LLC
Educational. Not tax or legal advice.
Run your specific numbers
The calculator runs your sale through real 2026 federal + state tax brackets and shows §453 savings vs lump sum side-by-side.
Run the calculator → 615-808-9731