A CPA for Tavares small business.
Tax preparation, monthly bookkeeping, and year-round planning for Tavares seaplane operators, boat-tour businesses, lakefront hospitality, and Lake County small business. Mount Dora–based, 6 miles east via SR 19. Florida-licensed CPA. One person, books and return.
Tavares at a glance
America’s Seaplane City, and the Lake County seat.
Tavares sits on an isthmus between Lake Eustis and Lake Dora at the heart of the Harris Chain of Lakes 19,003 residents (2020), founded 1880, Lake County seat since 1887, and home to the city-owned Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1). Wooton Park, the Pontoon Promenade, the Dora Canal, the Dora Queen paddlewheel, and Jones Brothers seaplane tours give the downtown a working waterfront economy you don’t see anywhere else in Central Florida.
19,003
Residents (2020)
1880
Founded
1887
County Seat
6 mi
From Mount Dora
Accounting services
For the seaplane operator on Ruby Street, the marina at Wooton Park, and the retired family by the lake.
Whether you run a seaplane charter, an eco-tour boat on Lake Dora, a B&B near the Pontoon Promenade, or a household coordinating retirement income across IRAs, brokerage, and Social Security, here’s what I do.
Monthly bookkeeping
Real-time books. No shoebox.
Secure portal, bank integrations, and clean books reviewed by a CPA, not a bookkeeping mill. Seasonal cash flow tracked accurately; you see the numbers whenever you want.
Tax preparation
Federal, state, multi-state.
Individual and business returns, S-Corp, LLC, sole proprietor, partnership, prepared by a licensed CPA. Multi-state filings welcome for charter operators that run trips beyond Florida.
Retirement planning
Built for Tavares households.
RMDs, Roth conversion windows, Social Security taxation, IRMAA-aware Medicare planning, charitable giving strategy, and estate-and-gifting work for households at the chain-of-lakes stage of life.
The short answer
I’m a one-person CPA firm serving Tavares and Lake County from my Mount Dora office, 6 miles east via SR 19. I keep the books and prepare the return myself, and every client gets a secure portal with real-time dashboards and automatic bank sync. Every engagement is scoped to your business on your discovery call. Tavares is the closest city to my office, same county, same chain of lakes, same CPA.
Why local matters
Four things a Tavares business has to get right.
America's Seaplane City
A genuinely unique city economy.
The Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) on Lake Dora makes this the only city in the country with this kind of municipal seaplane infrastructure. Jones Brothers seaplane tours, fly-in dinner dates, charter flights as far as Key West. That's small-business sales tax, fuel sales, charter income, multi-state revenue, and seasonal cash flow. I know how it accounts.
Lake County Seat
Where Lake County small business actually files.
Tavares has been the Lake County seat since 1887, courthouse, county admin, public records, real estate closings, and probate all happen here. Constant business filings, constant LLC formations, constant entity questions. If your work touches Lake County government, I'm the closest CPA to the courthouse who actually answers the phone.
Chain-of-Lakes Tourism
Wooton Park, the Dora Canal, and a real boat economy.
The Pontoon Promenade, the Dora Queen paddlewheel, the mile-long Dora Canal eco-tour, the Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival, marinas, RV resorts, lakefront B&Bs, same seasonal cash-flow + sales-tax story as a craft-brewery cluster, but with boats, planes, and lakes instead.
6 Miles from Mount Dora
Same county. Same chain of lakes. Same CPA.
Tavares is 6 miles west of my Mount Dora office, same chain of lakes, same Lake County tax baseline, same chamber-of-commerce ecosystem. If your business is on the Tavares side of the chain, I'm already the closest CPA who actually understands how it operates.
Rooted in Tavares
Built around Lake Dora and Lake Eustis.
Wooton Park
Lakefront park on Lake Dora with the Tavares Seaplane Base & Marina, the seaplane-themed children’s splash pad, the city marina with fuel and transient docks, and the Pontoon Promenade waterfront walk. The civic and commercial heart of the city.
Founded 1880
Founded by Alexander St. Clair-Abrams, a New Orleans newspaper-and-railroad man who named the town for a Portuguese ancestor, invested half a million dollars of his own money, and chartered a railroad from Tavares to Orlando.
Harris Chain of Lakes
Lake Eustis to the north, Lake Dora to the south, Lake Harris to the west, and the picturesque mile-long Dora Canal connecting them, a nationally-known freshwater chain that anchors the city’s recreation and tourism economy.
What makes me different
Most Lake County firms still run on paper. I built something different.
Most accounting offices in the area still operate on paper forms, phone calls, and once-a-year check-ins. I built a modern platform from scratch, and I use it with every client.
Secure client portal
Upload, view, track, from anywhere.
Documents, reports, and real-time financials accessible from any device. No email attachments, no fax machines, no lost paperwork.
Bank integrations
Transactions sync automatically.
Plaid-powered connections pull transactions nightly, so your books stay current without a shoebox of receipts or a manual data-entry pass at year-end.
Real-time dashboards
See your numbers whenever you want.
P&L, cash flow, and expense breakdowns available any day of the month, not just when I send a PDF. Curious in the middle of July? Log in.
Free financial tools
Calculators for the questions you ask yourself.
S-Corp savings, quarterly estimated tax, 1099 vs W-2 comparison, all free, no signup required. Run the numbers before you call me.
No other CPA firm serving Tavares combines this caliber of CPA work with this level of modern client tooling.
Services & pricing
Custom engagements, priced on a call.
Book a discovery call and I’ll walk you through what the engagement would look like, or explore the core services below.
Every engagement
Custom-built
scoped on your discovery call
Bookkeeping in Tavares
Looking for a Tavares bookkeeper? You already are.
Most Tavares small businesses end up paying twice, once for a bookkeeper, then again for a CPA at tax time to clean up the bookkeeper's work. I'm a Florida CPA who also does your monthly bookkeeping, so it's one person on both sides.
Books run on Forty Two Six, my in-house bookkeeping platform, no QuickBooks subscription. Every engagement scoped on a discovery call. See the full bookkeeping service →
“I started a rental property, which made my taxes more complex than before, so I wanted someone who would really pay attention to the details. Tim was incredibly patient, detailed, and communicative. His pricing is very fair for the level of service he provides.”
Jonathan and Faith A., Google Review
Questions I hear in Tavares
Frequently asked questions.
How much does a bookkeeper in Tavares cost?
As of 2026, around Tavares and the Harris Chain, independent bookkeepers charge roughly $200–$500 monthly, with a separate CPA adding $800 or more at filing time. My practice combines the two: one CPA on the ledger and on the return, so the filing-time markup disappears. Every engagement is scoped on a discovery call.
Do you offer bookkeeping services near Tavares?
Closer than near. My office is 6 miles east of downtown Tavares, roughly 12 minutes by SR 19 or US 441. Same county, same chain of lakes. The portal handles the paperwork; the short drive handles the handshake.
What's the difference between a bookkeeper and a CPA in Tavares?
A bookkeeper records and categorizes transactions; a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a state-licensed accountant who can also sign tax returns, represent you before the IRS, and provide tax strategy. Around the Harris Chain you will find bookkeepers for the recording and CPAs for the filing. My clients get one continuous engagement, the same license (#AC62625) on the ledger and on the return.
Do you have an office in Tavares?
My office is in Mount Dora, 6 miles east of downtown Tavares, about 12 minutes via SR 19 or US 441. Same county, same chain of lakes. Most client work happens through my secure online portal, but for Tavares clients an in-person meeting is a short drive.
How much does a CPA cost in Tavares?
Each Tavares engagement gets its own scope. A seaplane charter with multi-state revenue is not a downtown storefront, and the engagement reflects the difference. Book a discovery call at timcpa.com/contact and I'll walk you through what the engagement would look like.
Do you work with seaplane operators, boat tour companies, and marina vendors?
Yes. The Tavares Seaplane Base, Jones Brothers Air & Seaplane Adventures, the Dora Queen, Dora Canal Tour, and the Wooton Park / Pontoon Promenade cluster. Those are seasonal cash-flow businesses with sales tax, fuel sales, charter income, and (for charter trips to places like Key West) multi-state revenue. I handle that work directly.
Do you handle Florida sales tax for boat charters, rentals, and tours?
Yes. Charters, rentals, and tour operations each sit differently under Florida sales tax, bareboat versus crewed arrangements, fuel surcharges, and multi-county docking all change the answer. I set the invoices up correctly the first time and file the DR-15s on schedule.
I am retired in Tavares, can you help with retirement and estate planning?
Yes. Tavares skews older (median age 51.5; 34% are 65+). That means RMDs, Roth conversion windows, Social Security taxation, IRMAA brackets, charitable giving strategy, and estate-and-gifting work. I plan those moves with you, not just file the return.
Ready for a Tavares CPA who picks up the phone?
Book a discovery call and we’ll talk through the operation. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll say so, and point you somewhere better.
Tim
More reading
Curious about costs? Read my complete guide: How Much Does a CPA Cost? with real pricing ranges for bookkeeping, tax preparation, and advisory services.
Behind on your books? See my catch-up bookkeeping guide. Run a trade or contracting business? See bookkeeping & taxes for Florida contractors.
Working nearby? I also have pages for Eustis and The Villages.
Timothy LeGendre CPA LLC | Florida CPA License #AC62625 (firm #AD72267) | Mount Dora, FL | (407) 417-1064 | Contact