Dual-state Kentucky-Tennessee CPA practice and military-relocation real estate brokerage serving Fort Campbell's roughly 18,000 PCS household-goods moves a year.

Fort Campbell processes about 18,000 household-goods moves a year through the Installation Transportation Office. SCRA election to Tennessee state legal residence by soldiers and MSRRA election to Tennessee domicile by spouses creates annual Kentucky-side income-tax filings that require both Kentucky and Tennessee state-tax fluency. A single-state CPA cannot serve these filings without dual licensure. Per-return billing for an SCRA- and MSRRA-fluent practice runs $400 to $1,200 per soldier-household with annual renewal.

The PCS realtor lane sits alongside the tax practice. About 9,000 inbound moves create buy-side commissions; about 9,000 outbound moves create sell-side commissions. Dual-state principal-broker licensure captures both sides without referral leakage. Karen Chiles at Advantage Realtors (1506 South Virginia Street) is the existence-proof on the Kentucky side; the Steve Nash Team at Keller Williams covers the Tennessee side.

Existing dual-state operators prove the moat works at scale. DGA PSC has run dual offices since 1956. Calhoun & Co. operates under Karen Kreil, who holds dual KY-TN CPA. York Neel and Thurman Campbell are additional Hopkinsville-area CPA firms. Planters Bank — Hopkinsville-headquartered with 12 KY-TN locations, CDFI-designated, and a Kentucky State Bank Capital Investment lender at the Boulevard Branch at 4195 Fort Campbell Blvd — is the realistic SBA 7(a) loan-officer warm intro for a founder-buy acquisition.

The founder candidate is built as build-on-incumbent-overflow, not as a competing second desk against 70-year incumbents. The Fort Campbell ACS Relocation Readiness Program and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate are the warm-introduction pathway for arriving soldiers. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Military OneSource serve junior-enlisted free-tier filings. The paid-practice tier is the senior-NCO and officer and retiring-military cohort where filings combine BAH, BAS, LES, military pension, VA disability, TSP, spouse W-2, state-of-record split, and property held elsewhere.

Two recurring revenue mechanics drive the practice. The SCRA and MSRRA tax specialty bills $400 to $1,200 per soldier-household with annual renewal. A founder anchors 200 to 450 households in Year 2, producing $80,000 to $540,000 in gross. The PCS realtor brokerage runs an average commission of $8,000 to $15,000 per side at a $200,000 to $350,000 Christian-County median sale price; 25 to 50 sides per year at the founder LLC produces $200,000 to $750,000 in gross commission revenue.

Solo founder Year 2 economics. A solo dual-state Enrolled Agent plus Kentucky salesperson at small-practice scale lands 150 SCRA and MSRRA tax households at $600 average ($90,000) plus 30 PCS realtor sides at $11,000 average ($330,000). Gross combined $420,000. After E&O insurance ($5,000), software ($5,000 to $10,000), continuing education ($3,000), marketing ($10,000), and sub-fees, founder take-home runs $80,000 to $250,000.

Partnered practice Year 3 economics. A CPA plus dual-state principal-broker partnership lands 350 SCRA and MSRRA households at $750 average ($263,000) plus 50 to 80 PCS realtor sides at $12,000 average ($600,000 to $960,000). Gross combined $863,000 to $1.22 million. Partnered founder take-home $265,000 to $740,000.

Acquisition path. An SBA 7(a) succession-buy of an existing dual-state practice runs $750,000 to $1.4 million in deal size. SBA 7(a) covers up to 75 percent (or up to a $5 million ceiling); seller note 15 to 20 percent; founder equity 10 to 15 percent. Post-close founder take-home $180,000 to $420,000 annually after full debt service on a 10-year SBA amortization, assuming SDE holds and Fort Campbell PCS volume continues. Planters Bank's Boulevard Branch is the realistic loan-officer counterparty.

• DGA PSC (dual KY-TN CPA practice since 1956)

  Verified Christian-resident dual-state CPA practice

  Active in market

  Dual offices since 1956. Reference benchmark for the dual-state moat at scale.
• Calhoun & Company, PLLC

  Verified Christian-resident dual-state CPA practice

  Active in market

  Karen Kreil holds dual KY-TN CPA. Public-record reference benchmark.
• York Neel and Thurman Campbell

  Hopkinsville-area CPA firms

  Active in market

  Additional verified Hopkinsville CPA firms. Military-tax specialty scope is the verification step.
• Advantage Realtors KY-TN

  Verified dual-state PCS realtor brokerage

  Active in market

  Karen Chiles holds dual KY-TN principal-broker. 1506 South Virginia Street, Hopkinsville.
• Steve Nash Team at Keller Williams (Tennessee side)

  Cross-MSA PCS realtor referral partner

  Out-of-county

  Clarksville Tennessee complementary practice.
• Planters Bank — Boulevard Branch

  Cross-state-line community bank; SBA 7(a) loan-officer pathway

  Institution

  4195 Fort Campbell Blvd. CDFI and KSBCI lender. Realistic SBA 7(a) pathway for a founder-buy acquisition.
• Fort Campbell Army Community Service — Relocation Readiness Program

  DOD warm-introduction pathway for incoming PCS soldiers and families

  Out-of-county

  (270) 798-6313. Direct intake for incoming-PCS relocation services.
• Fort Campbell Office of the Staff Judge Advocate

  DOD legal-assistance office; SCRA and MSRRA referral pathway

  Out-of-county

  Free SCRA and MSRRA legal assistance for soldiers and families. The founder-fit lane is the post-OSJA paid-practice tier.
• Austin Peay State University accounting graduates

  Tennessee-side credentialed-founder pool

  Out-of-county

  Christian-resident graduates qualify for in-state APSU tuition; supply base for dual-licensed candidates with Kentucky relocation tie.
• Dean Dorton, Forvis Mazars, MCM CPAs, Crowe

  Kentucky-side regional CPA firms

  Out-of-county

  Regional firms with prior Fort Campbell-area client books. Alumni are the realistic Christian-County dual-licensed founder pool.

The acquisition lane has both a build path (a de novo dual-state founder LLC) and a buy path (an SBA 7(a) succession-buy of an existing dual-state practice). The realistic existing-operator pool inside Christian, Trigg, and Todd counties at the dual-state CPA, EA, or principal-broker scale runs 4 to 10 firms. Verified existence-proofs include DGA PSC, Calhoun & Co., York Neel, and Thurman Campbell on the CPA side; Advantage Realtors and the Steve Nash Team on the realtor side.

The highest-yield path is direct entry as a dual-state-credentialed founder LLC anchored on the Fort Campbell ACS Relocation Readiness Program and the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate referral pathway. The founder stands up Kentucky and Tennessee CPA — or the Enrolled Agent credential as a faster federal-recognized substitute — plus dual-state principal-broker licensure. The full dual-state CPA path takes 12 to 18 months; Enrolled Agent plus the principal-broker stack moves faster. Dual-state errors-and-omissions coverage runs $3,000 to $8,000 a year at the founder LLC tier. The practice colocates within walking distance of Fort Campbell Gate 4 or in the Boulevard, Pembroke, or Crofton corridor.

The credentialing scope is months-long. Kentucky and Tennessee CPA dual-licensure requires the CPA exam plus reciprocal-state licensure application (12 to 18 months from a clean start) or the Enrolled Agent federal credential covering all states (12-week test prep plus IRS exam). Kentucky and Tennessee principal-broker licenses require salesperson and broker exams in each state plus 60 to 180 hours of pre-licensure education in each state plus 1 to 2 years of supervised salesperson tenure before broker elevation. A $50,000 to $120,000 working-capital cushion plus the credentialing stack covers the 18-month buildout.

• — The 18,000-move-a-year aggregate is repeated several times across this candidate but is not yet pinned to a specific Fort Campbell ACS or DoD MilitaryINSTALLATIONS published number.
• — Direct intake at the Fort Campbell ACS Relocation Readiness Program — questions on the named-vendor referral pathway and the current Christian-resident specialty CPA and realtor list.
• — Specific founder-age and intent-to-sell signals at DGA PSC, Calhoun & Co., York Neel, Thurman Campbell, Advantage Realtors, and the Steve Nash Team.
• — Planters Bank SBA 7(a) loan-officer scope at the Boulevard Branch — CDFI and KSBCI lender capacity for a $750,000 to $1.4 million founder-buy succession deal.
• — Tennessee-side equivalent dual-state CPA and realtor pool — Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle and Clarksville Now coverage of TN-side practices not yet pulled.
• — Fort Campbell household-goods mover relationships — Thompson Moving (since 1952), River City Movers, First Choice, All My Sons — and whether any has a referral relationship with the existing dual-state CPA and realtor practices.
• — NAR settlement ratification status as of May 2026 — a shift in commission structure could thin the dual-state realty moat.
• — Kentucky income-tax bracket 2026-2027 status — if Kentucky adopts a flat tax or lower bracket, the SCRA and MSRRA delta narrows.
• — Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Military OneSource service-saturation cutoff above which paid practice begins.

Tonight, this week, this month — in that order. Each step produces a yes/no or a number, not a deeper understanding.