About Coastline
Coastline is a free US retirement and FIRE calculator. It projects a whole financial life year by year — earning, saving, buying a home, paying off debt, retiring, drawing down — with the real federal rules and the income tax of all 50 states and DC, and it shows the arithmetic behind every single number.
Who builds it
Coastline is built and maintained by Tyler Richards, a dentist, as an independent project. Contact: FinancialDecSim@gmail.com.
Credentials
Tyler Richards is a dentist, not a licensed financial advisor, CFP, CPA, tax attorney or registered investment adviser. Nothing on this site is financial, tax, legal or investment advice, and using it creates no advisory relationship. Confirm any decision with a qualified professional.
How the projections are produced
Every figure on these pages is computed by the same engine the app runs, not typed in or copied from another calculator. The engine applies the published federal and state tax rules rather than a flat effective rate, and an automated test suite checks it against hand-computed results. Where the model simplifies something, the methodology page names it.
How it is funded, and what happens to your data
- Free, with no ads. Donations are optional. There is no paid tier, upsell, lead-generation form or advisor-referral fee, and nobody pays for placement in the comparison pages, including those that name a competitor as the better tool for a job.
- Accounts are optional. Without one, plans stay in the browser. Signed in, plans are saved to the account.
- Inputs run the math. They go to the server only to compute the numbers.
- Anonymous, cookieless usage and speed stats. Time on the site, features used, device type, the site or link a visit came from, and a visit count kept on the device. Signed in, usage is linked to the account.
Corrections and contact
Corrections, bug reports and feature requests: FinancialDecSim@gmail.com. Tax constants are reviewed each year against the primary sources listed on the methodology page.
Common questions
Is Coastline free?
Yes — completely. There is no paid tier, no trial, no ads, and no account needed. You do not need to give an email address to use it.
Is the person behind Coastline a financial advisor?
No. Coastline is built by Tyler Richards, a dentist — not a licensed financial advisor, CFP, or CPA. It is an educational modeling tool, not advice, and you should confirm any decision with a qualified professional.
Does Coastline store my financial information?
Only with an account: signed in, plans are saved to it. Without one, plans stay in the browser, and inputs go to the server only to compute the numbers.
How does Coastline make money?
It is free and accepts optional donations. There are no ads, no affiliate links, no lead-generation forms, and no paid placements in the tool comparisons.
How do I report a wrong number?
Email FinancialDecSim@gmail.com. The tax constants are reviewed each year against IRS, SSA and CMS publications.