Real Estate Agents

A $12,000 commission doesn't mean $12,000 in profit. You need to know your real number after every deal.

Commission Checks Are Misleading

You closed on a $400,000 home. Your side of the commission was $12,000. Feels like a great month. But then the broker takes their split and you’re down to $8,400. Transaction fees take another $500. You spent $1,200 marketing that listing. Photography was $350. You haven’t set aside a dollar for taxes yet. That $12,000 is really closer to $5,000 after everything is accounted for.

Most agents in Central Florida don’t know their real number. They see the commission check hit the bank and spend accordingly. Then a slow month comes, or two slow months, and the credit card covers the gap. By the time tax season arrives, the money that should have been set aside is long gone.

You need to know what you actually keep on every deal. Not gross commission. Not what the broker sends you. The real number after every cost is accounted for.

The Expenses You're Losing Track Of

Real estate agents spend a surprising amount of money to earn their income. MLS dues, lockbox fees, E&O insurance, continuing education, association memberships, yard signs, professional photography, staging, virtual tours, open house supplies, CRM software, lead generation subscriptions, social media advertising, client closing gifts, gas, and vehicle wear and tear. It adds up fast.

Most agents track very little of it. Receipts pile up or disappear. Business expenses and personal spending run through the same account. Come tax time, you hand over a bank statement and your CPA does their best to reconstruct a year’s worth of activity. You end up claiming a fraction of what you actually spent on the business.

Marketing and Lead Generation

You might spend $500 to $1,500 a month on Zillow leads, social media ads, mailers, and other marketing. Without proper tracking, you can’t tell which channels are actually bringing in closings and you’re missing legitimate deductions at the end of the year.

Mileage and Vehicle Costs

Driving is the job. Showings, listing appointments, inspections, closings, open houses. The IRS mileage deduction adds up quickly when you’re putting 15,000 or 20,000 business miles on your car each year. But only if you track it consistently.

The Tax Surprise That Hits Every Agent

When you had a W-2 job, taxes came out of your paycheck automatically. You barely thought about it. As a 1099 independent contractor, nothing gets withheld from your commission checks. Not federal income tax. Not self-employment tax. Nothing. It is entirely on you to set aside the right amount and pay it on time.

Self-employment tax alone is 15.3% of your net earnings. That covers the Social Security and Medicare that an employer would normally split with you. On top of that, you owe federal income tax. For an agent in Orlando netting $80,000 after expenses, the combined tax bill can easily reach $22,000 to $25,000. The IRS expects quarterly payments throughout the year. Skip those and you’ll owe penalties on top of what you already owe. Most agents learn this the hard way during their first good year.

Quarterly Estimated Payments

We calculate what you owe each quarter based on your actual closings and expenses. Payments go out on schedule. You avoid penalties and you avoid the April shock of owing five figures with nothing set aside.

Clean Books for Tax Season

Your CPA needs organized records to do their job well. Every commission recorded, every deduction categorized, every expense documented. When the books are clean all year, tax prep becomes a routine handoff instead of a two-week scramble.

What Changes

You start knowing your real number on every transaction. Not just the commission amount, but the actual profit after broker splits, transaction fees, marketing costs, and estimated taxes. That clarity changes how you evaluate which deals are worth your time and which ones keep you busy without making you money.

Tax season stops being a crisis. Quarterly estimates are handled throughout the year. Every deductible expense is captured as it happens, not reconstructed months later from memory and bank statements. You build the financial habits that keep your business healthy through the busy months and the slow ones. That is what we focus on here. Not just doing your books, but helping you understand the numbers so you make better decisions going forward.

Solo Agents

Monthly bookkeeping, expense tracking, mileage documentation, and quarterly tax estimates. You see a clear picture of your net income per deal and stop guessing about whether you’re actually profitable after all costs are counted.

Teams and Brokerages

Adding buyer’s agents, showing assistants, or admin staff changes the financial picture significantly. Team member splits need tracking. Payroll needs to run correctly if you have W-2 employees. Marketing budgets need oversight across the team. We set up the systems so your growth doesn’t outpace your back office.

Central Florida's Trusted Bookkeeping Firm