Brokerage, lending & investing

Books and taxes for land flippers and investors.

A vacant lot bought at a county tax deed sale, a survey and platting cost to subdivide a larger tract, an owner-financed sale where you carry the note, and a buyer's monthly payment coming back with interest. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
DecemberExample month
$12,600
what you made

December brought in $12,600. Of the Hartwell Road buyer's payment, part was interest and part was principal, since you are carrying that note yourself.

  • County tax deed sale purchaseLand acquisition costs
  • Surveyor, subdivided tractSurvey and platting costs
  • Owner-financed payment, HartwellNote interest income
  • Owner-financed payment, HartwellNote principal repayment
  • Cash sale, Route 9 parcelLand sale proceeds
Money in$26,800
Money out$14,200
Set aside for taxes$2,100
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Land investing books go wrong at the moment of resale.

Buying vacant land at a tax deed sale or an estate auction, sometimes subdividing it, and reselling it for cash or on owner financing follows a different rhythm than a house flip. When the books do not separate acquisition cost, platting spend, and how a sale actually gets paid, the real profit on a parcel never surfaces.

  1. 1

    A tax deed purchase gets treated like a normal closing

    Buying a parcel at a county tax deed sale can come with redemption periods, back taxes, or title issues that a standard purchase does not, and if it is booked the same as an ordinary land buy, the real risk and cost of that acquisition path gets lost.

    What we doFlags tax deed and auction purchases as their own kind of acquisition, so the accountant can weigh in on any redemption period or title issue before the parcel is resold.
  2. 2

    Platting and survey costs get expensed instead of added to the parcel's basis

    Subdividing a larger tract into smaller lots means survey, platting, and sometimes road or utility access costs, and if those are written off immediately instead of tracked against the specific parcels they created, the profit on each resold lot comes out wrong.

    What we doTies survey and platting costs to the parcels they created, so each lot's real cost basis is accurate when it sells.
  3. 3

    An owner-financed sale gets booked as a lump sum

    When you sell a parcel and carry the financing yourself, the buyer's monthly payments include both interest and principal, and if the whole payment is booked as a sale proceeds windfall, both your income and your remaining basis in the note are wrong.

    What we doSplits every owner-financed payment into interest income and principal repayment, so only the interest counts as this year's taxable income.
  4. 4

    Dealer status turns land profit into ordinary income

    Land bought and resold relatively quickly, especially when subdivided and marketed to multiple buyers, is usually taxed as ordinary business income rather than the capital gain a long-held investment parcel would get.

    What we doFlags land bought for resale as dealer property from the start, so the accountant applies the right tax treatment instead of assuming a capital gain that may not apply.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a land flipper and investor.

Set up once for how a parcel moves from purchase to resale. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Land sale proceedsCash sale proceeds on a resold parcel, tracked against its full acquisition cost.
  • Note interest incomeThe interest portion of a buyer's payment on an owner-financed sale.
  • Note principal repaymentThe return of the sale price you financed, kept apart from interest.
  • Down payments receivedUpfront payments collected on an owner-financed sale before monthly payments begin.

Money out

  • Land acquisition costsPurchase price and closing costs, including tax deed or auction purchases.
  • Survey and platting costsCosts to subdivide or clarify boundaries on a tract, tied to the resulting parcels.
  • Back taxes and redemption costsDelinquent property taxes paid to clear title on a tax deed purchase.
  • Marketing and listing costsSignage, online listings, and photography for parcels for sale.
  • Holding costsProperty tax and any HOA fees on land while it sits unsold.

What we watch for you

  • Profit per parcel

    What each parcel actually cleared after acquisition, platting, and sale costs, not just the sale price.

  • Interest collected on notes

    The actual taxable return on owner-financed sales, separate from principal simply coming back.

  • Days held per parcel

    How long capital is tied up before a parcel resells, since holding costs add up over a long hold.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe across parcel sales and note interest, tracked every month no matter how the year is shaping up.

Ask Gus

Things land flippers and investors ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

I bought a parcel at a tax deed sale. Does that get tracked differently than a normal purchase?

Yes. I flag it as its own kind of acquisition, since tax deed purchases can carry redemption periods or title issues a standard purchase does not, and the accountant weighs in before it gets resold.

I am carrying the financing on a lot I sold. The buyer's payment landed today. Is all of that my income?

No. Part of that payment is interest, which is taxable, and part is principal, which is just the sale price coming back to you over time, not taxed again.

Can I do a 1031 exchange on land I subdivided and sold in pieces?

Usually not, since subdividing and reselling quickly usually makes it dealer property, taxed as ordinary income rather than a capital gain. A real accountant can confirm how your specific situation is treated.

The tax side

The tax side of land flipping and investing.

Most of what matters here is dealer status on resold land, and splitting interest from principal on any note you carry.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Dealer status and ordinary incomeLand bought to resell, especially when subdivided and marketed to multiple buyers, is usually taxed as ordinary business income, and a 1031 exchange usually is not available, unlike land held as a long-term investment.
  • Interest income on owner-financed salesOnly the interest portion of a buyer's payment on a note you carry is taxable income. The principal portion is a return of your own basis in the sale, not taxed again.
  • Self-employment tax on dealer profitProfit from flipping or subdividing land carries self-employment tax at 15.3 percent up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500, since it is treated as ordinary business income.
  • Quarterly estimated paymentsWith sale profit and note interest landing unevenly across the year, estimated payments due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 need a real look at which parcels are likely to sell or pay off when.

Deductions land flippers and land investors miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Survey and platting costs
  • Back taxes paid to clear a tax deed title
  • Recording and closing fees
  • Marketing and listing costs for parcels
  • Property tax during the holding period
  • Attorney fees for owner-financed notes
  • Mileage to inspect and mark parcels
  • GIS and mapping software
  • Note servicing costs
  • Home office for a dedicated workspace
  • Accounting and tax preparation costs
  • HOA fees during a holding period

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A land investor's year, kept every month.

Parcels sell on their own timeline, and notes pay off over years. Your team keeps you ahead of the tax side either way. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the year

    Last year's return gets started, and a monthly set-aside is planned around parcels expected to sell and notes expected to pay interest.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

    Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January.

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether this year's sales and note payments changed the number.

  4. October

    Before tax deed sale season

    Many counties hold tax deed sales in the fall. Gus looks at what is worth buying or doing before December while there is still time.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for land flippers and land investors. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions land flippers and investors ask first.

How does Gus handle a parcel I bought at a tax deed sale?

It gets flagged as its own kind of acquisition, separate from a standard purchase, since tax deed buys can carry redemption periods or title issues that need the accountant's attention before resale.

I subdivided one tract into six lots. How does Gus track the survey and platting costs?

Those costs are tied to the parcels they created, so each lot's real cost basis is accurate when it sells, rather than muddying the month the survey was done.

I carry owner financing on some of my sales. How is that different from a cash sale?

Each payment gets split into interest, which is taxable income, and principal, which is a return of your own basis in the sale and not taxed again.

Do I get a capital gain if I hold a parcel for over a year before selling?

It depends more on your intent than just the holding period. Land bought to resell, especially if subdivided, is usually taxed as ordinary income regardless of exactly how long you held it.

I have a mix of quick flips and a few parcels I am holding long term. Can Gus track both?

Yes. Gus flags which parcels are being resold quickly and which are held longer, so the accountant can apply the right treatment to each.

My records across a dozen parcels bought and sold are a mess of receipts and county paperwork. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank statements and closing documents you have. Gus sorts each parcel's costs and any sale proceeds, and most investors know where they stand within a couple of weeks.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever