Arts & music education

Books and taxes for music lesson schools.

Tuition drafts, fall registration fees, recital tickets, and a roster split between staff and contract teachers. 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
SeptemberExample month
$7,700
what you made

September came in at $7,700 once the fall registration wave and two new contract teachers were counted. The upright you bought for room 2 went in as equipment, not a supply run.

  • My Music Staff tuition draftMonthly tuition
  • Fall registration feesRegistration fees
  • Yamaha upright, room 2Instruments and equipment
  • Contract teacher payTeacher pay
  • Google adsMarketing
Money in$41,200
Money out$33,500
Set aside for taxes$2,000
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Music lesson school books go wrong in the same five places.

A generalist sees tuition deposits and a payroll run. Your school is staff teachers next to contract teachers, a fall enrollment wave, and a recital that costs real money to put on. When the books do not know that, the number at the end of the month tells you less than it should.

  1. 1

    Teacher pay isn't all the same kind

    A staff teacher on a set schedule and a contract teacher who brings her own students and sets her own hours both show up as one wage line if nobody separates them. That hides what teaching actually costs against what tuition brought in.

    What we doKeeps W-2 wages and 1099 pay in separate lines, so labor cost is visible against the tuition it produced.
  2. 2

    August registration fees fund a year of lessons

    Families pay a registration fee in August for a school year that runs through June. Counted all in August, that month looks strong and the slower months of the year look like the school is losing ground.

    What we doRecognizes registration income across the term it covers, so no single month looks better or worse than it is.
  3. 3

    The spring recital disappears into overhead

    Venue rental, a sound tech, and printed programs for the May recital can run past a thousand dollars, and folded into general expenses, nobody can tell if the ticket price actually covered it.

    What we doKeeps recital income and costs in their own line so you can see whether the show paid for itself.
  4. 4

    A piano purchase looks like a supply run

    A used upright or a digital piano for a teaching room can cost several thousand dollars. Filed with sheet music and folders, it muddies the month and misses a write-off it usually qualifies for.

    What we doFlags instrument purchases the day they show up, logs them as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how to write them off.
  5. 5

    Loaner instruments blur with the ones you own

    A keyboard or violin rented to a beginner by the month brings in steady income, but if it is booked the same way as a straight tuition payment, you lose track of which instruments are still earning their keep.

    What we doKeeps rental income in its own category and tracks loaner instruments apart from routine supply purchases.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a music lesson school.

Set up once for how your school gets paid and what it spends. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Monthly tuitionAutopay drafts through My Music Staff for private and group lessons.
  • Registration and materials feesOne-time enrollment and book fees charged at signup.
  • Recital ticket salesSpring and December recital tickets sold through Eventbrite.
  • Instrument rental incomeLoaner violins and keyboards rented to beginners by the month.
  • Group class feesEnsemble and theory class packages billed apart from private lessons.

Money out

  • Teacher payW-2 wages for staff teachers, 1099 pay for contract teachers who set their own hours.
  • Studio rentLease for the lesson rooms and the front lobby.
  • Instruments and equipmentPianos, keyboards, and loaner instruments, tracked apart from routine supplies.
  • Sheet music and method booksWest Music and Alfred orders restocked each semester.
  • Recital costsVenue rental, a sound tech, and printed programs for the spring and December shows.
  • MarketingGoogle ads and the neighborhood mailer before each enrollment season.
  • Studio softwareMy Music Staff for scheduling, billing, and attendance.
  • Payment processing feesWhat the processor keeps on card and autopay drafts.

What we watch for you

  • Active student count

    The base the tuition number rests on. A steady count matters more than one strong month.

  • Teacher pay share

    Wages and contractor pay against tuition. It shows what teaching costs against what it brings in.

  • Recital net

    Ticket income minus venue and production cost. It tells you if the show paid for itself.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things music school owners 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.

Two of my teachers are 1099 and four are on payroll. Is that a problem?

Not by itself. I keep them in separate lines and watch for a contract teacher whose schedule looks like an employee's, so you can ask the question before it becomes a habit.

August registration fees made the month look huge. Is that real?

Not quite. That money covers lessons through June, so I spread it across the school year instead of counting it all in August.

Do I owe my accompanist any paperwork for the spring recital?

If you pay her $2,000 or more this year and she is not on payroll, she gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. I keep that list running all year.

The tax side

The tax side of a music lesson school.

Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing: a teacher paid like a contractor who works like an employee, registration money counted too soon, and a piano filed as a supply.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Employee or contractorA teacher who works a schedule you set, in your room, on your curriculum, is usually an employee no matter what the pay arrangement is called. A teacher who brings her own students and sets her own hours usually is not.
  • Contractor 1099sAny teacher or accompanist paid $2,000 or more in 2026 who is not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
  • Instruments and equipmentPianos and keyboards can usually be written off the year you buy them. Bonus depreciation is back to 100 percent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
  • The pass-through deductionMost school owners can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the books are right all year.

Deductions music lesson schools miss

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

  • Studio and lobby rent
  • Piano tuning and repair
  • Sheet music and method books
  • My Music Staff subscription
  • Recital venue rental
  • Printed recital programs
  • Google ads
  • Loaner instrument upkeep
  • Payment processing fees
  • Business phone line
  • Website hosting
  • Liability insurance

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 music school year, kept every month.

Enrollment waves come in August and January. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. 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, the 1099 list is ready, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.

  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 the spring recital and summer slowdown changed the number.

  4. October

    Before December's recital

    Before the holiday show and year-end, Gus looks at any instrument you might buy and anything worth doing before December.

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 music lesson schools. 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 music school owners ask first.

Can Gus tell me which teachers should be on payroll?

He flags a contract teacher whose hours and duties look like an employee's, so you know when to ask. The final call on classification goes to the accountant, since it depends on the whole picture.

How do you handle registration fees paid in August for a school year?

That money covers lessons through June, so Gus spreads it across the months it actually pays for instead of counting it all the day it lands.

I rent out keyboards to beginner students. Does that count as a sale?

No. Rental income stays in its own category, and the instrument stays on the books as something you own, not something sold.

Do recital ticket sales count as taxable income?

Yes. Ticket sales are part of your gross revenue. Gus keeps them in their own line so you can see whether the recital paid for itself.

My teachers are split between W-2 and 1099. Is that a problem?

Not by itself. Many schools run that way. Gus keeps the two kinds of pay separate and flags any contract teacher whose setup looks like an employee's.

My tuition records are a semester behind. Can Gus catch up?

Yes. Send the bank statements you have, and Gus works through a semester's worth of tuition and teacher pay in about a week, so you know exactly where the school stands.

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