Brokerage, lending & investing

Books and taxes for title companies.

A buyer's earnest money sitting in escrow until closing, a title insurance premium split with the underwriter, county recording fees paid on a client's behalf, and a closing fee that is finally your own revenue. 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
JulyExample month
$16,700
what you made

July brought in $16,700 in real revenue. The escrow deposits that passed through this month never touched your income, they are client funds held until closing.

  • Closing fees, 14 filesClosing and settlement fees
  • Title premium, retained shareTitle insurance premium income
  • Underwriter premium remittanceUnderwriter premium share paid
  • County recording feesRecording fees paid on behalf of clients
  • Title search vendor invoiceTitle search and abstract costs
Money in$58,000
Money out$41,300
Set aside for taxes$3,800
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

Title company books go wrong when client funds look like revenue.

A title company handles far more money passing through than it actually earns. Earnest money, loan proceeds, and recording fees all move through the same doors as your closing fee, and if the books cannot tell the difference, the business looks nothing like its real size.

  1. 1

    Escrow deposits get counted as company revenue

    Earnest money and loan proceeds held in escrow until closing belong to the buyer, seller, or lender, not the title company, and if a deposit lands in the operating account and gets treated as income, the company's real revenue is wildly overstated.

    What we doKeeps escrow and trust funds in their own account and off the income statement entirely, so only what the company actually earned counts as revenue.
  2. 2

    The title premium split with the underwriter gets missed

    A title insurance premium collected at closing is split between the title company and the underwriter that backs the policy, and if the whole premium is booked as the company's income, both revenue and the underwriter's share look wrong.

    What we doBooks only the company's retained share of the premium as income, with the underwriter's portion tracked as a pass-through cost.
  3. 3

    Recording fees paid for clients look like the company's own expense

    County recording fees are collected from the buyer or seller and paid to the county on their behalf, not a cost the title company itself incurred, and booking it as a straight expense hides that the money was never the company's to begin with.

    What we doTracks recording fees as a pass-through paid on behalf of clients, not a business expense, so the company's real cost structure is not distorted.
  4. 4

    A slow closing season looks worse than it is

    Closing volume swings with the local real estate market, and a slow season can look like the business is struggling when the underlying fee structure and cost base have not actually changed.

    What we doKeeps closing fee revenue tracked against the volume of files closed, so a slow season reads as fewer closings, not a change in what the business earns per file.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a title company.

Set up once for what is company revenue and what is only passing through. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Closing and settlement feesThe fee the company earns for handling and coordinating a closing.
  • Title insurance premium incomeThe company's retained share of the premium after the underwriter's split.
  • Title search feesFees charged for researching a property's title history.
  • Escrow account interestInterest earned on escrow balances, where state rules allow the company to keep it.

Money out

  • Underwriter premium share paidThe portion of the title premium remitted to the underwriter.
  • Recording fees paid on behalf of clientsCounty fees collected from clients and paid on their behalf, tracked as pass-through, not an expense.
  • Title search and abstract costsVendor and researcher costs for pulling a property's title history.
  • Notary and closing staff costsPayroll or contractor costs for staff who conduct closings.
  • Errors and omissions insuranceCoverage most title companies carry against claims on a policy.

What we watch for you

  • Revenue per closed file

    What the company actually earns per closing, separate from the much larger dollar amounts passing through escrow.

  • Closing volume

    How many files closed this month, since revenue moves with volume more than with any one deal's size.

  • Underwriter share paid

    What is remitted to the underwriter against total premium collected, so the retained share is clear.

  • The set-aside

    What you will owe on the company's actual revenue, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.

Ask Gus

Things title company 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.

We processed nearly two million dollars through escrow this month. Is that all our revenue?

No, and it should not be. That is client funds passing through, held for buyers, sellers, and lenders. Your real revenue is the closing fees and retained premium, about $16,700 this month.

How much of the title premium do we actually keep versus the underwriter?

I track your retained share as income and the underwriter's portion as a pass-through cost, so you can see exactly what the split looks like each month.

Closings have been slow this quarter. Should I be worried about the business?

Your revenue per file has not changed, just the number of files. That points to the local market slowing down, not a problem with how the company is running.

The tax side

The tax side of a title company.

Most of what matters here is that escrow funds are never company income, and only the retained premium and fees count as revenue.

What your return has to get right

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

  • Escrow funds are not company incomeEarnest money, loan proceeds, and other funds held in escrow belong to the parties to the transaction, not the title company, and never count as revenue no matter how much passes through the account.
  • Title premium is split incomeOnly the company's retained share of a title insurance premium is its income. The underwriter's portion is a pass-through cost, not company revenue and not a company expense.
  • Self-employment or corporate tax on retained revenueWhether the company pays self-employment tax or corporate tax depends on its structure, but either way it applies only to the actual revenue retained, not to funds that passed through escrow.
  • The pass-through deductionMany title company owners can take up to 20 percent of qualifying business income off their taxable income. It comes out right when escrow funds, premium splits, and fees are booked correctly all year.

Deductions title companies miss

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

  • Title search and abstract vendor costs
  • Errors and omissions insurance
  • Notary bonding and commissions
  • Closing software and title production systems
  • Office rent for a closing location
  • Staff payroll for closers and processors
  • Continuing education for licensed staff
  • State licensing and registration fees
  • Marketing to real estate agents and lenders
  • Courier and document delivery costs
  • Bank fees on escrow and operating accounts
  • Professional 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 title company's year, kept every month.

Closing volume rises and falls with the local real estate market. Gus keeps the books clear on what is company revenue no matter how the volume moves. 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, 1099s go out to any contractors, and a monthly set-aside is planned based on expected closing volume.

  2. April

    Filed. Done.

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

  3. July

    Halfway check

    Where the company stands, what it will owe, and whether spring closing volume changed the number.

  4. October

    Before closings slow for winter

    Closing volume typically eases heading into the holidays as fewer buyers shop for a home. Gus looks at closing software or equipment worth buying before December while volume allows for it.

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 title companies. 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 title company owners ask first.

Does the money sitting in our escrow account count toward our revenue?

No. Escrow funds belong to the buyer, seller, or lender until closing, and never count as company income no matter the dollar amount passing through.

How does Gus handle the split between us and the title insurance underwriter?

Only the retained share of the premium counts as your income. The underwriter's portion is tracked as a pass-through cost, not company revenue or a company expense.

We pay county recording fees on behalf of clients at every closing. Does that count as our expense?

No. Those fees are collected from the client and paid to the county on their behalf, so Gus tracks them as a pass-through, not a company cost.

Some states let us keep interest earned on escrow balances. How does that get handled?

Where your state allows it, that interest is booked as company income in its own line. Where it is not allowed, it stays with the escrow funds. The accountant confirms which applies to you.

Our closing volume swings a lot with the local market. Does that make the books hard to read?

No. Gus tracks revenue per closed file, so a slow season reads as fewer files, not a change in what the business actually earns per closing.

Our books have not clearly separated escrow from operating funds for a while. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send the bank statements for both accounts. Gus sorts what is actual company revenue from what was always client funds, and most owners see the real picture 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.

More in brokerage, lending & investing

We keep books for the business next door too.

What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for

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