A tree service makes money three ways. Trimming and removals get booked weeks out. Storm calls come all at once. Hauling the wood and brush away is its own line of work.
A storm month gets read as the new normal. Disposal costs, fuel, and climber pay float loose from the jobs that caused them, so nobody knows which removals made money.
Greg Neilsen, JD, LLM (Master of Laws in Taxation), reviews our guides. Last reviewed: October 5, 2026.
Each answer is below.
Example: A tree service averages $60,000 a month. The month after a storm it bills $190,000: $60,000 of regular work and $130,000 of storm calls. Lumped together, the owner plans for $190,000 months that will not come back.
Example: A crew removes two oaks for $4,800. Labor runs $1,900, fuel and equipment $600, disposal $1,100. Profit is $1,200, or 25 percent. With disposal parked in overhead, the same job looks like $2,300 of profit, about 48 percent.
Example: Two climbers each earn $1,500 a week on 1099s, or $156,000 a year between them. If the state or the carrier’s audit counts them as employees, that $156,000 becomes covered payroll, and the premium on it comes due.
Most tree companies run Jobber, SingleOps, ArboStar, or Arborgold. QuickBooks Online holds the books.
Sales and payments come across from the field tool. Fuel, dump fees, and repairs arrive through the bank and Ramp cards, tagged by truck. We map income to trimming, removals, grinding, storm work, and hauling.
Example: A Jobber invoice for a $2,400 removal carries a $400 stump grinding line. Mapped right, it lands in QuickBooks as $2,000 of removal income and $400 of grinding income.
Read our guide to Jobber with QuickBooks Online.
Trimming and removal are services. Florida taxes only the services its sales tax statute names, such as nonresidential cleaning and pest control. Tree work is not on that list.
Planting is different. A planted tree becomes part of the land, so you pay tax on the tree at the nursery and charge none on the install. Firewood or chips sold to a customer who hauls them off is a retail sale, so tax goes on that invoice.
Workers’ compensation is where tree companies need a careful read. Florida’s statute counts land clearing as construction, where coverage starts with the first employee. The state’s list of construction class codes includes landscape gardening but not tree trimming, which points pure trimming and removal work to the non-construction rule of four employees.
A company that trims in the morning and clears lots in the afternoon can land on either side. Your carrier’s class codes and the state’s Division of Workers’ Compensation settle it.
Chippers, stump grinders, saws, rigging, and climbing gear go on the county tangible property return, due April 1. A chipper with its own tag stays off, the same as the trucks. The first $25,000 of value is exempt once the company files its first return.
Bucket trucks and grapple trucks sit far above the 6,000-pound line, so the passenger-car depreciation caps do not touch them. Equipment acquired after January 19, 2025 qualifies for 100 percent bonus depreciation, and used equipment counts if you never owned it before.
Example: A company buys a used $185,000 bucket truck in March 2026 and puts it to work that week. The full $185,000 can come off 2026 profit. Taking it all in a storm year or spreading it out is a planning call.
Florida has no personal income tax. The S corporation question is federal: self-employment tax against a reasonable salary for the owner who still climbs.
We close the books every month, run payroll through Gusto, and prepare the business and personal returns. Greg Neilsen, JD, LLM, reviews every return before it is filed.
Plans start at $750 per month. One flat fee covers bookkeeping, tax preparation, and tax planning on most plans. We set the fee after we see the books, in writing before work starts, with no onboarding fee.
We work from our Tampa office by phone, email, and video, and we answer within 24 hours. See every trade we serve, plus landscaping companies and roofing companies.
No. Trimming and removal are not on Florida’s list of taxable services. Selling firewood or chips to a customer is a retail sale, and that invoice carries tax.
Set aside cash from the storm work as it comes in. The penalty safe harbor is based on last year’s tax, so estimates can stay level. The tax on the storm profit is still due in April.
It depends on how they work, not the form you send. A climber with their own company, coverage, gear, and other customers can be a sub. One who works only your jobs, with your equipment, usually is not.
Often, yes. A bucket truck acquired after January 19, 2025 and put to work that year qualifies for 100 percent bonus depreciation, new or used. Whether you should take it all at once depends on this year’s profit against next year’s.
On the job that created them. Disposal is a direct cost of a removal, the same as labor.
This page is educational and is not tax or legal advice for your situation. Rules change, and the right move depends on your numbers. Talk to a tax professional before you act.
Greg Neilsen, JD, LLM (Master of Laws in Taxation), reviews our guides. Last reviewed: October 5, 2026.
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