An HVAC company makes most of its money between May and September and spends the rest of the year waiting for the phone. Maintenance agreements smooth that out, but only if the books treat them right. Equipment sits in the warehouse at real cost. The trucks run hard. The numbers behind all of it are usually a year behind.
Zero Tax keeps the books for HVAC contractors. Agreements are booked over the months they cover. Inventory is real. The cash calendar matches the season. Bookkeeping, tax preparation, and planning come on one flat monthly fee.
A customer pays for a year of tune-ups in March. The books show a great March and a thin October, when the second visit happens. Taxes and decisions get made on the wrong picture. We book the agreement across the twelve months it covers, so each month shows what was actually earned.
Condensers, air handlers, and refrigerant get bought ahead of the season and written off on delivery. The warehouse is full and the books say the money is gone. Margins on installs cannot be trusted until the inventory is tracked. We keep a simple equipment stock account and adjust it monthly.
Quarterly estimated payments get set from last year’s total and paid in four equal pieces. The business earns in two of those quarters and pays in four. We set estimates from the season, not the calendar, so June’s cash is not sent to the government in January.
HVAC shops run ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge, or Jobber. Membership plans, equipment sales, and service tickets each need their own income account in QuickBooks Online, and the sync has to respect that. We set the mapping once and reconcile the sync every month. Financing offered to customers through a third party gets booked at the amount you actually receive.
Parts sold over the counter are retail sales, taxed on the invoice. Most weeks an HVAC shop does both counter sales and installs, so the invoice template has to show which is which.
Installing a system in a home or building is a real property improvement: you pay tax on the unit when you buy it and charge none on the install. A portable unit sold over the counter is a taxable sale. Customers ask HVAC contractors about federal energy credits. The rules changed for 2026, so the page a customer sees on the internet is probably out of date. Ask before you promise a customer anything.
HVAC is a construction trade. Workers’ compensation starts at the first employee. An installer on a 1099 who works only your jobs, in your van, is an employee to the state.
The April 1 tangible return covers recovery machines, vacuum pumps, gauges, and the parts shelving. The vans stay off it. The first $25,000 is exempt once the first return is filed.
Box trucks and service vans over 6,000 pounds are outside the passenger-car depreciation caps. Anything bought after January 19, 2025 qualifies for 100 percent bonus depreciation. Taking it all in a slow year can waste the deduction.
Greg Neilsen, our tax expert, holds a law degree and a master’s in tax law (LLM). He reviews every return before it is filed.
The books, payroll, and filings run through our team in the Tampa office. The person who closes your month is the person who answers your question. We answer or call back within 24 hours.
More: every trade we serve, plumbing companies, electrical contractors, and our services.
One call tells us both whether this fits. Tell us about the HVAC business: trucks, crews, payroll, and what the books look like today. You leave knowing what Zero Tax would handle and what the flat monthly fee would be. Bookkeeping, tax preparation, and planning come on one number, starting at $750 a month, in writing before any work starts.
The payment goes in as a liability and moves to income as the visits happen, or evenly across the term. QuickBooks Online can do it with a recurring entry. We set it up so it runs without you thinking about it.
Not on a lump-sum install into a building. You paid it at the supply house. Sell a window unit without installing it and tax is due on the sale.
A truck over 6,000 pounds bought for the business can be written off in full in the year it goes into service. Whether you take it all at once is a planning question that depends on the year’s profit.
Usually an LLC, and often an LLC taxed as an S corporation once the profit is high enough to make the payroll cost worth it. We run the comparison with real numbers before anyone files.
A rebate you receive from a manufacturer lowers the cost of the equipment you bought. A utility incentive passed through to a customer belongs to the customer. We book each one to its own account, so your margins stay true and your customers’ paperwork matches.
One free 15-minute call with Greg. Bring your questions. Leave knowing what Zero Tax would handle for your business and what it would cost.
Book a free 15-minute callNo pressure, no obligation. Just clarity.
