CPA for STR Business

Fort Worth, Texas
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CPA for STR Business

Dylan F.
Real Estate Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 11 votes

I need a real-estate specific CPA & financial advisor that is familiar with the short term rental business. We need help with bookkeeping, payroll, tax prep, and overall tax strategy for our situation. Our current CPA is a family friend that doesn't live nearby (we are in Fort Worth, TX) - and we have kinda outgrown him to be frank.

Some color on the situation: My wife and I have high income W-2 sales jobs, but we use bonus depreciation from our short term rentals to offset the tax burden. Our short term rental business is setup as an LLC S-corp, and does over $500k/year in revenue between our 5 homes. I use Quickbooks, but I'm not very sophisticated at using it and definitely need some help on the bookkeeping side. I also keep an excel spreadsheet (I'm old school) of our income statement/P&L with all of our expenses broken down by house, so my records are clean. We have 5 homes that need their expenses separated out in Quickbooks (as of now they are all combined under one business), as I do not want to have to keep an excel file anymore.

I also don't feel like we are taking full advantage of our taxes, so would like some advising. I had to advise my current CPA about the STR loophole, so needless to say, I need a more real estate-specific CPA going forward.

I know soliciting on here is not allowed, so please shoot me a dm so I can provide my email. It's not allowing me to post it on here.

Thank you!

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Michael PlaksPro Member
Tax Accountant / Enrolled Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Dylan F.:

I need a real-estate specific CPA & financial advisor that is familiar with the short term rental business.

Read these posts, Dylan:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1122635-the-s...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1220969-expla...

Bigger Pockets tax forum features 20+ of real estate specializing accountants. We are all well familiar with STRs of course.
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51-tax-legal-issues-con...

2Reply
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  • Bill HamptonBusiness Member
    Accredited Investment Fiduciary, AIF®, Financial Planner, Tax Strategist, Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 978 votes
    1y

    @Dylan F.

    Bigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate accountant.

    A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.

    I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.

    You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.

    I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year. You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the consequences of the financial decisions you are making throughout the year.

    Good luck.

    404-482-3170
    Hampton Tax and Financial Services LLC4.7106 Reviews
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    0Reply
  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    May I ask a couple questions:

    1. Are the properties within the S Corp? Or is it just Management?

    2. What was the initial purpose of creating the S Corp? 

    The STR loophole can be very valuable but it really comes down to the implementation including proper entity structuring.

    There are quite a few real estate accountants on here and I’d recommend reaching out to a few to make sure you get someone you like. 

    [email protected]
    Brick House CPAs53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
    • Dylan F.
      OP
      Real Estate Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 11 votes
      1y
      Quote from @Aaron Zimmerman:

      May I ask a couple questions:

      1. Are the properties within the S Corp? Or is it just Management?

      2. What was the initial purpose of creating the S Corp? 

      The STR loophole can be very valuable but it really comes down to the implementation including proper entity structuring.

      There are quite a few real estate accountants on here and I’d recommend reaching out to a few to make sure you get someone you like. 

      We do not own the properties in the S-corp, they are under our personal names. We have a great insurance umbrella for protection. Not sure if this is the best way to structure our business though. Again, need some advising on this.

      I was under the impression that running the business through an S-corp was advantageous for tax purposes to avoid self-employment taxes amongst others. End goal is to eventually have enough properties generating enough profit to outpace our current w-2's by a substantial margin
      0Reply
    • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
      Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      1y

      @Dylan F. Got it  - makes sense. Would definitely recommend connecting with a cpa on here to make sure your properties are appropriately structured. 

      What activity is in the S corp?

      [email protected]
      Brick House CPAs53 Reviews
      WebsiteView Page
      0Reply
    • Dylan F.
      OP
      Real Estate Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 11 votes
      1y
      Quote from @Aaron Zimmerman:

      @Dylan F. Got it  - makes sense. Would definitely recommend connecting with a cpa on here to make sure your properties are appropriately structured. 

      What activity is in the S corp?

      Basically all the transactions of the rental business, from mortgage payments to amazon purchases
      0Reply
    • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
      Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      1y

      @Dylan F. So it's a management entity for the rental properties?

      [email protected]
      Brick House CPAs53 Reviews
      WebsiteView Page
      0Reply
    • Dylan F.
      OP
      Real Estate Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 11 votes
      1y
      Quote from @Aaron Zimmerman:

      @Dylan F. So it's a management entity for the rental properties?


       Correct. We also do cost segs to offset the income

      1Reply
  • Sean O'KeefePro Member
    CPA | Accepting new clients | 50 States · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 871 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Dylan F.:

    I need a real-estate specific CPA & financial advisor that is familiar with the short term rental business. We need help with bookkeeping, payroll, tax prep, and overall tax strategy for our situation. Our current CPA is a family friend that doesn't live nearby (we are in Fort Worth, TX) - and we have kinda outgrown him to be frank.

    Some color on the situation: My wife and I have high income W-2 sales jobs, but we use bonus depreciation from our short term rentals to offset the tax burden. Our short term rental business is setup as an LLC S-corp, and does over $500k/year in revenue between our 5 homes. I use Quickbooks, but I'm not very sophisticated at using it and definitely need some help on the bookkeeping side. I also keep an excel spreadsheet (I'm old school) of our income statement/P&L with all of our expenses broken down by house, so my records are clean. We have 5 homes that need their expenses separated out in Quickbooks (as of now they are all combined under one business), as I do not want to have to keep an excel file anymore.

    I also don't feel like we are taking full advantage of our taxes, so would like some advising. I had to advise my current CPA about the STR loophole, so needless to say, I need a more real estate-specific CPA going forward.

    I know soliciting on here is not allowed, so please shoot me a dm so I can provide my email. It's not allowing me to post it on here.

    Thank you!

    My firm, Digb, specializes in supporting real estate investors and developers with tax optimization and planning. I’d be happy to offer 30min free consultation to understand more about what you need and how I can help. 
    [email protected]628-241-0888
    0Reply
  • Sean O'KeefePro Member
    CPA | Accepting new clients | 50 States · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 871 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Dylan F.:

    I need a real-estate specific CPA & financial advisor that is familiar with the short term rental business. We need help with bookkeeping, payroll, tax prep, and overall tax strategy for our situation. Our current CPA is a family friend that doesn't live nearby (we are in Fort Worth, TX) - and we have kinda outgrown him to be frank.

    Some color on the situation: My wife and I have high income W-2 sales jobs, but we use bonus depreciation from our short term rentals to offset the tax burden. Our short term rental business is setup as an LLC S-corp, and does over $500k/year in revenue between our 5 homes. I use Quickbooks, but I'm not very sophisticated at using it and definitely need some help on the bookkeeping side. I also keep an excel spreadsheet (I'm old school) of our income statement/P&L with all of our expenses broken down by house, so my records are clean. We have 5 homes that need their expenses separated out in Quickbooks (as of now they are all combined under one business), as I do not want to have to keep an excel file anymore.

    I also don't feel like we are taking full advantage of our taxes, so would like some advising. I had to advise my current CPA about the STR loophole, so needless to say, I need a more real estate-specific CPA going forward.

    I know soliciting on here is not allowed, so please shoot me a dm so I can provide my email. It's not allowing me to post it on here.

    Thank you!

    20+ real estate CPAs in this forum. Were not allowed to initial contact. Find one that commenting on your specific situation, or look at their profile to see what they commenting on, reach out, see if it’s a good fit - you’re all set! It’s that simple.
    [email protected]628-241-0888
    1Reply
  • Michael PlaksPro Member
    Tax Accountant / Enrolled Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Dylan F.:

    I need a real-estate specific CPA & financial advisor that is familiar with the short term rental business.

    Read these posts, Dylan:
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1122635-the-s...
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1220969-expla...

    Bigger Pockets tax forum features 20+ of real estate specializing accountants. We are all well familiar with STRs of course.
    https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51-tax-legal-issues-con...

    2Reply
  • Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
    Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    1y

    You mention having an S-Corp.

    Does the LLC / S-Corp own the properties?
    It is generally not suggested to hold appreciating properties such as Short-term rentals inside of a Corp(C or S).

    [email protected]917-280-8544
    Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews
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    1Reply
  • Sean GrahamBusiness Member
    Investor , CPA · Detroit, MI · Member since 2016 · 586 posts · 249 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Dylan F.:

    I need a real-estate specific CPA & financial advisor that is familiar with the short term rental business. We need help with bookkeeping, payroll, tax prep, and overall tax strategy for our situation. Our current CPA is a family friend that doesn't live nearby (we are in Fort Worth, TX) - and we have kinda outgrown him to be frank.

    Some color on the situation: My wife and I have high income W-2 sales jobs, but we use bonus depreciation from our short term rentals to offset the tax burden. Our short term rental business is setup as an LLC S-corp, and does over $500k/year in revenue between our 5 homes. I use Quickbooks, but I'm not very sophisticated at using it and definitely need some help on the bookkeeping side. I also keep an excel spreadsheet (I'm old school) of our income statement/P&L with all of our expenses broken down by house, so my records are clean. We have 5 homes that need their expenses separated out in Quickbooks (as of now they are all combined under one business), as I do not want to have to keep an excel file anymore.

    I also don't feel like we are taking full advantage of our taxes, so would like some advising. I had to advise my current CPA about the STR loophole, so needless to say, I need a more real estate-specific CPA going forward.

    I know soliciting on here is not allowed, so please shoot me a dm so I can provide my email. It's not allowing me to post it on here.

    Thank you!

    You're crushing it man! 

    Maven Cost Segregation Tax Advisors554 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Preston DeanBusiness Member
    Realtor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2021 · 779 posts · 368 votes
    1y

    HI @Dylan F.

    Another fellow FW investor!

    Might I suggest going to the top of this page and click on TAX PROS there you'll be matched with 3-5 folks who you should be able to choose from 

    [email protected]817-480-9452
    United Real Estate DFW Properties 565 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Fulton Abraham Sanchez
    Accountant · CPA Miami, FL · Member since 2022 · 192 posts · 43 votes
    1y

    @Dylan F., hi. Sounds like you've built a strong STR portfolio, and you're right to want a CPA who truly understands the nuances. I work with real estate investors across the U.S., including Texas, and help clients like you with STR-specific tax strategies, S-corp planning, clean QuickBooks setups (property-level), and maximizing deductions like bonus depreciation. Happy to connect - feel free to email me and I'll reach out!

    0Reply
  • Max Emory
    Accountant · 100% Remote · Member since 2019 · 497 posts · 216 votes
    1y

    Hey @Dylan F., I'll DM you for the bookkeeping side.

    0Reply
  • Marcelo Maia
    Accountant · Miami FL · Member since 2025 · 10 posts · 0 votes
    1y

    Hi Dylan! Thanks for sharing all that—sounds like you've built a solid STR business and you're right to want a team that truly understands the real estate space.

    While I’m not a CPA, I specialize in bookkeeping services specifically for real estate investors and landlords, including short-term rental operators. I’m a QuickBooks certified ProAdvisor and I exclusively use QuickBooks Online and can set it up to separate income and expenses by property—eliminating the need for that Excel file and giving you accurate, tax-ready financials.

    With your level of activity and revenue, having clean books is key to maximizing tax strategies, and I can work alongside your CPA to make sure you’re set up for success.

    Happy to connect and learn more about your setup—feel free to DM me so we can chat further!

    0Reply
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