Bookkeeping guide
Lawn & landscaping tax bookkeeping: categories to review
Mowing, landscaping, tree work, snow removal. If you got a 1099 for this work, here are common categories and review questions; your facts and records determine what qualifies.
Worth knowing
These are common expenses people in this line of work may need to review. Anything marked in orange is an edge case worth raising with a preparer rather than assuming.
Mileage between yards — keep a timely log
Driving between client properties, to the dump, and on supply runs may be business mileage. The trip from home to your first yard and back from your last can be commuting unless, for example, your home is your principal place of business; towing a trailer doesn't by itself change that. Keep a timely log of date, destination, purpose, and mileage. With the standard rate, don't also book the truck's fuel, repairs, insurance, or registration; business parking and tolls may still count separately. The rate generally isn't available if you run five or more vehicles at the same time or already claimed Section 179 or bonus depreciation on the truck.
$0.70 / mile 2025 rate
Mower gas isn't truck gas
The standard mileage rate covers operating your truck, not your mowers, trimmers, blowers, or snow blowers. Fuel and two-cycle oil for that equipment may generally be a separate ordinary and necessary expense even when you use the mileage rate. Filling gas cans and the truck at the same stop? Split the receipt: record the equipment share as supplies and treat the truck's share as a vehicle cost, which the standard rate already covers if you use it.
split receipts truck vs. equipment
Plants, stone & mulch you install
Plants, sod, mulch, stone, and pavers that go into a client's job are job materials; this category maps them to cost of goods sold (Part III) for review. If you bill the client for materials, record what the client paid as income and the materials as a cost rather than netting them. PrivateBooks calculates Part III only when you confirm nothing was on hand at the start or end of the year. If you carry stock, like pallets of pavers or a mulch pile, have a preparer work out Part III.
Part III inventory check
Mowers, trailers & big equipment
Small tools that cost $200 or less, or that wear out within a year, may generally be supplies. Bigger items, like a zero-turn mower, trailer, skid steer, or snow plow, generally go on Form 4562 as depreciation, where Section 179 or bonus depreciation can change the timing. A de minimis safe-harbor election, made each year with a statement on your timely filed return, may let items of $2,500 or less per invoice or item be expensed instead. Selling or trading in equipment you deducted can create taxable gain. Count only the business-use share, keep the bill of sale, and confirm with your preparer.
Form 4562 big purchases
Seasonal crew — contractor or employee?
Whether a helper is an independent contractor or an employee depends on the facts, such as who controls how and when the work is done and who supplies the equipment; misclassification can create payroll-tax liability. Collect a Form W-9 before paying a contractor. A business that pays a contractor $600 or more in 2025 generally files Form 1099-NEC (card and payment-app payments can follow different rules). Employees are paid through payroll as wages. Keep records of cash payments too, and confirm your crew's status with your preparer.
W-9 first before paying
App payouts & lead fees
LawnStarter and similar apps may pay you net of their fees, while Angi, Thumbtack, and others may bill lead fees separately. Record the actual fee from the payout or billing statement instead of estimating a percentage, and record the gross job amount as income. Income is reportable even when no Form 1099 arrives, including cash, check, and Zelle payments. Tips are business income too; ask your preparer whether the separate qualified-tips deduction on Form 1040 applies.
actual fee from statement
Common categories PrivateBooks suggests
Pick Lawn & landscaping during guided setup and PrivateBooks shows these categories mapped to Schedule C lines for review — no chart of accounts to invent. The mapping does not establish eligibility, business-use share, or substantiation:
| Category | Schedule C line |
|---|---|
| Plants, sod, mulch & stone for installs | Line 38 — Materials and supplies |
| Seed, fertilizer, ice melt, mower fuel & small tools | Line 22 — Supplies |
| Equipment repairs & blade sharpening | Line 21 — Repairs and maintenance |
| Truck fuel, repairs or mileage | Line 9 — Car and truck expenses |
| Equipment rental (aerator, stump grinder) | Line 20a — Rent/lease (vehicles, equipment) |
| Dump & yard-waste disposal fees | Line 27b — Other expenses |
| Seasonal helpers paid as contractors | Line 11 — Contract labor |
| Crew wages through payroll | Line 26 — Wages |
| Liability, equipment & workers' comp insurance | Line 15 — Insurance (other than health) |
| Pesticide applicator license & permits | Line 23 — Taxes and licenses |
| App & lead fees (Thumbtack, Angi) | Line 10 — Commissions and fees |
| Door hangers, yard signs & ads | Line 8 — Advertising |
| Scheduling & invoicing apps | Line 27b — Other (software & subscriptions) |
Merchants it recognises automatically
On top of the 584 built-in sorting rules, this pack adds rules for Angi, Ewing Irrigation, Harbor Freight, Herc Rentals, Homeadvisor, Landfill, Lawnstarter, Siteone, Sunbelt Rentals, Transfer Station, United Rentals. A matching description gets a suggested bookkeeping category; anything uncertain goes to Review instead of being guessed at. Spot-check every suggestion: a merchant match is not proof of business use, eligibility, allocation, or substantiation.
Do you even have to file?
Net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more generally require Schedule SE, but other filing rules can apply below $400. Whether you received a 1099, also have W-2 wages, had withholding, or need estimated payments depends on the full return. Review the official Schedule SE instructions or ask a qualified preparer instead of treating this bookkeeping guide as a filing decision.
See an optional cash-reserve illustration →
Educational pointers, not tax advice. Tax rules change and your situation is specific — worth asking about at tax time. The free IRS-sponsored VITA program helps people under its income threshold at no cost.