By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Every deed transferring Florida real property carries a documentary stamp tax, and every new mortgage carries a separate intangible tax — real, predictable costs that belong in a developer's disposition planning from the earliest pro forma. Construction bookkeeping for a Florida developer should model both taxes accuratel

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Florida's Save Our Homes cap limits how much a homestead property's assessed value can rise each year — but that cap resets entirely when a property sells, and new construction or major improvement value is generally added at market value, separate from the capped base. For remodelers, flippers, and developers working on

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com The Houston Ship Channel is one of the largest concentrations of petrochemical and refining facilities anywhere, and contractors who work planned maintenance turnarounds at these plants run a business unlike standard commercial or industrial construction. Construction bookkeeping for turnaround contractors needs to handle

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com A meaningful share of Houston-area construction and renovation work happens in FEMA-designated flood zones, where elevation requirements and a renovation-cost threshold called Substantial Improvement can change the scope of a job significantly. Construction bookkeeping for Houston contractors working in these areas needs

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Houston-area builders work on some of the most expansive clay soils in the country, and that regional soil condition shapes real foundation costs, engineering requirements, and documentation practices. Construction bookkeeping for a Houston builder needs to track geotechnical testing and foundation documentation as real,

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Houston is the largest city in the United States without formal zoning — every zoning referendum in the city's history has failed. Instead, private deed restrictions recorded against individual subdivisions govern what can be built and how a property can be used, which means construction bookkeeping for a Houston builder

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Texas has no state income tax, which means property tax carries real weight in the state's overall tax structure — and for a Houston-area developer holding land or a partially built project through a long construction timeline, annual property tax reappraisal is a genuine, recurring holding cost. Construction bookkeeping

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com How a Texas contractor structures a construction contract — lump-sum versus separated — determines who actually owes sales tax and on what basis, according to the Texas Comptroller. This isn't about which contract type protects margin best; it's a distinct tax mechanic that construction bookkeeping for an El Paso contract

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Fort Worth is home to a major aerospace and defense manufacturing base — Air Force Plant 4, operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics for F-16 and F-35 production, sits alongside Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. Contractors building or renovating facilities in and around this base work in a genuinely differe

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Contractors building in Houston's coastal catastrophe zone — including the part of Harris County east of Highway 146 — work under a certification requirement most inland Texas builders never deal with: TWIA windstorm compliance. Construction bookkeeping for this work needs to track certification costs and timing as a real

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Texas contractors and subcontractors have real statutory protection when an owner or general contractor pays late — the Texas Prompt Payment Act, split between a private-project statute and a separate public-project statute. Construction bookkeeping for a Dallas-Fort Worth contractor needs to track payment deadlines and l

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Texas residential homebuilders operate under the Residential Construction Liability Act, a pre-suit notice-and-cure process for defect claims — and a 2023 legislative change tied the length of a builder's statute of repose exposure to whether they provide a written warranty. Construction bookkeeping for a San Antonio home

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Los Angeles developers and builders selling a completed project above certain thresholds face a real transfer tax cost most other markets don't have: Measure ULA, a city transfer tax that stacks on top of standard county and city transfer taxes. Construction bookkeeping for an LA developer needs to model this cost into di

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Contractors rebuilding homes lost in the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires are working in a genuinely different environment — insurance-settlement-funded clients, streamlined but still real permitting timelines, and a rebuild volume that's grown gradually rather than all at once. Construction bookkeeping for a wildfire r

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Contractors renovating older multifamily buildings in Los Angeles are increasingly working around occupied units rather than vacant ones — recent City Council action has restricted using a substantial remodel as grounds to evict tenants covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Construction bookkeeping for this kind of

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Contractors operating in the City of Los Angeles owe a municipal business tax separate from state and federal obligations — a gross-receipts-based tax under the Los Angeles Municipal Code, requiring its own registration certificate. Construction bookkeeping for an LA contractor needs to track city-sourced gross receipts a

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Los Angeles has one of the most active ADU (accessory dwelling unit) markets in the country, and contractors building them run a genuinely high-volume, repeatable-plan business — closer in shape to a small-home builder than a typical remodeling contractor. ADU contractor bookkeeping should take advantage of that repeatabi

By Tammy Hoang, QuickBooks ProAdvisor — Construction Bookkeeping Specialist | Construction Cost Accounting (949) 889-3283 | constructioncostaccounting.com Oregon has no general state sales tax — genuinely simplifying material purchasing compared to many other states — but it does have the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT), a modified gross receipts tax that applies in addition to Oregon's regular corporate tax. Construction bookkeeping for a Portland contractor needs to track co