Ghost Kitchens & Delivery-Only, CPA & Tax Services

Why Ghost Kitchens and Delivery-Only Brands in Dallas Need a Specialized CPA

Running a ghost kitchen in Dallas means you operate in a model that most CPAs have never encountered. Your revenue flows through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub, which withhold 15% to 30% or more in commissions before you ever see a deposit. You may run three virtual brands out of one shared kitchen, each with its own menu, its own P&L, and its own sales tax obligations. And the lease you signed for your commissary space does not look like a traditional restaurant lease, which means the standard tax treatment often does not apply cleanly.

At AG Freideman, we work with ghost kitchen operators across Dallas, Plano, Frisco, and the broader DFW metro who need a CPA that understands this business model from the inside. Al Freideman has over 30 years of tax and accounting experience, and he handles every ghost kitchen client personally. No hand-offs, no junior staff learning your business on your dime. When platform payouts, multi-brand accounting, and shared-kitchen deductions all need to reconcile correctly, you need someone who has seen the whole picture before.

How Do You Account for Platform Commission Fees That Exceed 30%?

Platform commissions are your single largest non-food expense, and they must be tracked as a gross revenue offset or a separately stated cost of sales, not buried in a general “fees” category. Getting this wrong distorts your actual revenue, inflates your margins on paper, and creates problems at tax time.

Here is why this matters for ghost kitchens specifically. DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub each structure their fees differently. Some charge a flat commission percentage (typically 15% to 30%), while others layer in marketing fees, delivery charges, and payment processing costs that show up as separate line items. A single $25 order might generate a $16.50 deposit after the platform takes its cut, but your 1099-K from that platform will report the full $25 as gross revenue.

For 2026, the IRS 1099-K reporting threshold remains at $600, meaning every platform you use will report your full gross transaction volume. If you do not reconcile the difference between what the platforms report and what actually hits your bank account, you will appear to have far more income than you earned. We build your books so that:

• Gross sales from each platform are recorded at the full customer-paid amount
• Platform commissions, marketing fees, and delivery charges are broken out as separate deductible expenses
• Net deposits are reconciled to your bank statements monthly, not just at year-end
• Each platform’s 1099-K ties cleanly to your Schedule C or S-Corp return so nothing triggers an IRS mismatch notice

This reconciliation work is tedious and detail-heavy. It is also the single most important thing your CPA does for your ghost kitchen.

Managing Virtual-Brand P&Ls Under One Entity

Many ghost kitchen operators in Dallas run two, three, or even five virtual brands out of the same kitchen, all under one LLC or S-Corp. Each brand needs its own profit-and-loss statement even though they share ingredients, labor, and overhead. Without separate P&Ls, you cannot tell which brands are making money and which ones are draining your operation.

We set up your QuickBooks or accounting system with class tracking or location-based reporting so each virtual brand gets its own clean P&L. Shared costs (rent, utilities, insurance, shared labor) are allocated using a consistent, defensible method, typically based on revenue percentage or production volume. This is not just good management practice. It also matters for tax purposes if you ever sell one brand, shut one down, or bring in a partner on a specific concept.

If you are operating as an S-Corp filing Form 1120S, the IRS expects your return to reflect the full picture of your business activity. Sloppy multi-brand accounting leads to inconsistencies between your return and your bank records, which is exactly the kind of discrepancy that generates audit inquiries. We handle monthly bookkeeping for ghost kitchen clients at $300 to $600 per month, and for multi-brand operations, this service pays for itself in clarity alone.

How Should Shared-Kitchen Leases Be Treated for Tax Purposes?

Shared-kitchen and commissary leases do not follow the same rules as a traditional restaurant lease, and the tax treatment depends on the specific structure of your agreement. A ghost kitchen operator who rents dedicated square footage has a standard lease deduction. An operator who pays hourly or by-shift for shared prep space may have a usage-based expense that needs different documentation.

Many Dallas ghost kitchens operate out of commissary spaces like CloudKitchens, Kitchen United, or locally owned shared facilities. These arrangements often bundle rent with equipment use, cold storage, cleaning, and sometimes even staffing. For tax purposes, each bundled component should be identified and categorized correctly:

• Base rent: deductible as an ordinary lease expense under your entity
• Equipment rental: may qualify for separate treatment, potentially under Section 179 if you have a lease-to-own arrangement
• Common area maintenance and cleaning fees: deductible as operating expenses
• Security deposits: not deductible until forfeited or applied to final rent

Texas does not impose a state income tax, but the Texas Franchise Tax (margin tax) applies to your entity’s total revenue, and your lease costs factor into the calculation if you elect the cost-of-goods-sold method. For 2026, entities with total revenue at or below $2.47 million owe no franchise tax, but you must still file the Public Information Report with the Texas Comptroller annually. We handle franchise tax filings for $250 to $500 per year.

Ghost Kitchen Tax Mistakes We Fix

These are specific, costly errors we see regularly when ghost kitchen owners come to us from other preparers or from DIY filing:

• Reporting net deposits as gross revenue (or vice versa): When your 1099-K says $380,000 but your bank deposits total $266,000, you need to account for the $114,000 difference as platform fees. Failing to reconcile this either overstates your income or, if you only report deposits, creates a $114,000 underreporting gap the IRS will flag.
• Missing Texas sales tax obligations on direct orders: If you sell through your own website or take phone orders alongside platform sales, you are responsible for collecting and remitting Texas sales tax (up to 8.25% in Dallas). The platforms handle sales tax on their orders, but your direct sales are your responsibility. We see operators miss this constantly.
• No allocation method for shared costs across brands: Dumping all expenses into one bucket makes it impossible to evaluate brand performance and creates problems if you add a partner or investor who wants to see numbers for a specific concept.
• Failing to track food waste and spoilage separately: Food cost is your largest variable expense. Waste and spoilage should be tracked as a distinct line item, not lumped into cost of goods sold. Accurate waste tracking can reveal 3% to 8% in recoverable margin for most ghost kitchens.
• Not electing S-Corp status when self-employment tax savings justify it: Many ghost kitchen owners earning $80,000 or more in net profit operate as sole proprietors or single-member LLCs, paying 15.3% self-employment tax on every dollar. An S-Corp election with a reasonable salary can save $5,000 to $15,000 or more per year in self-employment taxes. We evaluate this in every tax planning session.

What Ghost Kitchen Accounting Costs in Dallas

We publish our pricing because ghost kitchen owners deserve to know what they are paying before the first conversation. S-Corp and partnership returns (Form 1120S or 1065 with K-1 preparation) run $1,000 to $2,000. Sole proprietor returns with Schedule C range from $750 to $1,200. Monthly bookkeeping with bank reconciliation and payroll processing is $300 to $600 per month, depending on transaction volume and number of brands.

If you are forming a new Texas LLC for your ghost kitchen, we handle that for $350 plus the $300 state filing fee to the Texas Secretary of State. Registered agent service is $149 per year, but it is included free with any tax or bookkeeping engagement.

Ready to get your ghost kitchen’s books and taxes handled correctly? Call Al Freideman directly at (972) 893-3481 or book your free consultation online. We work with ghost kitchen operators across Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Richardson, McKinney, Allen, and the entire DFW area, with virtual appointments available for every meeting.