SAMPLE. Directory preview. Listings are samples until fact-checked.

Puget Sound Residential Cleaners

Tax type

How Washington taxes house cleaning and janitorial work

DOR splits cleaning into routine janitorial work and specialized jobs. The tax class changes with the job, not with the company name on the van.

Routine janitorial work is service B&O

When the work is the kind of cleaning a commercial janitorial business does as a normal part of its trade, the income is subject to service and other activities B&O tax. Retailing B&O and retail sales tax do not apply. (WA DOR)

DOR's examples include cleaning windows, floors and walls; cleaning rugs, drapes and upholstery in place; dusting; and emptying trash. (WA DOR)

Specialized or one-off cleaning is different

Anything outside those routine services is specialized or non-repetitive cleaning. That income is subject to retailing B&O and retail sales tax. (WA DOR)

So a weekly house clean stays in the service B&O bucket. A one-time deep clean, a construction final, or another job DOR would not call common janitorial work can flip into retail sales tax. Ask your tax person before you treat every job as untaxed.

Business license and L&I registration

  • A Washington business license is required when, among other triggers, gross income is $12,000 a year or more, or you must collect sales tax or pay DOR taxes or fees. (WA DOR, read Oct 19, 2026)
  • House cleaning and common janitorial work need no L&I contractor registration in the usual case. L&I's not-required list names window washing; pressure washing of buildings or decks and construction-debris cleanup do need registration. (L&I)

What I ask a cleaner

  1. Is this a recurring clean or a one-off specialized job?
  2. If you charge sales tax, which line of work is it for?
  3. What is your Washington business license number once you are over the DOR trigger?

Next

See how to hire a house cleaner.

Sources

We read each source on October 19, 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the linked page before you rely on a number.

  1. WA DOR: Common janitorial services
  2. WA DOR: Apply for a business license
  3. Washington L&I: Contractor registration publication F625-084-000 (PDF)

Written by the Puget Sound Residential Cleaners team. We list businesses; we do not employ, bond or insure them. Spot a mistake? Use the claim page to tell us.