What makes Indiana different for a new house cleaner?
Mostly its taxes. Indiana doesn’t tax cleaning services and doesn’t license cleaners, which keeps the start simple. But every county levies its own income tax, so where you live, and where your employees live, changes what you owe.
Here is the Indiana checklist with the office and cost for each step:
| Step | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Assumed business name (sole proprietor) | County recorder, in each county you work in | Set by each county ($25 in Monroe County) |
| Or form an LLC | Secretary of State, through INBiz | About $95 online |
| Sales tax registration | Department of Revenue | Not needed unless you sell products ($25 retail merchant certificate) |
| Withholding, unemployment, workers’ comp | Department of Revenue, DWD, private insurer | When you hire |
For the parts that work the same in every state (choosing services, equipment, your first homes), read our general guide on how to start a cleaning business. This page sticks to Indiana.
County recorder or INBiz: filing an Indiana assumed business name
It depends on your structure. A sole proprietor or general partnership using a name other than the owners’ real names files with the county recorder, in each county where it does business. An LLC files an assumed name with the Secretary of State through INBiz.
The state’s assumed business name FAQ spells out both routes. County fees vary. The Monroe County Recorder (Bloomington) charges $25 to record an assumed business name. Marion County lists its recording charges on its recording fees page; call the recorder to confirm the amount for a DBA before you go.
The “each county” trap
Because sole-proprietor DBAs are county filings, a cleaner based in Carmel (Hamilton County) who also cleans in Indianapolis (Marion County) and Fishers may need to record the name in both counties. If you plan to cover several counties, an LLC that registers one assumed name with the state can be simpler.
Examples
- “Jordan Miller” cleaning homes under her own name: no DBA.
- “Hoosier Fresh Cleaning” run by Jordan Miller as a sole proprietor: record with each county recorder.
- “Miller Home Services LLC” advertising as “Hoosier Fresh”: an assumed name filing through INBiz.
Still choosing? The cleaning business name generator gives you options to check against the state’s business search.
An Indiana LLC: about $95 to form, $31 every two years
Indiana is a low-cost LLC state. Filing Articles of Organization online through INBiz runs about $95 (the paper form lists $100), and the only upkeep is a business entity report every other year: $31 online or $50 by mail.
Forming it
The online total combines the statutory filing fee with a $20 online “enhanced access” fee for domestic LLC Articles of Organization, which the Secretary of State lists in its 2025 fee rule analysis. The same document notes Indiana ranks among the lowest-cost states for business registration.
The business entity report
The Secretary of State’s business entity reports page sets the rules:
- Fee: $31 online, $50 by mail.
- When: every two years, in the anniversary month of the LLC’s formation. You can file up to 90 days early.
- Reminders: the state sends at least four.
- If you don’t file: after five months the LLC is administratively dissolved. You can reinstate within five years, but it is paperwork you don’t need.
Example: form your LLC in May 2026, file the first report in May 2028, then every other May. Over six years that is about $95 + $31 + $31 + $31 online.
Do you need one?
An LLC keeps business debts away from your personal assets and lets you register one assumed name statewide. It does not pay for a broken dishwasher handle; liability insurance does. Our guide to LLCs for cleaning businesses goes deeper.
Do Indiana cleaners collect the 7% sales tax?
Not on cleaning. The Indiana Department of Revenue says most services in Indiana are exempt from sales tax, and the short list of taxable services doesn’t include cleaning. You only collect the 7% if you sell products.
The department’s tax guide for new and small businesses names the services that are taxable (cable and satellite TV, telecom, delivery charges and some service charges). It sets sales and use tax at 7%, and says a business that sells products separately from its services still collects tax on the products. Selling products also requires a registered retail merchant certificate, $25 per location.
Where tax still reaches you
- Supplies. You pay 7% when you buy vacuums, cloths and chemicals. Buy online from a seller that didn’t charge Indiana tax and you owe 7% use tax instead.
- Bundles. If you sell a “deep clean plus supply kit” package, the handbook warns that bundled sales can be taxable. Keep products on their own line.
With no tax line on a clean, your price is your price. Use the house cleaning price calculator to set a starting rate per home.
Indiana’s county income taxes, from 0.5% in Porter to 3% in Randolph
Every Indiana county levies an income tax on residents, on top of the 2.95% state rate. Your rate depends on the county you lived in on January 1, and it applies to your cleaning profit like any other income.
The Department of Revenue’s Departmental Notice #1 lists every county’s rate (the current edition is effective October 1, 2026) and the 2.95% state rate. A sample:
| County (main city) | County income tax rate |
|---|---|
| Marion (Indianapolis) | 2.02% |
| Hamilton (Carmel, Fishers) | 1.10% |
| Allen (Fort Wayne) | 1.59% |
| Lake (Gary, Hammond) | 1.50% |
| St. Joseph (South Bend) | 1.75% |
| Monroe (Bloomington) | 2.14% |
| Vanderburgh (Evansville) | 1.25% |
What it means in dollars
A sole proprietor in Indianapolis with $40,000 of taxable profit pays roughly $40,000 × (2.95% + 2.02%) = $1,988 in state and county income tax, before federal income and self-employment tax. In Carmel the county share would be $440 instead of $808. Set aside a share of every payment for quarterly estimates.
For employees
When you hire, each employee fills out Indiana’s Form WH-4 so you withhold the right county rate, based on where they lived on January 1. A crew drawn from three counties means three county rates on payroll. A payroll service handles this, but you need the forms on file.
Does Indianapolis license house cleaners?
No. Indianapolis licenses a specific list of businesses, and cleaning, maid and janitorial services aren’t on it. The same goes for the state: there is no Indiana license for house cleaning.
The city’s business licenses page lists what it does license: alarm companies, amusement locations, hotels, kennels, massage, pawn shops, scrap dealers, short-term rentals, taxis, waste haulers, transient merchants and similar trades. For anything not listed, it points to the state Professional Licensing Agency. The city’s license and permit fees page notes that business license fees were not part of its January 2026 fee increases, which only matters if you add a licensed activity later.
Other cities
Smaller cities and towns set their own rules for home businesses and door-to-door selling. Before you hang flyers in Fort Wayne or South Bend, ask the city clerk whether canvassing needs a permit, and check your HOA rules if you will store supplies or meet staff at home.
Hiring in Indiana: $7.25, workers’ comp, unemployment tax and new-hire reports
The legal floor is $7.25 an hour. Workers’ comp applies once you have employees, new employers pay 2.5% unemployment tax on the first $9,500 of each worker’s wages, and new hires are reported within 20 days.
Minimum wage
Indiana’s minimum wage poster sets $7.25 an hour (in effect since July 24, 2009), a $2.13 cash wage for tipped employees with the tip credit, and a $4.25 training wage for workers under 20 during their first 90 days. Overtime is time and a half after 40 hours. In practice, cleaners in Indianapolis, Carmel and Fort Wayne are hired at well above $7.25, so price your cleans on the wage you’ll actually pay.
Workers’ comp
The Worker’s Compensation Board’s compliance page says covered employers must buy insurance or be approved to self-insure, and it doesn’t set a minimum number of employees. If the board asks for proof and you can’t show it, a penalty of $100 a day applies after 10 days. Treat it as required from your first hire, and price it with your liability policy; our guide to insurance for cleaners covers both.
Unemployment insurance
The Department of Workforce Development’s new employer rate page sets 2.5% for a new employer’s first four calendar years, and its employer guide applies state unemployment tax to the first $9,500 of each employee’s wages. That is at most $237.50 per employee per year.
New-hire reporting
The Department of Child Services’ new hire reporting page says to report each new employee within 20 days of their start date, through the state’s online new-hire site.
A visit priced out
Pay $15 an hour, and a 3-hour clean with a 30-minute drive costs 3.5 × $15 = $52.50 in wages before payroll taxes and insurance. At $145 for that home, labor is 36% of the price. The profit calculator shows what is left after overhead.
What does it cost to start a cleaning business in Indiana?
Under $100 in government fees for most cleaners: a county DBA or an LLC. Your real start-up budget goes to insurance and equipment.
Fees were checked on official Indiana pages on October 9, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our ranges, not quotes.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| County assumed business name | $25 in Monroe County | Each recorder sets its fee. File in each county you work in. |
| LLC Articles of Organization | About $95 online, $100 paper | Optional. |
| Business entity report | $31 online, $50 mail | Every two years in the anniversary month. |
| Retail merchant certificate | $25 | Only if you sell products. |
| Unemployment tax | Up to $237.50 per employee | 2.5% of the first $9,500, new employers. |
| Workers’ comp and general liability | Get quotes | Compare two or three insurers. |
| Supplies and equipment | $200 to $500 (estimate) | Includes 7% sales tax. See the supplies list. |
| Scheduling and booking software | Optional | BroomBook is $29 a month for up to 2 cleaners. |
Your first Indiana clients, and running the schedule
Start in the suburbs you can reach in 20 minutes. Hamilton County, Greenwood and Zionsville are full of busy two-income households, and a referral program plus a Google Business Profile will keep a solo schedule full. Our guide on how to get clients for a cleaning business has scripts and offers to copy.
We make BroomBook, booking, scheduling and crew software for residential cleaning businesses. Indiana doesn’t tax cleaning, so you leave the optional sales tax setting off and clients see one price. Online bookings can be limited to a radius or a list of ZIP codes, which keeps you inside the counties where you have filed your DBA. Cleaners get a private link with jobs, checklists and clock-in; hours and tips export to CSV for your payroll service, which handles the county withholding. BroomBook doesn’t calculate withholding or sync with accounting software.
Plans are $29 a month on Solo (up to 2 cleaners) or $59 a month on Team (unlimited cleaners), with a 14-day free trial. See maid service software for what is included.