What does Nevada require before your first paid clean?
A state business license, a local license from your city or Clark County, and a name filing with the county clerk if you trade under a made-up name. Nevada has no state license for cleaning, no personal income tax and no sales tax on cleaning services, so the cost of starting is mostly fees.
- State business license: $200 a year from the Secretary of State, unless you qualify for the small home-based exemption.
- Local license: the City of Las Vegas, Reno and unincorporated Clark County each issue their own, and other cities set their own rules.
- Fictitious firm name: $25 in Clark County if your business name doesn’t show your real name.
- LLC, optional: $425 to form and $350 a year to keep.
- Payroll, once you hire: workers’ comp from the first employee, daily overtime rules, unemployment tax and the Modified Business Tax return.
For the business side, from services to equipment, see the general guide to starting a cleaning business. The house cleaning price calculator helps you set rates for Summerlin, Henderson or Reno.
Nevada’s $200 state business license, and the home-based exemption
Almost every business in Nevada, including a sole proprietor cleaning homes, needs a state business license from the Secretary of State. It costs $200 a year for anything other than a corporation, which pays $500. A narrow exemption covers some small businesses run from home.
Fee and due date
The Secretary of State’s state business license FAQ sets the annual fee at $200 for business types other than corporations, due on the last day of the anniversary month of your original filing. Paying late adds a $100 penalty. For an LLC, the license renews together with its annual list.
The home-based exemption
The exemption FAQ describes an exemption for a person who runs a business from their home, with no part of the home open to the public, whose net earnings from the business are no more than 66⅔% of Nevada’s average annual wage. You claim it with the Secretary of State and must show those earnings, which the office checks against your federal tax return. Once your net earnings pass the limit, the license becomes due.
Is a house cleaner home-based? You work in clients’ homes, but your office, supplies and phone are at your own. Many solo cleaners in their first year fit, but the limit is on net profit, and a full book of weekly clients can pass it. Ask the Secretary of State when you file rather than assuming, and set a reminder to check again each year.
What a Nevada LLC really costs: $425 to open, $350 every year
Forming an LLC takes three filings: articles of organization ($75), the initial list of managers or members ($150) and the state business license ($200). Each year after, you file the annual list ($150) and renew the license ($200).
The Secretary of State’s LLC page covers the formation filings. Its annual list and state business license instructions for non-corporate entities spell out the yearly amount: a $150 list fee, plus the $200 state business license fee, filed together.
| When | Filing | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Formation | Articles of organization | $75 |
| Formation | Initial list of managers or members | $150 |
| Formation | State business license | $200 |
| Every year | Annual list plus state business license | $350 |
Over five years that is $425 plus four renewals of $350, or $1,825 in state fees, compared with $200 a year for a sole proprietor who isn’t exempt. The LLC still makes sense once you have employees, commercial contracts or real assets to protect, because it keeps business debts away from your personal property. Our LLC guide walks through the choice, and the insurance guide covers the liability policy that pays for a broken vase, which an LLC doesn’t.
The Commerce Tax won’t touch you
Nevada’s gross receipts tax, the Commerce Tax, applies only to businesses whose Nevada gross revenue in a fiscal year exceeds $4,000,000. The Department of Taxation’s Commerce Tax page says businesses below that threshold are exempt.
Why Nevada cleaners don’t charge sales tax, and why they still pay it
Nevada’s sales tax falls on goods, not on services like cleaning. You quote and invoice your cleans without tax, but you pay sales tax on the vacuums, chemicals and cloths you buy, and use tax on supplies bought online without it.
The Department of Taxation’s sales tax FAQ explains that most tangible personal property is taxable, along with services needed to complete a sale of goods. Services that aren’t tied to the sale of goods, which it illustrates with consulting, are not subject to sales tax. A clean is pure labor, so there is no sales tax permit to get and no return to file for it.
Where it gets trickier
- Selling products: if you sell cleaning kits, air filters or other goods to clients as separate items, those sales are taxable, and you need a seller’s permit.
- Supplies bought tax-free: the same FAQ says service providers can owe consumer use tax on materials and equipment bought without sales tax, for example from an out-of-state website.
No income tax either
The department’s income tax page confirms Nevada has no state income tax on individuals. Profit from a sole proprietorship or single-member LLC is taxed only by the IRS, so set aside money for federal income and self-employment tax and skip the state estimates. For commercial bids, the commercial cleaning calculator gives a starting price.
Las Vegas, Clark County and Reno: local licenses and fictitious firm names
The local license depends on exactly where you are based and work. Much of the Las Vegas Valley, including Paradise, Spring Valley, Enterprise and parts of Summerlin, is unincorporated Clark County, not the City of Las Vegas, and each licenses separately. A made-up business name goes to the county clerk.
Unincorporated Clark County
Clark County’s list of license categories and fees puts cleaning services, housekeeping, maid services and custodial services under janitorial services, at $150 a year, renewed annually. Every application also pays a one-time $45 application fee.
City of Las Vegas
The city’s general services license instructions list $150 due at application ($100 license fee plus a $50 processing fee). After that, the license fee is based on your gross revenue and paid in advance twice a year.
Reno
Reno’s 2026 to 2027 fee schedule charges a home-based business a $25 application fee plus $38 for planning review and $38 for building compliance review. The annual license is based on gross receipts: $70 up to $20,000, $150 from $20,001 to $100,000, and $150 plus 0.085% of receipts above $100,000. A first-year home-based cleaner under $20,000 pays $171 to get started.
Henderson, North Las Vegas, Sparks and Carson City have their own rules. If you clean in more than one, expect more than one license.
Fictitious firm names
Nevada files assumed names at the county level. Clark County’s fictitious firm name page says anyone doing business under a name that doesn’t reveal the real owners must file, that the forms don’t need a notary, and that names must be renewed every five years. The clerk’s fee list charges $25 for a new filing or renewal. Washoe and other counties set their own fees. The name generator can give you options to search first.
Hiring in Nevada: $12.00, daily overtime, paid leave and the MBT
The minimum wage is $12.00. Anyone you pay under $18.00 an hour earns overtime after 8 hours in a day. Workers’ comp is required from your first employee, unemployment tax for new employers is 2.95% of the first $43,700, and every employer files a quarterly Modified Business Tax return.
Minimum wage and daily overtime
The Labor Commissioner’s 2026 minimum wage bulletin keeps the rate at $12.00 from July 1, 2026, for all employees regardless of health benefits. The daily overtime bulletin says employees earning less than $18.00 an hour get time and a half for more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period, as well as over 40 hours a week. That matters for cleaning: a 7am move-out clean that runs to 4pm triggers overtime for a $16-an-hour cleaner, even in a 30-hour week.
Paid leave
The Labor Commissioner’s employer FAQ says private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada must provide 0.01923 hours of paid leave per hour worked, about 40 hours a year for a full-time worker. A small cleaning company is below that line.
Workers’ comp
The Division of Industrial Relations’ coverage requirements quote the statute: every person or business with anyone in service under a contract of hire needs coverage, unless excluded. Part-time employees count. Buy the policy before the first shift.
Unemployment tax and the MBT
The Employment Security Division’s UI tax page sets the 2026 taxable wage base at $43,700 and the new employer rate at 2.95%. With the 0.05% Career Enhancement Program assessment, that is up to about $1,311 per employee in the first year. Every employer subject to unemployment tax is also subject to the Modified Business Tax: the Department of Taxation’s MBT FAQ sets the general business rate at 1.17%, says the first $50,000 of wages is not taxed, and requires a return from every employer even when nothing is due. A small crew with $30,000 of payroll in a quarter owes no MBT, but still files.
New-hire reporting
Report each new hire, or a rehire after at least 60 days away, to the Employment Security Division within 20 days, as its new hire reporting page explains. Our guide on hiring cleaners covers interviews and trial cleans, and W-2 or 1099 explains why most crews are employees.
What does a Nevada cleaning business cost to start?
Nevada is cheap on taxes and expensive on fees. A sole proprietor in unincorporated Clark County pays roughly $420 in first-year government fees; an LLC in the same place pays about $645 before insurance or supplies.
Fees were checked on official Nevada pages on October 10, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our ranges, not quotes.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| State business license | $200 a year | Unless you qualify for the home-based exemption. |
| LLC formation | $225 | $75 articles plus $150 initial list, on top of the $200 license. |
| LLC annual list | $150 a year | Filed with the $200 license renewal. |
| Clark County fictitious firm name | $25 | Five years. Not needed under your own name or the LLC’s exact name. |
| Local license | $195 first year in unincorporated Clark County | $150 plus $45 application. Las Vegas is $150 at application; Reno home-based from $171. |
| Sales tax permit | None | Not needed for cleaning services alone. |
| Unemployment tax | Up to about $1,311 per employee | 2.95% plus 0.05% of the first $43,700, new employers, 2026. |
| Workers’ comp and general liability | Get quotes | Compare at least two insurers. |
| Supplies and equipment | $250 to $600 plus sales tax (estimate) | See the supplies list. |
| Booking and scheduling software | Optional | BroomBook starts at $29 a month. |
The two Clark County totals above are $200 state license plus $195 county license plus $25 name ($420), and $425 for the LLC filings plus the $195 county license and $25 for a trade name ($645). Work your own numbers for Henderson or Reno, where the local fee differs.
Finding Nevada clients, and where BroomBook fits
Las Vegas has a steady stream of move-ins, move-outs and short-term rentals on top of regular homeowners, and Reno’s growth brings new-build cleans. Start with recurring homeowners for a stable base, then add turnover work. Our guide on how to get clients for a cleaning business has referral scripts, and the Airbnb cleaning guide covers rental hosts. If you also clean across the line near Lake Tahoe, the California guide explains a very different set of rules, and the Arizona guide covers the state to the southeast.
We make BroomBook, a booking, scheduling and crew app for residential cleaning businesses. Clients book online and see an exact price, recurring cleans repeat on the calendar, and cleaners get a private link with their visits, checklists, the day’s route and clock-in. Those clock-in and clock-out hours export for payroll, which helps you spot a day that crossed 8 hours before it becomes an overtime dispute. Cards are charged after the clean through your own Stripe account, tips included, and you can leave the optional sales tax setting off.
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. The cleaning booking software page shows how online booking works.