What does New Hampshire require before your first paid clean?
Less than almost any other state. You register a business name with the Secretary of State if you use one, buy liability insurance, and start cleaning. There is no state cleaning license, no sales tax permit and no state income tax on wages. The rules that do bite come later: a business tax return once your income passes a set line, and workers’ comp the moment you hire.
That makes New Hampshire a state where the paperwork is light but the thresholds matter. A solo cleaner working under her own name can be legal on day one for the cost of an insurance policy. A cleaner who grows into a crew needs to know two numbers: $109,000 (the Business Profits Tax filing line) and one employee (the workers’ comp line).
Your first week
- Choose a name, check it in the state business record search, and file a trade name or an LLC.
- Get an EIN from the IRS if you will open a business bank account or hire.
- Ask your town or city clerk whether a home business needs any zoning approval.
- Buy general liability insurance and tell your auto insurer you drive to client homes.
- Set your prices (no tax line needed) and open a separate account for business money.
Before you hire
- Buy a workers’ comp policy before the first person starts.
- Register with New Hampshire Employment Security (NHES) for unemployment tax and file new-hire reports within 20 days.
- Decide how you will track hours, because the federal overtime rules still apply.
This page sticks to New Hampshire rules. Choosing services, buying equipment and pricing your first homes are covered in our general guide on how to start a cleaning business. If you still need a name, the cleaning business name generator gives you a shortlist to check against state records.
Registering a trade name with the New Hampshire Secretary of State
If you clean under any name other than your own legal name, you register it with the Secretary of State’s Corporation Division for $50. The registration lasts five years and renews for another $50. Unlike many states, New Hampshire handles this at the state level, not with a county or town clerk.
Do you need one?
The Secretary of State’s trade names page gives the test with an example: John D. Smith working as “John D. Smith” does not register, but “John Smith Enterprises” does, because “Enterprises” is not part of his legal name. The Department of Revenue Administration repeats the rule on its registering a new business page: anyone doing business under a name other than their own must register it.
For a cleaner, that means:
- “Dana Pelletier” needs no filing.
- “Dana Pelletier Cleaning” needs a trade name, because “Cleaning” is not part of your name.
- “Granite State Sparkle” needs a trade name.
Fees and renewal
- Form TN-1, Trade Name Registration: $50, filed online through NH QuickStart or on paper.
- Renewal: $50 every five years. The Corporation Division FAQ says you get a renewal notice six months before it expires.
- Online handling charge: New Hampshire adds $2.00 to fees paid electronically.
- Discontinuance: $10 if you stop using the name.
One limit to know: you cannot reserve a trade name in advance. Name availability is decided by Corporation Division staff when they receive your filing, so have a second choice ready. A trade name also gives you no liability protection: it is a label, not a separate legal entity.
What does a New Hampshire LLC cost each year?
$100 to form and $100 every year after that, plus $2 each time you pay online. That makes New Hampshire mid-priced: cheaper to form than some neighbors, but the yearly report costs more than in many states, so it belongs in your budget from day one.
The filings
The Secretary of State’s LLC forms and fees page lists:
| Filing | Fee | When |
|---|---|---|
| Form LLC-1, Certificate of Formation | $100 ($102 online) | Once, to create the LLC |
| Annual report | $100 ($102 online) | By April 1 each year after the year you form |
| Late fee on the annual report | $50 | If received after April 1 |
| Change of registered agent or office (Form 10) | $15 | Only if it changes |
The Corporation Division FAQ confirms the annual report is due by April 1 of each year following the year of registration. An LLC formed in November 2026 therefore files its first report by April 1, 2027. If nothing has changed, the state’s “One Click” filing makes it a two-minute job.
Does the LLC change your taxes?
Not much in New Hampshire. The state’s business taxes apply to business organizations of every type, sole proprietors included, so forming an LLC does not move you into or out of the Business Profits Tax. What the LLC changes is liability: a business debt or lawsuit is aimed at the company, not your house. It does not cover a client’s broken vase; liability insurance does that.
Many owners start with a trade name and form an LLC once they hire, sign a commercial contract or buy a vehicle in the business name. Our guide to LLCs for cleaning businesses walks through that choice. An LLC trades under its registered name without a separate trade name filing.
No sales tax and no wage tax: which New Hampshire taxes reach a cleaner?
Two business taxes, both with filing thresholds. The Business Profits Tax (BPT) is 7.5% of taxable business profits once gross business income passes $109,000. The Business Enterprise Tax (BET) is 0.55% of wages, interest and dividends once receipts or that base pass $298,000. Below those lines, a cleaning business owes no state business tax at all.
Nothing to add to your invoices
The Department of Revenue Administration answers the question directly in its FAQ, does New Hampshire have a sales tax?: there is no general sales tax on goods purchased in the state. The taxes New Hampshire does charge on sales (meals, rooms and car rentals) do not touch house cleaning. Your quote is your price, and you don’t pay sales tax on the supplies you buy in state either.
The Business Profits Tax
The DRA’s business taxes overview sets the rate at 7.5% for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2023. Its BPT FAQ sets the filing line: for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, a business organization with more than $109,000 of gross business income must file. The threshold is adjusted for inflation every two years. The FAQ also covers timing:
- Proprietorship returns are due on the 15th day of the 4th month after year end, so April 15 for a calendar-year cleaner.
- If your tax will be more than $200, you make four estimated payments of 25% each, in the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months.
- A proprietorship attaches its federal Schedule C to the return.
The line is on gross income, not profit. A solo cleaner billing $2,200 a week for 50 weeks grosses $110,000 and has to file, even if expenses bring the profit far lower. Run your numbers through the cleaning business profit calculator and ask an accountant how New Hampshire treats the owner’s own pay before you estimate the bill.
The Business Enterprise Tax
The BET is a small tax on what you pay out: compensation, interest and dividends, added together as the “enterprise value tax base.” The same DRA overview says that for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, a business with more than $298,000 of gross receipts, or a base above $298,000, files a return. Worked example: a cleaning company with $340,000 of receipts and $210,000 of wages and owner pay has a base of about $210,000, and 0.55% of that is $1,155. BET paid is a credit against the BPT, so for a profitable company much of it comes back.
Do Manchester, Nashua or your town license house cleaners?
Usually not. New Hampshire has no local income or sales taxes, and city business licenses are aimed at food, retail, secondhand dealers and events, not home services. The local question for a cleaner is zoning: whether your town lets you run the business from home.
Manchester, as an example
Manchester’s City Clerk publishes its business license list. It covers food service, high-impact retail, peddlers and hawkers, junk and secondhand dealers, pawnbrokers, lodging, tattoo studios, taxis, towing, employment offices, arcades, dance halls, fairs and special events. Residential cleaning is not on it. The page still suggests calling the Business Licensing and Enforcement Division at (603) 624-6348 if you are unsure, which costs nothing.
What to ask your own town
- Home occupation rules. Storing supplies in a garage is usually fine. Having employees meet at your house each morning, or parking branded vans on a residential street, may need approval.
- Signage. A magnet on your car is rarely an issue; a sign in the yard might be.
- Condo or HOA rules if you live in one, which can be stricter than the town.
Clients in larger buildings or offices may also ask for a certificate of insurance before you start. Keep a PDF from your insurer ready to email. Our guide to insurance for cleaners explains which policies they mean.
Why workers’ comp comes with your first New Hampshire hire
Because New Hampshire has no small-employer exemption. Every employer with any employee, full or part-time, must carry workers’ comp written by an insurance carrier, and you need it in place before the person starts. Family members count.
What the Department of Labor says
The Department of Labor’s workers’ compensation FAQ spells it out under RSA 281-A:5: every employer who has any employees, full or part-time, must cover them, whether or not they are related to you. Liability or health insurance does not replace it. The same FAQ lists who is not required to be covered:
- Sole proprietors, partners and self-employed people, on themselves. They may elect coverage.
- A corporation or LLC with 3 or fewer executive officers or members and no other employees. A 4th member or officer makes coverage mandatory.
- Once any employee is covered, all officers and members are covered too, but up to three can elect to be excluded.
What it means for a cleaning business
Your first part-time helper, even your teenager working Saturdays, triggers the requirement. Call an agent before you post the job ad: carriers price cleaning by payroll, and you will want the quote in your hiring budget. If an employee is hurt, the FAQ says the injury must be reported to the Department no later than five days after you learn of it, with fines of up to $2,500 for failing to file.
Contractors are not a loophole
The same FAQ points to the independent contractor test in RSA 281-A:2, VI, which includes having their own federal employer identification number and control over how and when the work is done. A cleaner who works your schedule, on your checklist, in your client homes is unlikely to pass. Treating them as an employee from the start is cheaper than an audit.
Wages, unemployment tax and new-hire reports in New Hampshire
New Hampshire follows the federal $7.25 minimum wage and has no statewide paid sick leave mandate. Your hiring costs come from the job market, not the statute: plus 2.7% unemployment tax on the first $14,000 of each worker’s pay, and a new-hire report within 20 days.
Minimum wage and overtime
The Department of Labor’s minimum wage page says no employer may pay less than the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25, and requires a record of the hours each employee works daily. Overtime at time and a half after 40 hours applies through the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In practice, a cleaner you can trust in a client’s home costs well above $7.25 in this labor market. Pricing your clean is easier once you know what you pay per hour, and our guide on cleaner pay shows how to set a wage you can sustain.
Unemployment tax (NHES)
New Hampshire Employment Security’s employer claims and taxes page says every new employer starts at a 2.7% rate on the first $14,000 of annual wages per employee, minus any fund balance reduction in place for the quarter. That caps the tax at $378 per employee per year before any reduction. You file a tax and wage report every calendar quarter while you have employees. After the first year, your rate depends on your history.
New-hire reports
NHES’s business compliance page says employers must report all new hires within 20 days, online through the NHES Web Tax and New Hire Reporting System or on a paper form. Do it the same day you complete the employee’s paperwork and it never slips.
Paid leave: voluntary, but available
New Hampshire’s paid family and medical leave program is optional for private employers. Its employer page says employers are not required to provide the insurance, though every employer must cooperate with claims and not retaliate against workers who use it, and workers can buy an individual plan themselves. A small cleaning company can offer a group plan as a recruiting perk, which may matter when you are competing with Massachusetts employers across the border.
What does it cost to start cleaning homes in New Hampshire?
State fees run from $0 (your own name) to $100 for an LLC plus $100 a year. Insurance and supplies are the bigger startup costs, and workers’ comp joins them the day you hire.
Government fees were checked on official pages on October 9, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our rough ranges, not quotes.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trade name (Form TN-1) | $50, plus $2 online | Five years. Not needed under your own legal name. |
| LLC Certificate of Formation | $100 ($102 online) | Optional. |
| LLC annual report | $100 a year ($102 online) | Due April 1. $50 late fee. |
| Sales tax permit | None | New Hampshire has no general sales tax. |
| Business Profits Tax | 7.5% of taxable profit | Only once gross business income passes $109,000. |
| Unemployment tax | Up to $378 per employee per year | 2.7% of the first $14,000, less any fund balance reduction. |
| Workers’ comp | Get quotes | Required from the first employee. |
| General liability insurance | Get quotes | Compare at least two quotes with the same limits. |
| Starter supplies and equipment | $200 to $500 (estimate) | No sales tax on in-state purchases. |
| Scheduling, booking and payments software | Your choice | BroomBook is $29 a month for up to 2 cleaners, with a 14-day free trial. |
A realistic minimum for a solo cleaner using a business name: $52 for the online trade name, roughly $200 to $500 of supplies (our estimate) and the first month of liability insurance. For help deciding what goes in the kit, see the cleaning business supplies list.
Winning your first New Hampshire clients, and where BroomBook fits
Start close to home and fill one area before you spread out: New Hampshire’s towns are spread out, and a day split between Nashua and Concord loses an hour to driving. Price from your time and costs, then use a tool to keep the calendar tight.
- Price first. The house cleaning price calculator turns square footage, rooms and frequency into a quote you can defend. With no sales tax, that number is exactly what the client pays.
- Then find clients. Neighbors, local Facebook groups, realtors and property managers come first for most new cleaners. Our guide on how to get cleaning clients has scripts and a 30-day plan.
- Plan for the BPT line. Once your weekly billing approaches about $2,100, you are on pace to pass $109,000 a year and should set aside for the return and estimated payments.
We make BroomBook, scheduling and online booking software for residential cleaning businesses. Clients book and get an instant price on your site, recurring visits land on your calendar, and each cleaner gets a crew app with their jobs, checklists and clock in and out. Cards are charged after the clean through Stripe, and hours and tips export for payroll, which helps when you are tracking wages for NHES reports. It does not file your BPT, BET or unemployment returns; your accountant or payroll service does that from your records.
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 how it handles repeat clients on the maid service software page.