Does Utah tax house cleaning? Not the house, sometimes what’s in it
No, for the cleaning itself. Utah taxes cleaning tangible personal property but not cleaning real property, and a house or office is real property. A weekly clean in a Sandy home or a nightly janitorial contract in Salt Lake City carries no sales tax. The surprise is what Utah counts as personal property inside that home.
The rule
The Tax Commission’s Publication 42 (revised July 2026) says it in two sentences: sales tax applies to charges for washing or cleaning tangible personal property, including tangible personal property permanently attached to real property, and charges for cleaning and washing real property are not subject to tax. The general guide, Publication 25, defines taxable repair charges to include labor to “clean tangible personal property” and sends readers to Publication 42 for work on real property.
Appliances count as personal property
Publication 42 then lists items that are not considered tangible personal property permanently attached to real property: a dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer, microwave, stove, washer, dryer or similar item. It adds that a built-in dishwasher is not considered permanently attached even though it is affixed. So in Utah those appliances are ordinary tangible personal property, and cleaning them is cleaning personal property.
Sorting your services
| Service | What is being cleaned | Utah sales tax? |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring house cleaning | Floors, counters, bathrooms, built-in surfaces | No |
| Office or commercial janitorial | The building | No |
| Inside-oven or inside-fridge add-on | An appliance | Treat as taxable (our reading of Publication 42) |
| Area rug or upholstery cleaning | A rug or furniture | Yes |
| Washing and folding laundry | Clothing and linens | Yes |
The appliance row is our reading of how the two parts of Publication 42 fit together, not a ruling. If oven and fridge add-ons are a big part of your menu, ask the Tax Commission or an accountant before you price them.
Charging Utah sales tax on ovens, rugs and laundry
Register for a sales tax license before you sell your first taxable add-on, then charge the combined rate for the address on those line items only. The state rate is 4.85%, and every Utah address adds local taxes on top.
Rates
Publication 25 lists the pieces of the combined rate: the 4.85% state rate, a 1.00% local option tax for the county, city or town, a 0.25% county option tax, and further local taxes such as resort community taxes in some places. Together they make the combined sales tax rate, which applies to all taxable transactions and is what you report on your return. Look up the combined rate for each address where you work.
Who needs a license
Publication 25 says every seller with an established presence in Utah must have a sales tax license, and that you keep filing returns for each period even when you owe nothing. A cleaner who only cleans real property has no taxable sales; the moment you add laundry, rugs or appliance cleaning to your menu, you do.
A worked example
A Salt Lake City client books a $170 move-out clean and adds an inside-oven clean ($25) and an inside-fridge clean ($20):
- Move-out clean: $170, no tax (real property)
- Oven and fridge add-ons: $45, treated as taxable
- Tax using only the three statewide pieces above (4.85% + 1% + 0.25% = 6.1%): $45 × 6.1% = $2.75, more where the address adds other local taxes
- Invoice total at 6.1%: $217.75
Put add-ons on their own invoice lines. A single “premium move-out” price that hides an oven clean inside it makes the taxable part hard to prove. For pricing the clean itself, the house cleaning price calculator is a good start, and the commercial cleaning calculator handles office bids.
Registering a Utah DBA for $22
Utah handles trade names at the state level. File an assumed name, or DBA, with the Division of Corporations for $22, then renew it for $18 when the Division asks.
The Division’s fee schedule (effective July 1, 2025) lists $22 for an assumed name registration, $22 to reserve a name, $18 to renew a DBA and a $10 late renewal fee. Cancelling a DBA costs nothing. Renewals are filed online through the state’s business registration system, and the Division’s renewal guide walks through the screens, including a separate guide for DBA renewals.
Examples
- “Wasatch Shine” run by Emma Jensen as a sole proprietor: register “Wasatch Shine” as a DBA for $22.
- “Jensen Home Services LLC” trading as “Bonneville Maids”: the LLC registers the DBA, also $22.
Salt Lake City’s license application asks for your state registration, so do this first. Need ideas? Try the name generator, then search the Division’s records before you print anything.
A Utah LLC: $59 to form, $18 a year to keep
Utah is one of the cheaper states to keep an LLC: $59 for the certificate of organization and $18 a year for the renewal, also called the annual report.
The Division of Corporations’ fee schedule lists:
- Certificate of organization: $59.
- Annual renewal: $18, which includes a $5 surcharge for the state’s single sign-on portal.
- Late renewal fee: $10.
- Reinstatement of an expired LLC: $54, plus $18 for each missed year and a $10 delinquency fee.
The Division’s renewal guide says every registered business entity must file the annual report to stay active, and it is done online with your UtahID. Over four years, an LLC formed this fall costs $59 plus three renewals: $113 in state fees.
Income tax on your profit
A single-member LLC’s profit passes through to your personal return. The Tax Commission’s income tax rates page lists a single flat rate of 4.5% from January 1, 2025, on top of federal income and self-employment tax. Set money aside each month once the business is profitable.
An LLC protects your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, and commercial clients often prefer it. It doesn’t cover a damaged floor or an injured client; insurance does. Our guide on LLCs for cleaning businesses helps you choose, and the insurance guide covers the policies.
Salt Lake City, West Valley City and Utah’s home business rule
Utah has no statewide license for cleaners, but many cities license every business. State law also limits when a city can require a license from a home-based business, which is how most cleaners start.
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City’s business licensing page says anyone engaging in business within the city limits, permanently or temporarily, must keep a valid business license, and its definition of engaging in business includes “the rendering of personal services for others”. That covers cleaning. The city’s application page then answers the home question: per state statute, Salt Lake City does not require a business license if you operate from your home unless the business causes an impact on your neighborhood. You can still apply for one with a home occupation form, and the city asks you to email the licensing office to confirm which applies to you. The application asks for your state registration and sales tax number, if you have one.
West Valley City
West Valley City requires a license if your place of business is inside city limits. It exempts home businesses that gross less than $2,000 a year, which sign an affidavit instead. A full-time cleaner will pass $2,000 in a few weeks, so expect to need the license.
Everywhere else
Provo, Ogden, St. George and the Salt Lake suburbs each run their own licensing. Call the city where your home base is, ask whether a home-based cleaning business with no client visits needs a license, and get the answer in writing.
Hiring cleaners in Utah: wages and workers’ comp from day one
Utah’s minimum wage matches the federal $7.25, and workers’ comp is required for all employees from the first hire. Register with the Department of Workforce Services for unemployment insurance and new-hire reporting when you hire.
Minimum wage
The Labor Commission’s wage claim page says the Utah minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Employers can pay tipped employees a $2.13 cash wage if tips bring them to at least the minimum, and can pay minors a $4.25 training wage for their first 90 days. The U.S. Department of Labor’s state table notes that Utah’s law excludes jobs already covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, so the floor is the same $7.25 either way. Along the Wasatch Front you will pay well above that to keep good cleaners, so price your cleans on the wage you will actually pay.
Workers’ comp
The Labor Commission’s employer guide to workers’ compensation says that, with a few exceptions, every employer is required to provide workers’ comp coverage for all its employees, under Utah Code section 34A-2-201. The Utah Insurance Department sets base premium rates, which insurers adjust for the risk of the occupation and your claims history. Part-time cleaners count. Buy the policy before the first shift, not after the first injury.
Unemployment insurance and new hires
Both run through the Department of Workforce Services. Your unemployment rate and wage base are set by the department each year, so register when you hire and use the rate it assigns.
A visit priced out
Paying $17 an hour, a 3-hour clean plus 30 minutes of driving costs 3.5 × $17 = $59.50 in wages, before payroll taxes, workers’ comp and supplies. On a $170 home that is about 35% of the price. Run your own numbers in the profit calculator, and read how to hire cleaners before you post the job.
What does a Utah cleaning business cost to start?
State fees in Utah are some of the lowest you will find: $22 for a DBA or $59 for an LLC. Insurance, equipment and any city license make up most of the bill.
Fees were checked on official Utah pages on October 10, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our ranges, not quotes.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DBA registration | $22 | $18 to renew. |
| LLC certificate of organization | $59 | Optional. |
| LLC annual renewal | $18 a year | $10 late fee. |
| Sales tax license | Register with the Tax Commission | Once you sell taxable add-ons such as laundry, rugs or appliance cleaning. |
| City business license | Varies by city | Salt Lake City usually exempts low-impact home businesses; West Valley City exempts under $2,000. |
| General liability and workers’ comp | $500 to $1,500 a year (estimate) | Workers’ comp is required from the first employee. |
| Supplies and equipment | $200 to $500 (estimate) | See the supplies list. |
| Booking and scheduling software | Optional | BroomBook starts at $29 a month. |
A solo cleaner who sticks to real property work, registers a $22 DBA and runs a low-impact business from home can be legal in Salt Lake City for the cost of insurance and supplies. Adding appliance or laundry add-ons brings in the sales tax license and returns.
Winning Utah clients, and where BroomBook helps
Along the Wasatch Front, cities run into each other, so a route can cross three city limits in a morning. Keep it tight: ask every happy client for a referral, keep a Google Business Profile with your service cities, and post in neighborhood groups from Lehi to Layton. Our guide on how to get clients for a cleaning business has scripts, and the general start-up guide covers services and equipment. Working near Logan or the Idaho line? The Idaho guide covers the rules there.
We make BroomBook, a booking, scheduling and crew app for residential cleaning businesses. Clients book online with an instant price, cleaners get a private link with their jobs, checklists and clock-in, and cards are charged after the clean through Stripe, with tips. One honest limit in Utah: the optional sales tax setting applies to the whole visit price, so it can’t tax an oven add-on while leaving the clean untaxed. If you sell taxable add-ons, bill them separately or ask your accountant; if you only clean homes and offices, leave the 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. See how the cleaning business app runs a day of jobs.