What sets Washington apart for a new house cleaner?
Washington has no income tax, but it taxes your gross income through the business and occupation (B&O) tax, runs workers’ comp through a state agency, and has one of the highest minimum wages in the country. House cleaning itself isn’t subject to sales tax, and there is no state cleaning license.
Most of the paperwork goes through one place: the Department of Revenue’s Business Licensing Service, which issues your state license, your trade name and many city endorsements on a single application. This guide covers what is specific to Washington. The basics that apply everywhere (services, equipment, first homes) are in the general guide on how to start a cleaning business, and federal steps such as the EIN are in what licenses are needed to start a cleaning business.
| Step | Agency | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Business license (plus trade name and city endorsements) | Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service | $50 processing, $5 per trade name, endorsement fees vary |
| LLC, optional | Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division | $180, then $70 a year |
| Excise tax returns (B&O) | Department of Revenue | 1.5% of gross income, less the small business credit |
| Seattle license, if you work there | City of Seattle | From $73 a year |
| Workers’ comp, from the first employee | Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) | Premiums per hour worked |
| Unemployment and paid leave accounts | Employment Security Department (ESD) | Tax and premiums on wages |
Getting a Washington business license, and when you need one
You need one if you use a business name, plan to hire within 90 days, need a city endorsement, or expect $12,000 or more a year in gross income. Nearly every full-time cleaner qualifies. The processing fee is $50 for a new business.
Who must register
The Department of Revenue’s business license page lists the triggers. For a cleaner the relevant ones are:
- You operate under a name other than your full legal name.
- You plan to hire employees within 90 days.
- You need a city, county or state endorsement.
- You gross $12,000 or more a year, or must pay taxes to the Department of Revenue.
At $160 a clean, $12,000 is 75 cleans: two homes a week gets you there in well under a year. Register before you start rather than when you hit the number.
What it costs
The processing fee schedule charges $50 to open a new business, $10 for later changes such as adding a trade name or registering to hire, and $5 to renew each year. Endorsement and trade name fees come on top.
Trade names
A sole proprietor cleaning as “Evergreen Home Care” instead of their own full name registers a trade name. The Department of Revenue’s trade name page puts the fee at $5 per name, filed on the business license application. It never needs renewing and stays registered until you cancel it. It doesn’t stop anyone else from using the name, so search the name before you print shirts.
City endorsements
Many Washington cities license businesses through the same application, as a city endorsement. The city endorsements list links each participating city’s rules. Some cities also require businesses based elsewhere to hold an endorsement when they work inside city limits, so check every city where you plan to clean, not only your home city. Seattle runs its own license; we cover it below.
A Washington LLC: $180 to form, $70 every year
The Certificate of Formation costs $180 with the Secretary of State, and every LLC files an annual report for $70 by the end of the month it was formed. Skip the report and the state can dissolve the company.
The Secretary of State’s LLC filing page lists the $180 fee for a domestic LLC, online or by mail, and a $100 expedite option. It also notes the annual report fee for profit entities rose to $70. An initial report, listing your principal office and governors, can go in free with the formation papers or within the first 120 days.
The annual reports page adds the timing rules:
- The report is due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was formed.
- You can file up to 180 days early.
- Missing the date puts the LLC in delinquent status and can lead to administrative dissolution.
Put the due month in your calendar the day the LLC is approved, and keep your registered agent’s address current so state notices reach you.
An LLC keeps business debts away from your personal assets. It doesn’t cover the cost of a cracked tile or a client’s bracelet that goes missing; insurance does. See our guides on LLCs for cleaning businesses and insurance for cleaners before you choose.
Does Washington charge B&O tax or sales tax on cleaning?
B&O, yes; sales tax, usually no. Routine house and janitorial cleaning is taxed under the “service and other activities” B&O classification, and retail sales tax doesn’t apply. One-off specialized jobs are different: they are retail sales, and you collect sales tax.
Routine cleaning: service B&O only
The Department of Revenue’s guide to common janitorial services says income from them is subject to service and other activities B&O tax, and that retailing B&O and retail sales tax do not apply. The activities it lists match a house clean: windows inside and out, floors, walls and woodwork, rugs and upholstery cleaned in place, dusting and taking out trash.
Specialized cleaning: a retail sale
The companion page on specialized cleaning services treats specialized or non-repetitive cleaning as a retail sale, subject to retailing B&O and sales tax. Its examples include construction cleanup, mold abatement, fire damage cleanup, hood cleaning and exterior building cleaning. If you add post-construction cleans or pressure washing to your menu, those invoices carry sales tax at the rate where the work is done.
The 2025 services expansion skipped cleaning
From October 1, 2025, Washington started taxing several services that used to be exempt. The Department of Revenue’s list of services newly subject to retail sales tax covers advertising, IT services, custom website development, live presentations, security services, temporary staffing and custom software. Cleaning isn’t on it.
What you actually pay
The B&O rate table puts service and other activities at 1.5% for businesses with less than $1 million of gross income in the prior year. That is 1.5% of everything clients pay you, before expenses: $90,000 of cleaning income means $1,350 of B&O tax before credits. Price your cleans with it in mind.
Small businesses get help. The small business B&O credit applies when your B&O tax falls under set limits. When most of your income is service income, the limit is $3,840 a year for annual filers ($960 quarterly, $320 monthly). The credit cancels all of the tax at the low end and phases out as tax rises, and filing online works it out for you. You still file returns at whatever frequency the Department assigns, even when you owe nothing.
Supplies
The janitorial guide also says cleaning businesses pay sales tax on all the products and tools they buy. If a seller doesn’t charge it, you report use tax on your excise return.
Cleaning homes in Seattle: license fees, city B&O and a $21.30 wage
Seattle asks for its own business license tax certificate, even from cleaners based outside the city, and pays its workers more. The good news for 2026: the city B&O tax now starts at $2 million of revenue, so small cleaning companies only file.
The license
The city’s business license page says home-based businesses need one, and so do businesses based outside Seattle that do business in the city. You apply through FileLocal with your state UBI number and renew by December 31. The 2026 fee follows your taxable revenue from the previous year:
| Prior-year taxable revenue | 2026 license fee |
|---|---|
| Less than $20,000 | $73 |
| $20,000 to $499,999 | $147 |
| $500,000 to $1,999,999 | $667 |
Seattle B&O tax
Seattle’s business taxes page says the city B&O threshold rose from $100,000 to $2 million on January 1, 2026. Below that you owe no city B&O, but every licensed business still files an annual return reporting gross revenue.
Seattle’s minimum wage
L&I’s local minimum wage table lists Seattle at $21.30 an hour for 2026. Several other cities set their own rates too, some by employer size: Bellingham $19.13, unincorporated King County from $18.32 for the smallest employers, Everett and Renton with tiers that start lower for small businesses. Local rates are tied to work done inside the city, so check each ordinance if your crew splits its week between Seattle and the suburbs.
Why Washington workers’ comp comes from L&I, not an insurer
Washington is one of the few states where private insurers can’t sell workers’ comp. Your cleaners are covered through L&I from the first hour they work, and as the owner you are excluded unless you choose to cover yourself.
L&I’s insurance requirements page says it plainly: Washington does not allow private workers’ compensation coverage, and you must buy it from L&I or be a certified self-insured employer. A broker’s business package won’t include it. Premiums are figured per hour worked by each employee, not as a percentage of payroll, and you report hours quarterly.
No minimum headcount
The statute’s list of excluded employments (RCW 51.12.020) doesn’t exempt small businesses. It does exclude sole proprietors and partners, and LLC members in most setups, which is why owners are optional. One exclusion confuses people: domestic servants in a private home whose employer has fewer than two of them. That covers a homeowner hiring a housekeeper directly, not a cleaning company sending employees into clients’ homes.
Because coverage is state-run, your general liability policy is the only insurance you shop for at the start. Our cleaning insurance guide explains limits and bonds.
Hiring in Washington: $17.13, sick leave, paid leave premiums and ESD
Pay at least $17.13 an hour (more in Seattle and some other cities), let paid sick leave accrue from day one, register with ESD for unemployment and paid family and medical leave, and report each hire within 20 days.
Minimum wage
L&I’s minimum wage page sets the 2026 state rate at $17.13 an hour. It adjusts every January, and local rates above it win where they apply.
Paid sick leave
L&I’s paid sick leave page requires at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, for full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees alike. Workers can start using it 90 days after their first day, and unused balances of 40 hours or less carry over to the next year. A cleaner working 25 hours a week earns about 32 hours a year.
Unemployment insurance
ESD’s page on how tax rates are set says new employers in 2026 pay 115% of the average rate for their industry, with a federal floor of 1%, on wages up to $78,200 per employee.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
ESD’s small business page sets the 2026 premium at 1.13% of each employee’s gross wages. Employers with fewer than 50 employees don’t pay the employer share, but they still withhold the employee share and file quarterly reports. Small businesses can also apply for grants when an employee takes leave.
New-hire reports
DSHS’s new hire reporting page requires reporting every new or rehired employee working in Washington within 20 days of the start date, whatever their age or hours.
Paying cleaners as contractors rarely holds up when they clean your clients’ homes on your schedule with your supplies. L&I and ESD each apply their own tests, so talk to an accountant before choosing 1099s.
What it costs to open a cleaning company in Washington
State filings run $55 to $235 depending on whether you form an LLC. The bigger ongoing costs are B&O tax on gross income, insurance and, once you hire, wages at $17.13 or more plus L&I premiums.
Official fees were checked on October 9, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our own rough ranges; replace them with real quotes.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Business license processing fee | $50 | Then $5 a year to renew. |
| Trade name | $5 | Never expires. |
| LLC Certificate of Formation | $180 | Optional. $100 extra to expedite. |
| LLC annual report | $70 a year | Due by the end of your formation month. |
| City endorsement or Seattle license | Varies; Seattle from $73 | Per city where you work. |
| B&O tax | 1.5% of gross income | Reduced or wiped out by the small business credit at low income. |
| General liability insurance | Get quotes | Compare equal limits. |
| Supplies and equipment | $200 to $500 (estimate), plus sales tax | Sales tax applies to your purchases. |
| Booking and payment software | Your choice | BroomBook starts at $29 a month, with a 14-day free trial. |
A lean solo start in Tacoma with a trade name: $55 for the license and name, whatever Tacoma charges for its city license, roughly $200 to $500 of supplies (estimate) and your first insurance bill. To set prices that leave room for B&O tax and Washington wages, use the house cleaning price calculator and check your margin with the cleaning business profit calculator.
Winning Washington clients and keeping the calendar straight
Keep your area tight. Puget Sound traffic can turn a 10-mile gap between homes into 45 minutes, and every extra city may mean another endorsement. Start with neighbors and referrals, a Google Business Profile naming the towns you serve, and a booking link.
Our guide on how to get clients for a cleaning business covers referrals, reviews and partnerships. If you plan to clean vacation rentals in the San Juans or on the coast, read the Airbnb cleaning business guide as well.
What BroomBook does, and doesn’t
We make BroomBook, booking and scheduling software for residential cleaning businesses. For a Washington cleaner, its sales tax setting stays off for regular cleans (no sales tax applies), and B&O is yours to report on your excise return. The parts that help day to day:
- Instant-price booking. Clients pick home size, clean type and extras, see the total and book an open time.
- ZIP code or distance limits on online bookings, so you only get requests inside the cities you’re licensed for.
- Cards charged after the clean through Stripe, with tips and a receipt. No cut of your payments.
- A browser-based crew app with each cleaner’s jobs, checklists and clock in and out. Hours, tips and commission export to CSV, which helps with L&I hour reporting, though BroomBook doesn’t file it or calculate premiums.
Solo costs $29 a month for up to 2 cleaners; Team is $59 a month with no cap on cleaners. Both come with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. Details on the maid service software page.
Choose another tool if
- You want automatic sales tax on specialized jobs by address. BroomBook uses one rate, entered by you.
- You need QuickBooks sync, net-terms invoicing or a native App Store app.
- Most of your work is commercial janitorial contracts.