What does West Virginia require before your first paid clean?
A $30 state Business Registration Certificate (which also opens your sales tax account), a business name or LLC if you want one, and a city registration wherever you work inside city limits. There is no state license for house cleaning, but West Virginia taxes both your sales and, in its bigger cities, your gross receipts.
Neighbors differ: Ohio taxes maid service only after the first $5,000 of sales, and Pennsylvania taxes building cleaning at 6% or more. West Virginia taxes it from the first dollar.
| Step | Agency | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Business Registration Certificate (includes your sales tax account) | West Virginia Tax Division, through the One Stop Business Portal | $30, once |
| LLC Articles of Organization (optional) | Secretary of State | $100, plus $25 a year |
| Trade name (DBA) | Secretary of State | No fee for a sole proprietor, $25 for an LLC |
| City registration or license, and B&O returns | Each city where you clean | Often $20 a year, then tax on gross receipts |
| When you hire: workers’ comp, unemployment account, new-hire reports | Private insurer, WorkForce West Virginia | Premiums, plus 2.7% of the taxable wage base for new employers |
For services, equipment and first homes, read our general guide on how to start a cleaning business; for federal pieces such as an EIN, see what licenses are needed to start a cleaning business.
The $30 Business Registration Certificate: who needs it and when
Everyone, before the first paid job. The Tax Division’s Business Registration Procedures (TSD-360) says anyone doing business in West Virginia registers before starting. The certificate costs $30 and lasts until you move or close.
The small-business exception that won’t fit a cleaner
TSD-360 does excuse some very small operators, but only if they meet all three conditions: they aren’t required to collect or withhold any tax, they don’t claim a sales tax exemption, and their gross business income was $4,000 or less in the last tax year. Because cleaning is taxable in West Virginia (next section), a cleaning business has to collect sales tax, so it fails the first test however small it is.
How to apply
File the New Business Registration Application (WV/BUS-APP) through the One Stop Business Portal. An LLC registers with the Secretary of State first, and the portal handles both. Each fixed business location gets its own certificate, so a home-based cleaner needs one. Skipping it is expensive: TSD-360 cites fines of $1,000 to $10,000 for operating without a business license, plus $100 a day once you have gone 30 days without one.
Sole proprietor, trade name or LLC: what each costs in West Virginia
A sole proprietorship is formed simply by registering with the Tax Division, and a trade name for it costs nothing extra at the Secretary of State. An LLC costs $100 to form and $25 a year to keep, and an LLC that wants a second trade name pays $25 for it.
Trade names (DBA)
The Secretary of State’s trade name page lists no filing fee for an individual, sole proprietorship or general partnership, and $25 for an LLC or corporation, plus $1 for filing online. Two details matter for cleaners:
- Name searches go to different places: the State Tax Department for a sole proprietor, the Secretary of State’s database for an LLC.
- Small changes don’t make a name new. Adding “LLC”, switching “and” for “&”, making a word plural or dropping an apostrophe won’t distinguish your name from one already registered. “Mountain State Maids” and “Mountain State Maid’s LLC” count as the same name.
Forming an LLC
The Secretary of State’s new business registration page lists $100 for a domestic LLC, plus the $1 online fee. Two groups can have that initial fee waived: veteran-owned businesses, and businesses owned by West Virginia residents aged 18 to 29 under the young entrepreneur waiver. The waiver covers only the first Secretary of State filing, not the $30 Tax Division certificate or later annual reports.
The annual report
Per the Secretary of State’s LLC annual report page, every active LLC formed on or before December 31 of the previous year files a report. Notices go out in January. The fee is $25 if it arrives by June 30 and $75 after that, which includes a $50 late fee, and an LLC that doesn’t file can be administratively dissolved. So an LLC formed in October 2026 files its first report between January 1 and June 30, 2027.
An LLC separates business debts from personal ones but won’t pay for a cracked shower door. See our guide to LLCs for cleaning businesses and the insurance guide for cleaners.
Does West Virginia charge sales tax on house cleaning?
Yes. West Virginia presumes every sale of goods or services is taxable unless an exemption applies, and cleaning has none. Charge 6% state tax, plus 1% municipal tax for homes inside a city that levies it.
Why cleaning is taxed
The Tax Division’s exemptions guide, TSD-300 (revised January 2026), opens by saying all sales of tangible personal property or taxable services are presumed subject to tax. The service exemptions are narrow (professional services such as lawyers and CPAs, personal services such as haircuts, day care), and home cleaning fits none of them. The Tax Division’s guide to short-term rentals, TSD-435, says outright that cleaning services bought by a rental host are subject to sales and use tax.
Which rate
The state rate is 6%. On top of that, the Tax Division’s municipal sales and use tax page lists about 100 municipalities that add 1%, including Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Wheeling and Parkersburg, with six more from January 1, 2027. The page says the local tax applies to services provided within the city’s boundaries, so what counts is where the home is, not where you live.
| Where the home is | Rate | Tax on a $140 clean | Client pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outside any taxing municipality | 6% | $8.40 | $148.40 |
| Inside a 1% city (Charleston, Morgantown and others) | 7% | $9.80 | $149.80 |
A Charleston mailing address doesn’t always mean inside Charleston, so check each new home against the city boundary before choosing 6% or 7%. Both go on the same state return, with the city share on its municipal schedule.
A note if you pay cleaners as contractors
TSD-300 exempts an employee’s services to an employer but says services provided by an independent contractor are taxable. If you subcontract cleans to 1099 workers, ask your accountant how that applies. Our guide to W-2 or 1099 for cleaners covers the other half of that decision.
Set your price first, then add the tax on top. The house cleaning pricing guide shows how to build the price.
Charleston, Huntington and Morgantown: city B&O tax, licenses and service fees
In Charleston, Huntington and Morgantown, you register with the city and pay business and occupation (B&O) tax on your gross receipts, not your profit. Charleston and Huntington also charge a weekly city service fee for each person working there. These apply to cleaners based outside the city who clean homes inside it.
| City | B&O rate for service businesses | License or registration | Weekly service fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | 1% of gross | Registration for anyone doing business in the city; $20 general business license with a physical location | $3 per worker |
| Huntington | 0.5% of gross | $20 a year, July 1 to June 30 | $5 per worker |
| Morgantown | $0.90 per $100 (0.9%) | $20 municipal business license | Not checked |
Charleston
The City Collector’s New Business Handbook says everyone doing business in Charleston must file a Business Registration Application, whether or not they keep a place of business there, which covers cleaners based outside the city. The quarterly B&O return taxes “Service & All Other Business” at 1% ($100 on $10,000 of gross income, per its instructions). The $3 weekly City Service Fee covers employees and self-employed people who work at a location in Charleston or from home there. Planning to sell cleanings door to door? The application requires a $3,000 surety bond for each sales representative.
Huntington
Huntington’s business license page requires a $20 city license (July 1 to June 30) of anyone doing business within city limits, plus a Home Occupation Permit ($30 application) for home-based businesses. The city’s B&O tax return sets “Service and All Other Business” at 0.5%, filed quarterly and due 30 days after each quarter ends, and its City Service Fee page charges $5 a week for each person working in the city, self-employed owners included unless the fee is already paid through another job.
Morgantown
Morgantown wants your state certificate, then a $20 municipal license. Its quarterly B&O return taxes a “service business or calling” at $0.90 per $100 of gross income, less a small fixed credit printed on the form.
What that adds up to
On $60,000 a year of cleaning inside one city, B&O comes to about $600 in Charleston, $300 in Huntington, or $540 in Morgantown before the credit, on top of the sales tax clients pay. Other towns set their own rules, so ask each city clerk where you plan to work whether it has a B&O tax.
Hiring your first cleaner in West Virginia: wage floor, workers’ comp and payroll accounts
Buy workers’ comp before the first shift, register with WorkForce West Virginia for unemployment tax, and report every new hire within 14 days. The state minimum wage of $8.75 kicks in once six or more non-exempt employees work from one location. Below that, the federal $7.25 may apply.
The six-employee minimum wage rule
The Division of Labor’s minimum wage FAQ says the state rate has been $8.75 an hour since January 1, 2016, and applies only where at least six non-exempt employees work at the same separate, distinct and permanent location. For crews that move between client homes, the FAQ says the place of work is where the work assignments are issued, which for most cleaning companies is the owner’s office or home. Under six, federal rules decide, and the federal minimum is $7.25.
A tip credit down to a $2.62 cash wage exists, but only if wages plus reported tips reach $8.75 an hour, which house cleaners rarely manage. Plan to pay the full rate, and expect good cleaners to want more than the floor.
Workers’ comp
The Insurance Commissioner’s Employer Coverage Unit puts it plainly: all West Virginia employers are required by law to carry workers’ compensation coverage. You buy a policy from an insurer, usually through an agent, and the state checks coverage through a proof-of-coverage system it runs with NCCI. The unit also reviews applications for exemption from coverage, so if you think yours qualifies, get its opinion before you skip a policy. Uninsured employers face fines and can lose their licenses.
Unemployment tax
WorkForce West Virginia’s employer handbook (revised February 2025) says any business with employees, or planning to hire, must register through the One Stop Business Portal. A new business starts at 2.7% for 36 months, and from 2025 the taxable wage base is $9,500 per employee: at most $256.50 per employee per year (check your rate notice for the current base). Its domestic worker exemption is for households hiring help at home, not cleaning companies.
New-hire reports
The same handbook says every new hire goes to the West Virginia New Hire Reporting Center within 14 days, regardless of hours worked, and rehires count too if they haven’t worked for you in the past 60 days.
What does it cost to get a West Virginia cleaning company running?
State fees are modest: $30 for the certificate and $100 for an optional LLC, plus about $20 a year per city license. Insurance and supplies cost more, and B&O is the ongoing cost you pay yourself.
Government fees below were checked on official West Virginia pages on October 9, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our rough ranges, not quotes.
| Cost item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Business Registration Certificate | $30 | Required before your first job. Doesn’t expire. |
| LLC Articles of Organization | $100 (+$1 online) | Optional. Waived for veterans and residents aged 18 to 29. |
| LLC annual report | $25 a year | Due by June 30. $75 if late. |
| Trade name | $0 sole proprietor, $25 LLC | Only if you trade under a name other than your own or the LLC’s. |
| City license or registration | About $20 a year per city | Huntington adds a $30 home occupation application for home-based businesses. |
| City B&O tax | 0.5% to 1% of gross in the three cities above | Quarterly. Not a startup fee, but budget for it from the first quarter. |
| Unemployment tax | Up to $256.50 per employee per year | 2.7% of the $9,500 wage base for new employers. |
| Workers’ comp and general liability | Get quotes | Workers’ comp once you have an employee. Ask for both in one quote. |
| Starter supplies | $200 to $500 (estimate) | You pay 6% or 7% sales tax on these too. |
| Booking, scheduling and payment software | Your choice | BroomBook is $29 a month for up to 2 cleaners, with a 14-day free trial. |
A lean start for a solo cleaner working under their own name in Huntington: $30 for the state certificate, $20 for the city license, $30 for the home occupation application, $200 to $500 of supplies (estimate) and the first liability premium. Then test prices with the house cleaning price calculator.
Filling the calendar in West Virginia, and where BroomBook fits
Keep the service area compact: fewer cities means fewer B&O returns, service fees and 6% versus 7% decisions. Ask friends and neighbors for the first homes, set up a free Google Business Profile naming your towns, and ask every happy client for a review.
Our guide on how to get clients for a cleaning business goes deeper. Still naming the company? Try the name generator before you register.
What BroomBook does, and what it leaves to you
We make BroomBook, booking, scheduling and crew software for residential cleaning businesses. For a West Virginia owner:
- One sales tax rate, not a rate per address. Sales tax stays off until you switch it on and type in a rate, which is then added to every clean. If you clean both inside a 7% city and in 6% areas around it, it can’t pick the right rate for each home, so talk to your accountant, or keep bookings inside one rate zone.
- A service area you control. You can limit online bookings to a radius or a list of ZIP codes. ZIP codes don’t follow city limits, so treat that as a rough fence around the cities you’re licensed in, not a tax boundary.
- Instant prices. Clients choose bedrooms, bathrooms, type of clean and extras, see the price and pick an open time, and reminders let them move or skip a visit themselves.
- Payments and payroll records. Saved cards are charged after the clean through your own Stripe account, tips included, and BroomBook takes no cut. Cleaners get jobs, checklists and clock-in from a private link; hours, tips and commission export to CSV. It doesn’t file B&O, service fees or withholding.
Solo is $29 a month for up to 2 cleaners and Team is $59 a month for any crew size, both with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. The cleaning scheduling software page shows the calendar. It is the wrong fit if you need QuickBooks sync, invoices on net terms, a native app store download, or mostly bid on commercial janitorial contracts.