Do I need to register if I only clean a few houses?

If those houses pay you more than £1,000 in total in a tax year, yes.

Usually between clients, and often from home if you have no other workplace. Not a disguised commute to one all-day site. 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026/27 if you use simplified expenses.

What if I earn less than the personal allowance?

You may owe no Income Tax and still need to file. Class 4 starts at £12,570 profit. Registering is about the £1,000 turnover test, not the allowance.

An app finds my clients. Am I employed?

Only if they run PAYE on you. A commission-taking app is usually still self-employment.

Self-employed cleaner tax UK (2026/27)

Expenses list · Self Assessment · Tax calculator · Deadlines

Who this is for

People who clean houses, offices or Airbnbs in the UK and get paid by the client, not through PAYE. Also window cleaners who work as sole traders, and cleaners who found clients on an app but invoice as themselves.

If an agency employs you and deducts tax, that is a job. If an app just finds you work and pays the gross fee minus commission, that is usually self-employment.

What is the same for every sole trader

If you work for yourself you register with HMRC, keep a record of what came in and what you spent to earn it, and file a Self Assessment return. Tax is on profit, not turnover. The 2026/27 personal allowance is £12,570. Class 4 National Insurance is 6% between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above that. The online filing and payment deadline for the 2025/26 return is 31 January 2027.

What is different if you are a cleaner

The diary is a loop of similar houses. HMRC still expect you to know the difference between travel from home to a regular all-day office contract (often commuting) and travel from Mrs A to Mrs B on the same morning (usually business). Many domestic cleaners have no other base, so home to the first client is often the start of work. Be consistent and keep a log.

Products you buy are allowable. Products the client provides are not your expense (and not your income either). Do not claim a supermarket shop that is actually the family trolley.

A lot of cleaners are under the personal allowance and owe little or no Income Tax. You can still need to register, and Class 4 still starts at £12,570 of profit. “I don’t earn enough to pay tax” is not the same as “I don’t need a return”.

Worked example

A cleaner takes £18,500 in the year. Products £420. Insurance £90. Phone share £180. Mileage 2,000 miles at 55p = £1,100. Vacuum replaced £310. Total expenses £2,100.

Typical year	Amount
Turnover	£18,500
Mileage	£1,100
Products	£420
Vacuum	£310
Phone share	£180
Insurance	£90
Total expenses	£2,100
Taxable profit	£16,400
Income Tax	£766
Class 4 NI	£229.80
Estimated bill	£995.80

Figures use 2026/27 England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, full personal allowance, no other income. Scotland uses different bands. Run the calculator with your own numbers.

Domestic cleaner, mix of cash and transfers, England. Profit is above the personal allowance, so some tax is due.

Making Tax Digital

Most domestic cleaners are under every MTD threshold. If you run a team and invoice £50,000 plus, that is a different business and MTD may already apply. Gross fees, before products and petrol.

See does Making Tax Digital apply to me? and the sole trader MTD guide.

Next steps

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