Kentucky sales tax
Yes, on both homes and businesses. Under KRS 139.200(2)(h), as effective August 1, 2026, janitorial services are taxable, and the statute names residential and commercial cleaning along with carpet, upholstery, and window cleaning.
Kentucky keeps the basic answer short and saves the complications for the edges, where cleaning meets restoration and construction work. This page covers residential cleaning, commercial cleaning, the conditions the Department of Revenue spells out, what it means for your books, and where your CPA comes in.
Residential cleaning is taxable in Kentucky. KRS 139.200(2)(h), in the version effective August 1, 2026, lists it by name under janitorial services. Carpet, upholstery, and window cleaning are named in the same provision, so carpet, upholstery, or window add-ons on a house cleaning ticket fall under it too.
Source: Kentucky General Assembly, KRS 139.200, Imposition of sales tax (effective August 1, 2026)
Commercial cleaning is named in the same provision, KRS 139.200(2)(h), so it is taxable as well. Kentucky treats the office contract and the house on the same street alike.
Source: Kentucky General Assembly, KRS 139.200, Imposition of sales tax (effective August 1, 2026)
The Department of Revenue's janitorial services FAQ adds three points that matter once your crews work near a job site:
Source: Kentucky Department of Revenue, Janitorial Services FAQs
Exception: if a contractor hires your crew for cleaning on a construction project, the FAQ says the contractor may not claim a resale exemption on that purchase. Talk with your CPA about how that affects the way you invoice it.
Every residential and commercial invoice carries sales tax here, so the tax collected needs its own liability account, apart from income. Kentucky's version reads clearly, which I appreciate more than I'd like to admit, since I've sat with other states' rules long enough to need a second cup of coffee just to find the verb. I still split residential and commercial revenue in the books, because the tax treatment being the same doesn't make the profit the same.
For payroll, worker classification, and the minimum wage, see bookkeeping for Kentucky cleaning businesses.
I'm a bookkeeper, not a CPA or an Enrolled Agent. I keep taxable sales and the tax you collected recorded correctly. How the rules apply to a particular job, and anything that goes on a return, is for your CPA.
Rules checked against the sources above as of October 20, 2026. Rates and rules change; confirm current figures with the agency or your CPA.
About Figure Eight Financial
Figure Eight Financial is Dave Gordon’s bookkeeping practice for residential and commercial cleaning companies. I work with owners in Kentucky and across the country, and I’m a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor.
Before bookkeeping I studied computer science at Penn State and spent a career at IBM as an engineer, so I build the books as a system: data comes in once, lands in the right place, and ties back to a statement. I’m a bookkeeper, not a CPA or Enrolled Agent. I keep the books your CPA works from, and the tax decisions stay with your CPA.
Credentials and memberships reported by Figure Eight Financial.
More about DaveHow I Help
Every residential and commercial invoice in Kentucky carries sales tax, so the tax you collect needs a home of its own in a liability account, apart from income. House cleaning and commercial revenue still get split, because the same tax treatment doesn't mean the same profit, and cleaning done for restoration or construction projects gets its own line so those jobs are easy to pick out. A short call is a good place to start, and the booking button is right below.
The core service. Transactions recorded and categorized, every account reconciled so the books and the bank agree, and monthly reports that arrive explained, split by residential and commercial and sliceable per contract.
The full picture of how this works for a cleaning companyFor the months where nothing got entered at all. I fill in the missing periods from the ground up, pulling bank feeds, statements, and receipts until every month has a complete set of records.
How catch-up bookkeeping worksFor books that exist but can’t be trusted. I audit what’s there, fix the unreconciled accounts, duplicate transactions, and wrong categories, and tie every balance back to a statement.
How cleanup bookkeeping worksYour crews paid on time, every pay period, with each payroll run recorded in the books so labor shows up against the jobs it belongs to.
How payroll worksRecurring invoices that match your contracts, an aging report you can trust, and follow-up on slow payers handled by a process instead of your evenings. Built for net-60 commercial accounts.
How invoicing and receivables workA file built right for a cleaning company from day one, or rebuilt after the DIY version drifts, and then I teach you to run it. I’m a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor, and this is honestly my favorite part of the job.
How a proper setup worksWe start with a short call about your business and where the books stand. The first conversation doesn’t cost anything.
I take a look at what you’ve got, your QuickBooks file, your spreadsheet, whatever exists.
You get a written proposal with the price, so the decision is yours with the number in hand.
Let's Connect
Send me a note about how you invoice in Kentucky today. I'll tell you exactly what I'd change in the books. The first conversation doesn't cost anything.
