Lincoln
Taxable cleaning in Lincoln carries a 7.25% combined sales tax rate: Nebraska's 5.5% plus Lincoln's 1.75% city local sales and use tax, and Nebraska taxes residential and commercial cleaning, with stated exceptions. Lincoln's wage ordinance was set to take effect July 18, 2026; the State of Nebraska sued the City over it on June 18, and its status today isn't established. Nebraska's rate is $15.00 an hour, rising to $15.26 on January 1, 2027.
Lincoln's rate on taxable cleaning comes from the Department of Revenue's July 1, 2026 table, and the department reports no local rate changes for the quarter that began October 1, so that table is the current one. This page covers the 7.25% rate and how it splits, which cleaning Nebraska taxes, what's on the record about the city's wage ordinance, the state wage schedule through 2030, and what all of it means for your books. Payroll registration and the employee test are on my Nebraska page.
The Nebraska Department of Revenue's Local Sales and Use Tax Rates table, effective July 1, 2026, lists Lincoln's city local sales and use tax at 1.75%. Add the 5.5% state rate and taxable cleaning in Lincoln comes to 7.25%.
Source: Nebraska Department of Revenue, Local Sales and Use Tax Rates (effective July 1, 2026)
Both residential and commercial cleaning are taxable in Nebraska. A few lines in the Department of Revenue's building cleaning guide shape which jobs carry the tax: cleaning a building that's still under construction is taxable, work an employee does for their own employer isn't taxed, and lawn care, snow removal, and outdoor parking lot maintenance are excluded from building cleaning and maintenance. Supplies run the other way, since the cleaning business is their consumer and pays tax on them. Whether a particular job is taxable is a question for your CPA, and the full conditions are on my Nebraska sales tax page.
Source: Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2701.16(4)(a)
Lincoln's wage ordinance, Ordinance No. 21872, was passed May 11, 2026 and set to take effect July 18, 2026. On June 18, 2026, the State of Nebraska filed a complaint against the City of Lincoln over it. Its current status isn't established: no court or City of Lincoln source was reviewed for this page, and what the court has done since the complaint isn't covered here. Whether the ordinance reaches your employees is a question for an employment attorney.
Source: Nebraska Attorney General, Complaint, State of Nebraska v. City of Lincoln (June 18, 2026)
The state rate is $15.00 an hour, effective January 1, 2026, and the Nebraska Department of Labor's table footnotes its July 18, 2026 row as unchanged from January 1. The next step is $15.26 on January 1, 2027, and the scheduled 1.75% annual increases continue after that: $15.53 on January 1, 2028, $15.80 on January 1, 2029, and $16.08 on January 1, 2030.
Source: Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1203(1)(e) (Laws 2026, LB258; effective July 18, 2026)
Source: Nebraska Department of Labor, State of Nebraska Minimum Wage (updated July 31, 2026)
Sales tax on a Lincoln job gets one treatment in my books. The 7.25% looks like a single number on an invoice, so what is it once it's collected? It's the state's 5.5%, it's the city's 1.75%, and it's a liability from the day it comes in, never income. Payroll is recorded at the wage each person was actually paid, so the labor numbers hold up whatever the ordinance's status turns out to be, and the state's scheduled increases go in on their dates. Here's how I handle payroll for cleaning businesses.
I'm a bookkeeper, not a CPA or an Enrolled Agent. I keep sales tax and payroll recorded; whether a job is taxable and how the tax is reported are questions for your CPA, and whether the Lincoln ordinance reaches your employees is a question for an employment attorney.
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 Lincoln 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
Sales tax on a taxable Lincoln invoice isn't yours to keep, so it goes to a liability account the moment it's collected. Payroll is recorded at the wage each person was actually paid, with the state's January increases entered on schedule. Book a short call below and let's walk through a Lincoln invoice.
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
Cleaning in Lincoln and not sure the 7.25% on your invoices ends up where it belongs? Send me a recent invoice and the deposit it matches. The first conversation doesn't cost anything.
