Akron
Akron's income tax is 2.5%, in effect since January 1, 2018, and the same rate applies in the four Akron JEDDs. Employers must withhold it and file and remit monthly or quarterly with the City of Akron Income Tax Division. Summit County's combined sales tax rate is 6.75% for October 1 to December 31, 2026, and Ohio taxes residential and commercial cleaning unless a provider's calendar-year sales of that service are under $5,000.
For an Akron cleaning company, the city shows up in payroll and the county shows up on taxable invoices. Here's the income tax and its credit for tax paid to other cities, the Summit County rate, the state wage change in January, and what it all means for your books. State payroll registration is on my Ohio page.
The City of Akron Income Tax Division lists the rate at 2.5%, effective January 1, 2018, with the same rate in the four Akron JEDDs. Employers must withhold, file, and remit, either monthly or quarterly. Akron credits 100% of tax paid to other municipalities, up to 2.5%. The division's pages show no date, and this page doesn't cover which employers file monthly and which file quarterly.
Source: City of Akron Income Tax Division, Akron Business Filers
Per the Ohio Department of Taxation's county table for October 1 to December 31, 2026, Summit County's combined state and local rate is 6.75%. Ohio taxes residential and commercial cleaning, and its information release on janitorial service lists carpet and upholstery cleaning, window washing, blind and shade cleaning, and power washing building exteriors as taxable, while cleaning outdoor pools isn't. A provider with less than $5,000 in sales of this service in a calendar year falls outside the tax. The full list of conditions is on my Ohio sales tax page.
Source: Ohio Department of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax Rates by County, October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Source: Ohio Revised Code 5739.01 Definitions
Akron uses the state minimum wage, since Ohio has no local minimum wages. The 2026 rate is $11.00 an hour, and its January 1 effective date is inferred from the Ohio Constitution's annual schedule because the 2026 poster gives none. Per the Department of Commerce's 2027 poster, it rises to $11.40 on January 1, 2027. The same poster also moves the small-employer gross receipts threshold to $419,000.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, State Minimum Wage Laws (2026-07-01)
Source: Ohio Revised Code 4111.02
Source: Ohio Constitution Article II, Section 34a
Akron withholding gets its own liability account, separate from Ohio withholding, and collected sales tax sits in another one, out of revenue. A city tax, a county rate, and a state threshold landing at once can feel like too much to hold in your head. Take a breath. Each one gets a home. You're fine. Payroll is recorded at the wage actually paid, which my payroll page covers, so labor cost for minimum-wage hours worked on or after January 1, 2027 reflects $11.40.
I'm a bookkeeper, not a CPA or an Enrolled Agent. I record the Akron withholding and the sales tax in their own accounts; whether you file monthly or quarterly, how the credit applies to anyone on your crew, and how each return gets filed are questions 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 Akron 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
Two local numbers touch an Akron cleaning company's books: the city tax taken from pay and the county rate on taxable invoices. Each goes to its own liability account, and taxable sales are tracked year to date against the state's $5,000 line. Book a short call below and show me how you handle both now.
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 Akron and want the city tax and the county rate kept apart in your books? Walk me through how you handle them today. The first conversation doesn't cost anything.
