Can You Claim House Cleaning on Your Taxes? US and Canada Rules

For most households, no: paying someone to clean the home you live in is a personal expense, and neither the IRS nor the Canada Revenue Agency lets you deduct it. There are real exceptions, though. A qualifying home office, a rental unit, care for a dependent while you work, and (in Quebec) a credit for people aged 70 and older can each turn part of a cleaning bill into something you can claim.

Below, each exception for US and Canadian taxpayers, plus the records you need. This is general information, not tax advice, so check the details with an accountant or the official guides named below before you file.

Why the default answer is no

Both tax systems separate personal living costs from the costs of earning income. Groceries, lawn care and house cleaning all sit on the personal side, however busy you are. The question is always whether the expense is tied to a business, a rental, or a specific credit that names it.

Exception 1: a home office that qualifies

In the United States

If you are self-employed and use part of your home regularly and exclusively for your business, IRS Publication 587 (Business Use of Your Home) lets you deduct a share of home expenses. You have two ways to calculate it:

• Simplified method: a flat rate per square foot of office space, up to a set maximum area. You do not add actual expenses on top, so cleaning is already baked into the flat amount.
• Regular method (Form 8829 for most sole proprietors): you add up actual costs and claim the business percentage. Cleaning the whole house is an indirect expense, so if your office is 10% of the floor area, roughly 10% of the cleaning bill can count. Paying to clean only the office is a direct expense and can be claimed in full.

"Exclusive" is strict: a desk in the guest room or a dining table that doubles as a workspace does not qualify. Employees who work from home for an employer generally cannot claim a home office on a federal return under current rules, even if the employer requires remote work.

In Canada

Canada handles home offices differently for employees and the self-employed.

• Employees can claim work-space-in-the-home expenses only if the employer signs Form T2200 and the space is either where you work more than half the time or used only for work and for meeting clients regularly. The eligible list covers items such as utilities and maintenance, and the CRA's examples of maintenance lean toward cleaning supplies and minor repairs. Whether a professional cleaning service counts is a grey area, so confirm before claiming it.
• Self-employed people report business-use-of-home expenses on Form T2125. Maintenance costs, including cleaning, can be claimed for the business portion of the home, and the claim cannot create or increase a business loss (the excess carries forward).

In both cases the percentage should be reasonable and based on floor area and use. A spare bedroom office in a 10-room house supports a small share, not half.

Exception 2: rental property and short-term rentals

Cleaning a unit you rent out is an ordinary expense of earning rental income in both countries. In the US it goes on Schedule E; in Canada, on Form T776.

A few situations come up often:

• Turnover cleans between tenants are deductible in the year you pay for them.
• A basement suite or duplex unit you rent while living in the other half: only the cleaning of the rented part, or a fair share of shared areas, counts.
• Short-term rentals of your own home for part of the year: cleaning tied to guest stays is a rental expense, while your regular household cleaning is not. Keep the two on separate invoices if you can.
• Move-out cleaning when you sell your own home is not a rental expense, and for a principal residence it usually has no tax effect at all.

Exception 3: care for a child or dependent (US)

The US Child and Dependent Care Credit covers more than daycare. IRS Publication 503 explains that household services can count when they are partly for the well-being and protection of a qualifying person, such as a child under 13 or a spouse or dependent who cannot care for themselves. A housekeeper who also looks after a young child while you work is the classic example.

The conditions matter. You must pay the expense so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) can work or look for work, the credit has a dollar cap, and cleaning that has nothing to do with the qualifying person is not covered. If a person comes in only to clean while the kids are at school, that visit does not qualify.

If the person you pay is your household employee rather than a company, you may also have payroll obligations. Our guide to house cleaner payroll tax rules covers that side.

Exception 4: Quebec's credit for seniors living at home

Quebec has a refundable tax credit for home-support services for seniors, administered by Revenu Québec. If you are 70 or older and live in Quebec, a portion of what you pay for eligible services, which include housekeeping, can come back to you as a credit. Payments generally need to go to a business or an eligible provider, not to a family member, and you can apply to receive the credit in advance installments instead of waiting for your return.

The rate and eligible amount change from time to time, so check Revenu Québec's current page before budgeting around it. Residents of Montréal, Laval and the rest of the province can book recurring visits through our Montréal service area and keep each invoice for the claim.

What does not work

These come up in search results and conversations, but they rarely hold up:

• Medical expense claims for housekeeping. Ordinary cleaning is not a medical expense in either country. Narrow exceptions exist for nursing or attendant care, and even then the housekeeping portion is usually excluded.
• Claiming the whole cleaning bill because one room is an office. Only the business share counts.
• Paying cash with no invoice. Without a record, the claim is hard to support.

Records to keep

Whatever exception applies, the paper trail looks similar:

1. An invoice for each visit or billing period with the provider's name, the date, the address and the amount.
2. Proof of payment (card, bank transfer or cheque).
3. For a home office, a floor plan or simple measurement of the office and the total home area.
4. For rentals, a note of which unit was cleaned and why (turnover, mid-lease, common areas).
5. For dependent care, the provider's tax ID or business number as the credit form requires.

Recurring service makes this easier because every visit produces the same invoice format. Our bi-weekly house cleaning visits come with a written checklist and a price per visit in writing, and the cost guide shows typical ranges if you are estimating what a claim might be worth.

Frequently asked questions

Can house cleaning be claimed on taxes?

Usually not, because cleaning the home you live in is a personal expense in both the US and Canada. It can be partly claimed when part of the home is a qualifying business office, when the cleaning is for a rental unit, when it is tied to care for a dependent under the US credit, or under Quebec's credit for seniors 70 and older.

Can you deduct a cleaning service if you work from home?

If you are self-employed and the office meets the regular and exclusive use test, a share of the cleaning cost can count under the regular method in the US or on Form T2125 in Canada. Employees in the US generally cannot deduct it on a federal return. Canadian employees need a signed T2200, and the CRA's maintenance list is narrower than many people expect.

Is cleaning between tenants tax deductible?

Yes. Cleaning a unit to get it ready for the next tenant is a normal rental expense, reported on Schedule E in the US or Form T776 in Canada. Keep the invoice and note which unit it was for.

Do seniors get a tax credit for housekeeping in Quebec?

Quebec residents aged 70 or older can claim a refundable credit for eligible home-support services, and housekeeping is on the list. The rate and eligible amount are set by Revenu Québec and can change, so check the current rules each year.

Get a written price you can keep on file

If you need clear invoices for a home office, a rental suite or a Quebec seniors credit, recurring service is the simplest way to get them. Send the details of your home through the quote form and you will get a written checklist and a per-visit price.