House cleaning in Texas

No Texas-only price survey is available, so the figures below are national, from HomeGuide's house cleaning price guide dated April 2024. Use them as a yardstick for the quotes you collect, and remember that none of them include Texas sales tax (see the next section).

HomeGuide notes that most cleaners price by the hour, the number of workers and the rooms rather than by square foot. In the table, a deep clean or move-out clean costs more than a standard visit for the same home, so ask each company to list what each type of clean includes before you compare prices.

Residential house cleaning is taxable in Texas. The Texas Comptroller's Publication 94-111 says: "Tax is due on the charge to clean a home, office, warehouse, garage, restaurant, or any other building, or a swimming pool." Rule 3.356 of the state tax rules requires anyone providing cleaning, janitorial or custodial services on residential or nonresidential property to hold a sales tax permit and collect tax, and the Tax Code (§151.0048) lists building or grounds cleaning, janitorial or custodial services as a taxable real property service.

For households, the exemption covers a housekeeper hired directly. The Comptroller's publication says there is no tax on the charges of a self-employed person providing traditional household services such as housekeeping. To be exempt, in the publication's words, "the person must be an employee of the household and not act as a subcontractor for a third party, such as a maid service." A cleaner sent by a maid service doesn't fall under it.

How much tax a Texas cleaning bill carries

Texas charges a 6.25% state sales tax, and cities, counties, special purpose districts and transit authorities can add up to 2%, for a combined maximum of 8.25%. The Comptroller tells cleaning services to collect state tax plus any local taxes on the amount billed. At the maximum rate, the national average visit in the cost table works out to $200 × 8.25% = $16.50 in tax.

Other cleaning work Texas taxes

Rule 3.356 defines taxable cleaning broadly: window washing; floor, wall and ceiling cleaning; collecting waste on the premises; and chimney or duct cleaning are all named. Pressure washing buildings, sidewalks and parking lots is taxed as building or grounds cleaning too, which matters if you book pressure washing alongside a house clean. Cleaning bought by a home builder as part of building a new home isn't taxable. That exemption covers the builder's purchase, so it doesn't reach cleaning you buy as a homeowner.

Ask every company whether its quote includes sales tax, so you compare like with like. For your own situation, such as paying a housekeeper as a household employee, confirm the details with the Comptroller or a tax adviser.

The state rule that every cleaning company in Texas falls under is the sales tax permit in Rule 3.356. That permit is about collecting and paying tax. It tells you nothing about a crew's training, insurance or background.

So ask the company directly which licenses or registrations it holds and where you can check them. If the only answer is a tax permit, rely on the checks in the next section: your own background check, written proof of insurance, and clear terms in writing. Don't assume a cleaner is bonded or insured because it advertises in Texas; ask for the paperwork.

Background checks for house cleaners

The Texas Department of Public Safety runs a public conviction name search. It draws on the state's criminal history system and covers people reported to DPS with a conviction or deferred adjudication for a Class B misdemeanor or higher; Class C convictions appear only if they were reported. The site asks you to create an account and buy search credits.

A blank result doesn't prove a clean record, because the database holds only what was reported to DPS. For a company crew, ask the company how it screens staff and whether the same people will come each visit.

Questions for a cleaning company

• Is sales tax included in the quote, and what is the full price per visit?
• Is it priced by the hour, by the room or flat, and how many workers will come?
• What does a standard, deep and move-out clean each include?
• Who supplies the products and equipment?
• Can you see a certificate of liability insurance, and will the company name you as the certificate holder?
• What happens if something is broken or missing, and how do you report it?
• How much notice does the company need to cancel or reschedule, and is there a fee?

Proof of insurance for cleaners

Ask for the certificate, then call the insurer named on it to confirm the policy is current. Check the dates and what the policy covers before the first visit, and ask separately how a worker injured in your home would be covered.

For renters, a move-out clean is mostly about getting the deposit back, and Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code sets the rules your landlord follows.

• The deadline. The landlord must refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after you surrender the home.
• Your forwarding address. The landlord doesn't have to return the deposit or describe deductions until you give a written forwarding address. You don't lose the deposit just by failing to give one, but giving it starts things moving.
• Deductions. The landlord may deduct damages and charges you're legally liable for under the lease, must give a written, itemized list of deductions, and may not keep any of the deposit for normal wear and tear.
• Bad faith. A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can owe $100, three times the amount wrongfully withheld, and your reasonable attorney's fees. A landlord who neither refunds nor itemizes by the 30th day is presumed to have acted in bad faith.

Book the clean for after the last box leaves, ask the cleaner for a dated invoice listing the rooms done, and take your own dated photos of each room. If you're also hiring movers, schedule the clean for the day after the truck is loaded. For a dispute over your own lease, confirm your rights with a Texas lawyer.

Cancelling a cleaning contract signed at home

Chapter 601 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code gives a cooling-off right for home-solicited sales. If a seller personally solicits you away from its place of business, you agree there, and the purchase is over $25, you can generally cancel by midnight of the third business day after you sign, and the seller must give you written notice of that right. It doesn't apply to cleaning you booked online or by phone on your own initiative.

Recurring cleaning agreements

For weekly or monthly service, get the price, the schedule, the cancellation notice and any fee for a skipped visit in writing before the first clean. Keep the agreement and your receipts together.

Filing a complaint about a cleaning company

You can file a consumer complaint with the Texas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division online. Under Texas law the complaint is open to the public, the office can't give you legal advice, and filing doesn't mean it has opened a case: it reviews complaints to monitor consumer protection issues.

1. Get two or three written quotes and check each against the national ranges above.
2. Ask whether each quote includes Texas sales tax.
3. Decide between a company and a self-employed housekeeper you hire directly, knowing the tax treatment differs.
4. Ask which licenses or registrations the company holds and how to check them.
5. Run a DPS conviction search for anyone you hire directly, and read its limits.
6. Get the insurance certificate and confirm it with the insurer.
7. Put the scope, price, schedule and cancellation terms in writing.
8. For a move-out clean, keep the dated invoice and photos with your lease.

Our city pages list local cleaning services ranked on public review data; our terms of service explain the method and what it doesn't check.

Pick your city for a ranked list of local house cleaning services and the local details that go with it. Cities are grouped by region.

House cleaning in Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas, Garland, Irving, Grand Prairie, Carrollton, Richardson, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Denton, Lewisville, Rockwall, Weatherford. Region guide: Dallas-Fort Worth.

House cleaning in North Texas and Texoma

Sherman, Wichita Falls. Region guide: North Texas and Texoma.

House cleaning in Houston and the Gulf Coast

Houston, Cypress, Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, League City, Galveston. Region guide: Houston and the Gulf Coast.

House cleaning in Southeast Texas

Beaumont. Region guide: Southeast Texas.

House cleaning in East Texas

Tyler. Region guide: East Texas.

House cleaning in Austin and the Hill Country corridor

Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Kyle, San Marcos. Region guide: Austin and the Hill Country corridor.

House cleaning in Central Texas

Killeen, Waco. Region guide: Central Texas.

House cleaning in San Antonio and the Hill Country

San Antonio, New Braunfels. Region guide: San Antonio and the Hill Country.

House cleaning in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley

Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen. Region guide: South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.

House cleaning in West Texas

El Paso, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo. Region guide: West Texas.

House cleaning in Panhandle and South Plains

Lubbock, Amarillo. Region guide: Panhandle and South Plains.