Cleaning services in McKinney

The Texas Tax Code lists building and grounds cleaning, janitorial and custodial work as a taxable real property service. The Comptroller applies it to homes as well as offices, and defines cleaning broadly: windows, floors, walls, ceilings, ducts, chimneys and on-site trash collection all count. Anyone providing that work must hold a sales tax permit and collect tax.

The state rate is 6.25%, and local governments can add up to 2%, for a combined maximum of 8.25%. Ask the company which local rate applies at your address, then check the invoice: it should show state tax plus any local city, county, special district or transit tax on the amount billed. At the 8.25% ceiling, 8.25% of a $200 visit is $16.50.

The McKinney housekeeper exception

A self-employed housekeeper who works directly for the household is the one exemption the Comptroller describes. A cleaner sent by a maid service does not qualify, whoever you pay on the day.

New McKinney homes and cleaning supplies

If you are buying new construction, cleaning that the home builder buys as part of building the house is not taxable. Cleaning you order yourself after closing is taxed as usual. Companies also pay tax on the soap, chemicals and equipment they use, though items left with you, such as paper towels, can be bought tax-free for resale. A quote that adds a separate supplies tax on top of the service tax is worth questioning.

HomeGuide's national figures from April 2024 give a starting point; McKinney quotes will vary with the home and the crew:

By HomeGuide's count, a visit with two workers for at least two hours runs $100 to $300. Ask whether a quote is flat or hourly and how many people will come. Per-square-foot pricing and the rest of the Texas guide are on our house cleaning page.

Three checks are worth doing before anyone gets a key.

• Run a name search. The Texas Department of Public Safety's public conviction database can be searched by name. It covers Class B misdemeanors and higher reported to DPS; Class C convictions appear only if reported.
• Ask for the sales tax permit number. A company that collects tax has to hold one.
• Know your door-to-door right. If a seller solicits you at home and you agree there to buy services over $25, Texas law generally lets you cancel by midnight of the third business day after signing.

The Texas Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division takes complaints about a business online; under Texas law, what you file is open to the public.

Renters leaving a McKinney apartment or house have firm Texas deposit rules on their side. A landlord must refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after you surrender the home, but needn't do so until you give a written forwarding address. Normal wear and tear can't be deducted, and deductions must be itemized in writing. A landlord who keeps a deposit in bad faith can owe $100 plus three times the amount wrongly withheld, plus your attorney's fees.

Your task: book the move-out clean for the day after the truck leaves, photograph each room when it is done, and send the forwarding address in writing with the keys. Line it up with our McKinney movers list, and compare cleaning services in Plano if you are moving south. Other local notes are on the McKinney page.