Bookkeeping guide
Cleaner tax bookkeeping: categories to review
House cleaning, maid service, turnover cleans. If you got a 1099 for this work, here are common categories and review questions; your facts and records determine what qualifies.
Worth knowing
These are common expenses people in this line of work may need to review. Anything marked in orange is an edge case worth raising with a preparer rather than assuming.
Mileage between clients
Travel between client work locations may be business mileage. Travel from home can be commuting depending on your tax home and regular work location. Keep a timely date, destination, purpose, and mileage log.
$0.70 / mile 2025 rate
Cleaning supplies
Products, sponges, gloves, and trash bags you use on the job are generally Schedule C supplies when they are ordinary and necessary for the business. Receipt mixes job supplies with your own groceries? Split it — only the business-use share may count.
keep receipts tracked
Platform fees
Handy, Thumbtack, Angi, and similar services may charge job or lead fees. Record the actual business fee shown on the platform statement instead of estimating a typical percentage; PrivateBooks maps it to commissions and fees for Schedule C review.
actual fee from statement
Liability insurance & bonding
A cleaning-business liability policy (and bonding, which clients often ask for) may generally be an ordinary and necessary Schedule C insurance expense. Record the actual premium and separate any personal or nonbusiness coverage.
actual premium business use only
Common categories PrivateBooks suggests
Pick Cleaner during guided setup and your books start with these categories mapped to Schedule C lines for review — no chart of accounts to invent. The mapping does not establish eligibility, business-use share, or substantiation:
| Category | Schedule C line |
|---|---|
| Cleaning products & supplies | Line 22 — Supplies |
| Vacuums & equipment | Line 22 — Supplies |
| Mileage between jobs | Line 9 — Car and truck expenses |
| Platform & lead fees (Handy, Thumbtack) | Line 10 — Commissions and fees |
| Business liability insurance | Line 15 — Insurance (other than health) |
| Phone bill (work %) | Line 27b — Other (phone & internet) |
| Advertising & flyers | Line 8 — Advertising |
| Work shoes, gloves & laundry | Line 22 — Supplies |
| Bonding & licenses | Line 23 — Taxes and licenses |
Merchants it recognises automatically
On top of the 584 built-in sorting rules, this pack adds rules for Dyson, Handy *Payout, Handy.Com, Janitorial, Sharkninja. A matching description gets a suggested bookkeeping category; anything uncertain goes to Review instead of being guessed at. Spot-check every suggestion: a merchant match is not proof of business use, eligibility, allocation, or substantiation.
Do you even have to file?
Net earnings from self-employment of $400 or more generally require Schedule SE, but other filing rules can apply below $400. Whether you received a 1099, also have W-2 wages, had withholding, or need estimated payments depends on the full return. Review the official Schedule SE instructions or ask a qualified preparer instead of treating this bookkeeping guide as a filing decision.
See an optional cash-reserve illustration →
Educational pointers, not tax advice. Tax rules change and your situation is specific — worth asking about at tax time. The free IRS-sponsored VITA program helps people under its income threshold at no cost.