How to Start a Cleaning Business in the UK (Tax, Insurance & Bookkeeping)

Why a Cleaning Business Is One of the Best Ways to Go Self-Employed

Starting a cleaning business is one of the most accessible routes into self-employment in the UK. The startup costs are low, demand is consistent year-round, and you can begin earning from your very first week. Whether you're cleaning homes, offices, or holiday lets, the fundamentals are the same — and getting the business side right from day one will save you headaches later.

This guide covers everything: registering with HMRC, getting the right insurance, claiming expenses, setting prices, and keeping your records in order.

Register as a Sole Trader with HMRC

Before you take on your first paying client, you need to register as a sole trader with HMRC. This is free, takes about ten minutes online, and you must do it by 5 October following the end of the tax year in which you started trading.

So if you start cleaning for clients in June 2026, you'd need to register by 5 October 2027 at the latest. But honestly, just do it straight away — there's no benefit to waiting.

Once registered, you'll get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number in the post within a couple of weeks. You'll use this for your Self Assessment tax return each year. If you're earning above the MTD threshold, you'll also need to comply with Making Tax Digital requirements — our complete MTD guide breaks that down.

What About the Trading Allowance?

If you earn less than £1,000 per year from your cleaning work, you don't technically need to register. But if you're reading this guide, you're probably planning to earn more than that — so registration is the way to go.

Insurance You Actually Need

Insurance isn't legally required for sole trader cleaners, but operating without it is genuinely risky.

Public Liability Insurance

This covers you if you accidentally damage a client's property or if someone is injured because of your work. Knocked over an expensive vase? Slippery floor caused a fall? Public liability handles the claim. Most clients — especially commercial ones — will ask for proof of cover before hiring you.

Expect to pay around £50–£100 per year. It's one of the best investments you'll make.

Employers' Liability Insurance

If you hire anyone — even one part-time helper — employers' liability insurance becomes a legal requirement. You need a minimum of £5 million in cover, even if the person helping you is a friend or family member you're paying.

Equipment and Supplies as Business Expenses

Most of what you spend running a cleaning business is a deductible expense — it reduces your taxable profit, so you pay less tax. For a full rundown, see our complete expenses list.

Here's what cleaning business owners typically claim:

• Cleaning products — sprays, detergents, disinfectants, specialty cleaners
• Equipment — vacuum cleaners, mops, buckets, steam cleaners
• Protective clothing — gloves, aprons, knee pads
• Marketing — business cards, flyers, a simple website
• Phone costs — the business-use portion of your mobile bill
• Accountancy and bookkeeping software — including Accounted

If you buy expensive equipment like a professional carpet cleaner, you can usually claim the full cost in the year you buy it as a capital allowance.

Pricing Your Services

Getting your pricing right is crucial. Too low and you'll burn out. Too high and you'll struggle to win clients.

Domestic cleaning rates in the UK typically range from £12–£18 per hour depending on your area. London and the South East tend to be higher. Specialist services like deep cleans, end-of-tenancy cleans, or oven cleaning command a premium — sometimes £25–£40 per hour or a flat rate per job.

A few pricing tips:

• Charge per job, not per hour where possible — it rewards efficiency and gives clients certainty.
• Quote after seeing the property. A three-bedroom house varies wildly depending on condition.
• Factor in travel time. A 30-minute drive is part of your working day.
• Review your rates every six months. Your costs go up — your prices should too.

Claiming Travel Expenses Between Jobs

If you drive between client properties, your travel costs are a deductible business expense. You have two options:

1. Simplified mileage rate — 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p after that. This is the easier method and what most sole traders use.
2. Actual costs — claim the business-use proportion of fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, and depreciation.

You can't switch between methods for the same vehicle, so choose wisely. For most cleaning businesses, the simplified mileage rate works best.

Important: travel from home to your first job and from your last job home is generally not claimable. But travel between jobs during the day absolutely is.

Managing Irregular Income

Cleaning work can be feast or famine. Holiday seasons might see cancellations, while January often brings a rush of new clients. Here's how to stay on top of your finances:

• Set aside 25–30% of everything you earn for tax and National Insurance. Put it in a separate account and don't touch it. Our guide on reducing your tax bill has more strategies.
• Build a buffer of at least one month's essential expenses.
• Understand payments on account — HMRC may ask you to pay tax in advance based on last year's bill.
• Track your cash flow weekly, not monthly. Small businesses fail because of cash flow, not lack of profit.

Keeping Records from Day One

HMRC requires you to keep records of all your business income and expenses. Under Making Tax Digital, those records need to be kept digitally — a shoebox of receipts won't cut it anymore.

At minimum, you need to record:

• Every payment you receive, with the date, amount, and what it was for
• Every business expense, with a receipt or proof of purchase
• Mileage logs if you're claiming travel costs

Build the habit early. It takes five minutes a day if you stay on top of it — or an entire stressful weekend if you leave it until the end of the quarter.

For more on what HMRC expects, read our guide to digital record keeping requirements.

How Accounted Makes Bookkeeping Effortless

We built Accounted for people like you — sole traders who want to focus on their work, not their paperwork.

• Snap a receipt, send it on WhatsApp. Our AI bookkeeper Penny reads it, categorises it, and matches it to your bank transaction.
• Automatic bank transaction import. Connect your bank account and every transaction flows in automatically.
• Smart categorisation. Penny learns how your cleaning business works — supplies, fuel, insurance, the lot.
• Mileage tracking via WhatsApp. Tell Penny where you drove and she logs it at the correct HMRC rate.
• Tax estimates in real time. Always know roughly what you'll owe. No January surprises.
• MTD-compatible. When the time comes to submit to HMRC, you're already compliant.

Starting a cleaning business is straightforward. Keeping the books doesn't have to be the hard part.

Ready to simplify your bookkeeping? Try Accounted free for 14 days →

Related Reading

• Limited Company Expenses: What Directors Can Claim in 2025/26
• Tax Guide for Freelance Web Developers and Designers

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Accounted is built for UK sole traders — bookkeeping, tax, and MTD compliance in one place. See how it works →