Verified on Sep 12, 2026
You clean houses for pay you set yourself, with no company or app in between. Price depends on home size, how often you clean, and who brings supplies. No company publishes what a self-employed cleaner earns, not even a national cleaning chain's own pricing page. Basic supplies cost about $38 to start. Neither Florida nor Texas licenses house cleaning, and Texas does not tax a cleaner working straight for a family.
You clean houses for people who hire you directly. There is no app or company between you and the customer.
Self-employed means you work for yourself, not for a boss. You set your own hours and your own price.
On a job, you wipe counters, clean bathrooms, vacuum, and mop. Some customers also want dusting, laundry, or dishes done.
A first visit is often a deep clean. A deep clean covers more ground than a normal visit. It reaches baseboards, tile grout, and behind appliances. Baseboards are the trim along the bottom of a wall. Grout is the material between tiles.
A repeat visit is usually a standard clean. It covers less ground and takes less time than a deep clean.
You and the customer agree on what gets cleaned. You also agree on who brings the supplies. Some cleaners bring their own spray and cloths. Others use what is already in the house.
This page has no set price. Nobody publishes one for a self-employed cleaner.
We checked the government’s wage data and the IRS. We also checked a cleaning company’s price page, a cleaning platform’s guide, and an insurer. None of them prints a wage for a cleaner who works for themselves.
One example shows this clearly. Molly Maid is a national cleaning company. Its own page, titled Pricing, lists three home sizes. Each one shows “$XX” where a number should be.
A few things set your price instead. Cleaners often price by the number of bedrooms in a home. Some charge by the hour. The price can grow if a job runs long. Price also depends on the type of clean and how often you come back. Repeat visits, done on a regular schedule, often cost less per visit than a one-time job.
Molly Maid’s own page names more things that move a price. They include pets and how much they shed, plus floor type. They also include how many people live there, and how much decor is out. That same page says the real price comes only after someone walks through the house.
The government does track pay for one nearby job. It is the pay for a maid or housekeeping cleaner who works for a company, not for themselves. That employee earns $17.83 an hour on average, or $37,080 a year. This is a boss’s paycheck for a boss’s worker. It is not what a self-employed cleaner who sets their own price takes home.
Setting your own price does not mean you keep it all. Gross pay is what you charge. Take-home pay is what is left after costs. Nobody takes tax out of your pay ahead of time, the way a boss would. You pay self-employment tax on top of your regular income tax. That rate is 15.3% of your net earnings. Net earnings means income after costs. Driving to a job, giving a quote, and doing paperwork are all unpaid. Supplies and equipment wear out and cost money to replace.
There is no single rule for how a family pays you. Some pay cash the same day. Some write a check. Some use a payment app. You and each family work this out together.
The IRS says you must file a tax return once your net earnings reach $400 in a year. The IRS says gig income must be reported even when paid in cash. It is filed using Schedule C and Schedule SE. These are tax forms for people who work for themselves. A tax preparer can tell you which forms fit your case.
Basic supplies do not cost much. One guide lists starting prices for common cleaning items. Adding one of each comes to about $38. That is our own math on their prices, not a number they print.
General liability insurance is optional. This kind of insurance can help pay for damage or injury on the job. One insurer’s closest match, cleaning businesses, costs about $18-50 a month. We did not find a rule requiring it on either state page we read.
This fits you if you want to set your own hours and your own price. It fits retirees who want extra income on their own schedule. It fits students who need work around classes. It also fits parents at home who can clean while their kids are in school.
Florida does not license general house cleaning. Texas does not either. You do need to find your own customers, since no app does that for you.
Skip this if you want an app to send you jobs. There is no platform here to find customers for you.
Skip this if scrubbing for hours does not work for your body.
Skip this if you plan to skip filing taxes. The IRS still expects a return once your net earnings reach $400 in a year. The IRS says gig income must be reported even when paid in cash.
Skip this if you need a steady paycheck. Your income depends on how many jobs you book each week.
Skip this if you clean as a worker for a maid company, not directly for a family. Texas taxes that differently than work you do on your own.
Day 1. Buy your basic kit: spray, cloths, a mop, and gloves. It costs about $38.
Day 2. Decide your prices. Pick a per-room rate or an hourly rate.
Day 3. Tell five people you know that you clean houses. Ask them to spread the word.
Day 4. Write a short list of what a standard clean includes, and what a deep clean adds.
Day 5. Book your first job. Agree on price, supplies, and how you will get paid.
Day 6. Clean the house. Bring your kit and follow your list.
Day 7. Get paid. Set part of it aside for taxes.
You need a small kit to start. All-purpose cleaning spray works on counters and most surfaces. Microfiber cloths pick up dust without streaks, and you wash them to use again.
A mop and bucket cover floors, since floors are part of almost every job. Rubber gloves keep your hands out of water and cleaning liquids all day.
A caddy or tote is optional, but it holds your supplies in one trip. A vacuum helps too, and it costs the most on this list. Many new cleaners start with the family’s own vacuum instead of buying one.
Gross is not take-home. What you charge is not what you keep. Nobody withholds tax for you, the way an employer would. You pay self-employment tax, 15.3% on top of your income tax. Time spent driving to a job, giving a quote, or doing paperwork is unpaid. Supplies and equipment wear out and cost money to replace.
There is no steady paycheck. You earn only when you have a job booked. A slow week means less money, and nobody guarantees you work.
No platform steps in if a customer does not pay you.
Filing taxes takes extra steps. Once your net earnings reach $400 in a year, the IRS wants a return. You handle this yourself, with no employer doing it for you.
Rules can differ by state and city. We checked only Texas and Florida. Your own state or town may set different tax or license rules. A city may still want its own license.
Do I need a business license to clean houses? It depends on where you live. Florida does not license general house cleaning. Texas does not license it either. Its licensing agency lists 41 jobs it covers, and cleaning is not one of them. Texas also does not tax a self-employed cleaner working directly for a family. It does tax cleaners who work through a maid company. We checked only these two states. Call your city hall to ask about local rules.
How much should I charge? There is no set number. Nobody publishes one for a self-employed cleaner. Cleaners commonly price by room count or by the hour. Price also depends on how often you come back and who brings supplies.
Do I have to report cash payments? Yes. The IRS says you must file once your net self-employment earnings reach $400 in a year. The IRS says gig income must be reported even when paid in cash. A tax preparer can help you sort out your forms.
Do I need insurance? We did not find a rule requiring it on either state page we read. One insurer’s closest match, cleaning businesses, costs about $18-50 a month. Whether to buy it is your call.
What if I clean for a company instead of a family? That can change your tax rules. In Texas, working directly for a household is treated differently than working as a worker for a maid company. Ask a tax preparer how this applies to you.
Priced by the job
You clean windows for customers you find yourself, no app in between. A job is priced per pane, per window, or by home size and stories. Height and exterior grime raise the cost. Nobody publishes what a self-employed window cleaner takes home. A basic kit costs under $30, and a pole reaches most second-story glass without a ladder.
Priced per item or hour
You build flat-pack and boxed furniture inside a customer's home, hired straight, with no app in between. A job is priced per item or by the hour, and the type of piece changes the cost. A basic hand tool kit runs under $85 to start.
$10-50 a task
ACE's own per-shop fee is $10 to $50.
You visit stores or restaurants and report on what you saw, acting like a normal customer. ACE pays $10 to $50 a shop, and Secret Shopper starts near $15 for basic shops. Some shops ask you to buy something first and wait to be paid back. You need a phone, computer, or tablet to send in your report.