Paying a housekeeper is generally not tax deductible, because federal law treats routine home cleaning as a personal expense. That said, five specific situations let you recover part or all of the cost: when the worker performs nursing-type care, when the housekeeping supports childcare, when you use a dependent care FSA, when part of your home is a qualifying office, and when the cleaning is for a rental property.
The Default Rule: Housekeeping Is a Personal Expense
Section 262 of the Internal Revenue Code bars deductions for personal, living, and family expenses, and the implementing regulations list “domestic service” as an example of a nondeductible household cost.1eCFR. 26 CFR 1.262-1 – Personal, Living, and Family Expenses Hiring someone to vacuum, mop, or scrub the kitchen doesn’t generate income or serve a medical purpose on its own, so it sits in the same bucket as groceries or utilities.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 262 – Personal, Living, and Family Expenses
Everything below is an exception to that baseline. If you don’t fit one of them, the full bill stays on the personal side.
When a Housekeeper Provides Nursing-Type Care
If the worker performs tasks a nurse typically handles, the wages tied to those tasks can count as a medical expense. IRS Publication 502 allows the cost of “services of a kind generally performed by a nurse,” including bathing, grooming, feeding, giving medication, and changing dressings.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses The provider does not need to be licensed. The nature of the work controls, not the worker’s credentials.
Only the nursing hours count. If your housekeeper spends half the day helping a family member with bathing and dressing and the other half cleaning and doing laundry, only the personal-care half is deductible. Publication 502 is explicit: “you can’t include in medical expenses the cost of household help, even if such help is recommended by a doctor.”3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025), Medical and Dental Expenses Keep a time log that separates the two categories.
Even after isolating the medical portion, medical expenses are only deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income for the year.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 502, Medical and Dental Expenses With an AGI of $80,000, the first $6,000 of total medical costs produces no deduction. A doctor’s written statement confirming the patient needs help with activities of daily living supports the claim if questioned.
The Child and Dependent Care Credit
This is the most useful route for working families, and its rules are more generous than many people expect. Under federal law, “employment-related expenses” eligible for the credit include both direct care of a qualifying person and “expenses for household services.”5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 21 – Expenses for Household and Dependent Care Services Necessary for Gainful Employment Cleaning, cooking, and other housework can qualify along with the actual childcare, as long as the services are at least partly for the well-being and protection of a qualifying individual.
Publication 503 says you generally don’t need to split the bill between childcare and cleaning hours when “only a small part is for other purposes.”6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 503 (2025), Child and Dependent Care Expenses That flexibility is what sets the credit apart from the medical exception, which demands hour-by-hour allocation.
To claim the credit, you (and your spouse, if married) must have earned income or be actively looking for work. The maximum qualifying expenses are $3,000 for one qualifying person or $6,000 for two or more. The credit equals 20 to 35 percent of those expenses, with higher-income filers getting the lower percentage.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 602, Child and Dependent Care Credit A qualifying person is generally a child under 13, a spouse who cannot care for themselves, or another dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
Some situations disqualify the credit outright. The care provider cannot be your spouse, the parent of the qualifying child, or someone you claim as a dependent. If one spouse is not working and not looking for work, the expenses generally do not qualify. You must also identify the provider on Form 2441 by name, address, and Social Security number or ITIN. Missing that information can cost you the credit unless you can show you made a real effort to obtain it.8Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2441 (2025)
Using a Dependent Care FSA Instead
If your employer offers a dependent care flexible spending account, it can beat the credit for many households. The FSA lets you set aside pre-tax dollars for the same qualifying expenses, including housekeeping that partly involves caring for a child or dependent. For 2026, the maximum exclusion is $7,500 per household, or $3,750 if married filing separately.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 129 – Dependent Care Assistance Programs
You cannot double-dip. Any amount you exclude through a dependent care FSA reduces the qualifying expenses available for the credit dollar for dollar. Because the FSA exclusion ($7,500) now exceeds the credit’s expense cap ($6,000 for two or more qualifying persons), families using the full FSA benefit will typically have nothing left to claim on the credit side. Run both numbers before enrolling; the right choice depends on your bracket and how much you actually spend on care.
The Home Office Share for Self-Employed Filers
If you’re self-employed and use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business, you can deduct a portion of your cleaning costs as a business expense. The space must be your principal place of business or a location where you meet clients.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 280A – Disallowance of Certain Expenses in Connection With Business Use of Home A spare bedroom you occasionally answer emails from doesn’t qualify.
The IRS offers two calculation methods:
- Actual expense method. You figure the percentage of your home’s total square footage that the office occupies, then apply that percentage to your cleaning bill. A 200-square-foot office in a 2,000-square-foot home yields 10 percent. Report these expenses on Form 8829, which flows into Schedule C.11Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
- Simplified method. You deduct $5 per square foot of office space, up to 300 square feet ($1,500 maximum). This flat rate replaces all home-related business deductions, so you can’t separately deduct a share of your cleaning cost on top of it.12Internal Revenue Service. FAQs – Simplified Method for Home Office Deduction
The simplified method is easier but usually produces a smaller total. At $300 a month for housekeeping and a 10 percent office share, the actual method alone yields $360 a year in deductible cleaning, on top of allocations for utilities and insurance. Keep a floor plan or measurement record either way.
Cleaning a Rental Property
Here the answer is simple. If you hire someone to clean a property you rent out to tenants, the full cost is an ordinary business expense. The IRS allows landlords to deduct “ordinary and necessary expenses for managing, conserving and maintaining” rental property, which covers turnover cleaning, regular maid service for short-term rentals, and routine upkeep.13Internal Revenue Service. Tips on Rental Real Estate Income, Deductions and Recordkeeping Report the costs on Schedule E, Part I alongside insurance and repairs.
The whole bill is deductible because the property exists to produce income. If you use the property partly as a personal residence and partly as a rental, allocate expenses by the number of days devoted to each use. Only the rental-use portion counts.
The Flip Side: Household Employer Taxes
Before celebrating any deduction, check whether hiring your housekeeper triggers employer tax obligations. Most individual housekeepers who come on a regular schedule, use your supplies, and follow your instructions are employees under IRS rules. A cleaning company that sends different workers, sets its own schedule, and provides its own equipment is generally an independent contractor. The IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control, and the nature of the relationship to decide.14Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?
If your housekeeper is an employee and you pay $3,000 or more in cash wages during 2026, you become a “household employer.” You must withhold 6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for Medicare from the worker’s pay and pay a matching 7.65 percent from your own funds.15Internal Revenue Service. Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer’s Tax Guide Below $3,000 for the year, neither side owes these taxes.16Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 756, Employment Taxes for Household Employees
Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is separate. If you pay $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter of 2025 or 2026 to all household employees combined, you owe FUTA on the first $7,000 of each worker’s annual wages. The rate is 6.0 percent, though a credit of up to 5.4 percent typically drops the effective rate to 0.6 percent, and FUTA comes entirely out of your pocket.15Internal Revenue Service. Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer’s Tax Guide
Report household employment taxes on Schedule H, attached to your Form 1040. You’ll need an Employer Identification Number to file it. Skipping this step tends to catch up with people, because the IRS can match a dependent care credit claim against a missing Schedule H filing and pursue back taxes, interest, and penalties. States also impose their own unemployment insurance and, in some cases, workers’ compensation requirements.
Documentation for Each Type of Claim
Whatever benefit you’re pursuing, gather the paperwork before filing:
- Medical expense deduction. Keep a doctor’s statement confirming the patient needs help with daily living activities, a time log separating nursing care from general cleaning, and dated receipts. Report the deductible portion on Schedule A.
- Child and dependent care credit. File Form 2441 with the provider’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number. Keep your work schedule alongside the housekeeper’s schedule to show the expenses were incurred so you could earn income.17Internal Revenue Service. Child and Dependent Care Credit Information
- Home office deduction. Keep a floor plan or measurement showing the office’s square footage. Under the actual expense method, save all cleaning invoices and report the allocated share on Form 8829.11Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
- Rental property. Save invoices from the cleaning provider and report costs on Schedule E, Line 14 with your other repairs and maintenance expenses.
Collect the worker’s Social Security number or ITIN at the start of the relationship, not at tax time. Waiting is how people end up filing incomplete forms and losing credits they were otherwise entitled to.