Janitorial and Cleaning Services

Charges for cleaning commercial and industrial buildings are subject to Maryland's 6 percent sales and use tax. Specifically included are charges for janitorial services and floor, carpet, wall, window, ceiling and exterior cleaning.

A commercial or industrial building is any building or part of a building used for any purpose other than as a permanent private residence. Included are apartment buildings (other than the interior of individual-occupied apartments), hotels and motels, rental condominiums, medical facilities, office trailers, parking garages, day care centers, private clubs and shopping centers.

Taxable examples

Examples of taxable services include the following:

• Restroom maintenance.
• Sanitizing, deodorizing and disinfecting.
• Furniture dusting and polishing.
• Interior trash collection.
• Floor care, including carpet cleaning.
• High pressure water cleaning, sandblasting, and chemical cleaning.
• Construction cleanup.
• Fire and flood restoration.

Non-taxable examples

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning cleaning charges are not taxable.

Tax collection

Landlords need not collect any tax on lump-sum rental charges even if they are required to provide janitorial services in connection with the rental. In such cases, the landlord should simply pay the tax on purchases of cleaning services from third party suppliers.

If the landlord makes a separate charge for janitorial services, the tax is applicable to these charges. However, a resale exemption may be claimed if these services are in fact purchased from a third party. See Purchases for Resale.

Registration

Providers of commercial or industrial building cleaning services who are not registered to collect the sales and use tax may register for a sales and use tax license online.

For assistance, see Sales and Use Tax Contact Information.